Eyes that seek the Unseen
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.
Some new photos from old subjects, in a very old style
And now I am learning etching techniques. My first etching: taking a waxed/varnished copper plate I made a drawing on it with a sharp steel point
The plate was dipped in acid and after that the wax was removed. The drawing on the copper surface is evident.
The plate was covered with ink, and the superficial coat of ink was mechanically removed by hand
The ink was left on the previously engraved grooves
The inked plate was placed on the printing press
And coverd with a moist sheet of paper
The heavy cilinders of the press were moved
Et voilá !!! The complete sheet and the image In detail . I can cal it “The Mermaid Nun”
A very interesting technique, especially considering that it is done as it was five centuries ago. The initial drawing on the waxed copper plate is quite tricky, but it can certainly be improved.
Next step will be to perform an “Aquatint” techinique on this same etching.
A short poem from Guillermo Veloso
Winter boats are
shrink-wrapped ghosts
haunting the docks as
they await the sea
A visit to the Gulbenkian Modern Art Center to see some works of a Portuguese/Brazilian artist Fernando Lemos.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Lemos
Great overview of hist vast production, in photography, painting, engraving, drawing, poetry. A small sample from one of his sketchbooks
“Freedom to go and return without punctuality” “Vanish at any age” “Resist to ill will”
The venue of the Art Center is outstading
Some months ago I posted a few photos of the ruins of a Sanatorium from the beginning of the last century.
The building was never completed, as the owner , a former wealthy entrepreneur, went bankrupt . The remains of the building were remarkably well preserved, no garbage or signs of depredation were visible. The stone walls stood there seemingly indifferent to the passage of time.
Now the bad news: the hundred-year old stone walls were demolished by the current owner, Some sort of hotel will be built there, according to what I know. Another loss… Human actions have more destructive power than the passage of time.
A long street was finally embelished wit a variety of graffiti and mural paintings along its decaying walls. I went there yesterday and took some photos.
The artists were invited by the City Council and they were given total freedom to paint whatever they wanted. This a good way to change an uninteresting (even depressive) street in a sort of public art gallery.
“Boxing Clash #2”, an amateur boxing match between Portuguese and Italian teams in a Gym near Lisbon, Lots of enthusiasm, some agressivity and violence to an acceptable level (no serious injuries, no bleedings). Not being a fan or an expert, it was an interesting experience to me. I was surprised by the high number of women watching the match – and by their vocal incentives to the fighters.
“Our ruins will never be so beautiful as the ruins left by our ancestors”. I don’t know the author of this statement but there is some truth in it. But we won’t be here long enough to confirm it.
Ruins are fascinating – they open a vast field for the imagination and they show that some things take longer to be destroyed than they took to be built. Below are the ruins of a sanatorium, from a century ago. It was never completed, and now those stones remain in a field of wild weeds.
The A.D.A.O. Analog Photo Festival last week-end had talks, photowalks, a market of film and analog gear and exhibitions from professional photographers. Some images from the A.D.A.O. facebook (if you have a FB account you can see the whole series). And three photos I made on May 11th
Study (oil pastel and graphite on paper) for an oil painting featuring African migrants – a subject that concerns us all
This week-end , the Vinyl Market at Campo de Santa Clara, Lisbon. Good chance to find some good old 12’ LP records – and many memories. I found a few records I did not knew, and many others I had forgotten. Bad photo (made with a re-loaded disposable plastic camera).
A few findings. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “Electric Ladyland” double LP (I had it forty years ago – someone stole it from me) and an album from Marianne Faithfull (I have a soft spot for her songs – she could have had a different life away from the shadow of Mick Jagger). Also a box with three LPs (Keith Jarret’s solo concerts in Bremen and in Lausanne). A fruitfull Saturday
From last night a sketch of a female model (mangaka thin marker and light grey brush pencil)
And two more old photos from Lisbon.
Two musicians at the Campo de Santa Clara
And the chessboard we walk on at the Town Hall Square
Three drawings (india ink and kuretake brush) of a live model
… and a photo taken from a rural roadside stand, selling ceramics and statues. I am still in doubt if the two statues were put side by side just by chance… I should have asked.
João Avelar images 