A sort of good-bye
For several reasons I decided to close this Blog and the Website.
I will try a different way of showing photos, drawings and comments, maybe in a few months.
Thank you to all who kept posting and commenting – I will let you know where and when my images will surface.
Best regards
Joao
Mediterranean
Mare Nostrum. Resorts. Luxury yachts. Portofino. Palma de Mallorca. Holidays in Antalya. Club Med. Djerba beaches. Monte Carlo Marina. Sea view in Taormina. Valley of the Temples of Agrigento. Private islands in the Cyclades. Vineyards and olive groves of Sicily. Saint-Tropez. All-inclusive cruises. Riviera. Other Rivieras. Sunset at the Temple of Sounion. Formentera. Capri. Costa del Sol.
The Migrant Mother crosses Africa, fleeing hunger, war, and epidemics. She crosses the desert on foot, walks with her child on scorching sands, endures hunger, thirst, and cold. They steal the little she brings. The Migrant Mother is deceived, exploited, raped, beaten. She is enslaved. She becomes pregnant. They imprison her. She is humiliated, insulted, despised. The Migrant Mother finally arrives at the Mediterranean.
Mediterranean. Phoenician trade, Greek expansion, Roman rule. Mare Nostrum. Every year 1500 migrants drown – like on the Titanic, but with less glamour. Human trafficking. Corrupt authorities. Sun and warm waters. Dream vacations. Buoys and life jackets adrift. Sunset parties. Reserved beaches. Rubber boats. Frontex patrols. All-night parties in Ibiza. Millionaires in Sardinia. Corpses washing ashore in Lampedusa.
Mediterranean, splendid cemetery.
Olil on plywood, April 2026
The Circular Market
Yesterday, the Circular Market took place, a local initiative to promote recycling and the sale or exchange of local products. There are stalls with books, handicrafts, perfumes, and plants. There’s a carpentry workshop where people learn how to do small woodworking projects, sewing machines for those who want to learn or do sewing, and a workshop with specialists who teach and help repair or tune bicycles, aiming to promote their use.
All this support is provided by volunteers who do not charge for their help.
Two photos, two sketches
Last Monday, while strolling through the Mouraria neighborhood in the late afternoon, I took some photos on Rua da Madalena and Rua do Regedor.
Afterwards, a session with the Lisbon Drawing Club took place in the admirable setting of the Roman Theatre Museum. Two sketches of reclining female nudes (graphite and brown pigment on paper)
The Imaginary Photowalk of Tom Waits (update)
The Imaginary Photowalk of Tom Waits that I posted last March 16 was accepted to be exhibited at ADAO Photo Festival. ADAO is an Association for the Development of Arts and Crafts in nearby city of Barreiro, a very active group in several areas (music, photography, street-art, drawing, etc)
The Festival will happen during the first week-end of May. I will post some photos of the exhibition.
Quiet Sunday morning
A quiet and very peaceful morning last Sunday.
Mild weather, no wind. I was at the beach in Estoril, sitting on the sand with a few fellow amateur sketchers.
Two men with fishing rods stood on the rocks – but they didn´t catch anything while we were there.
A real relaxing moment.
The Imaginary photowalk of Tom Waits
The Imaginary photowalk of Tom Waits in Almada, somewhere in the last decades of the last century. He had a Polaroid camera loaded with Polaroid 600 Black and White film, and he went trough places and situations that were used as names from some of his compositions. Here they are:
Drawings and sketches
Some new drawings done outdoors, taking advantage of the return of the sun last Sunday.
And some sketches of human figures done yesterday, during a session at the Lisbon Drawing Club.
New drawings
Some time spent trying to improve the linocut technique led me to stop drawing with a model at the end of 2025. I restarted this week with a new session of drawing the human figure. Four sketches, female model, drawing with brown pigment and chalk on paper. Some more sessions are needed in the near future….
A Christmas card from Ukraine
I received a Christmas card from Ukraine a few days ago. Beyond the traditional motifs one expects to find, I noticed that behind the central motif is the figure of a soldier in combat gear.
It is sad and has a very special meaning, this presence on a Christmas card.
Let’s hope that the postal iconography of next Christmas will no longer include this theme.
Ruins – the Castle and the Convent
The small caste of Torres Vedras, not far from Lisbon, was well worth the visit. On the top of a hill, with a nice view to the town and surronding área. It was built in the XII century, replacing a primitive muslim fortress. The buildings inside the castle do not exist anymore, and the walls were subjected to several destructions and reconstructions – including the damages caused by the great 1755 eartquake . A great part of the walls are still well preserved
The Penafirme Convent was built in the XVI century, not far from the sea. It was destroyed by the 1755 earthquake and the ensuing tsunami. The surviving monks were displaced inland, to a new convent that still exists. The ruins of the old convent are abandoned, half covered by sand. Some arches and windows still exist, as well as the thick walls.
The Autumn light
The Autumn light in Lisbon is wonderful, after 4:00 PM the tangential light of the setting sun makes all the details of the buildings and walls more evident. The contrast with the shadows is amazing and the increasing air humidity allow us a more sharp vision of the lines and surfaces around us. The sun is still bright, and it is a good time to relax by the river.
When there is no sun…
Henri Michaux wrote “Faute de soleil, sache mûrir dans da glace” – When there is no sun, know how to ripen in ice. That is a good advice, not only for the incoming Winter, but for one’s general attitude towards life. I tought this was a good subject to be illustrated in my first steps in linocut. Or it can be seen as just a plain winter landscape. The linoleum plate on top, the resulting print below.
Blue-grass Festival
Last week-end, a Blue Grass Festival took place at Trafaria Casino (an ostentatious name for a nice local social club). A very welcoming ambience, free-entrance and several blue-grass bands from different countries. Many amateur musicians played together in small spontaneous groups, creating jam-sessions before and after the professional performances. A very relaxed atmosphere , a sense of togetherness and the good music made this a memorable event for me-
Tunning the guitar
The Casino, a typical building from the early XX century. The tiled floor is precious !
Some members of the Crying Uncle Blue-grass Band (USA) with an invited banjo performer
A relaxing boat trip
A boat trip up the Douro River, between banks dotted with small marinas, villages, lush vegetation, orchards, and vineyards—lots of vineyards. The trip ends in Peso da Régua.
Some images of Gaia and Porto, seen from the south bank.
João Avelar images 