in progress: the waterman II

I finished the penciling, leaving some details for later, as usual. now it is ready for the first wash.

postcards are here!

they arrived yesterday, and I am amazed by the excellent quality of the job (sorry for the crappy pictures, my camera is not being very cooperative to me lately):





absolutely no flaws to report, all came up just like I designed and the material and colors are absolutely fine. I'm just excited to start spreading them around!

and when the service is good (and the prices unbeatable), I feel pleasured to recommend: Ps Print.

the Divine is naked.

now I guess I can show the very beginning of my new creative effort, a project I've been cherished for a while, and that I decided to call The Waterman.






I told my husband the other night: "I want to paint Jesus naked." he just responded, after some of his characteristic little jokes, "just go ahead, my dear. you have my support."

I had confessed him that I had some apprehensions about it. not really religious ones, since I am not a Christian and I do not worship deities, but I am a total admirer of Jesus Christ. this man is my life role model, the example I try to keep in my mind and heart every minute. although to me he is not God himself, but some kind of older brother and master, he is a sacred symbol for many. my fear was to create controversies about putting a sacred symbol naked, and I don't want to offend anybody. but then I thought, "hey, wait a minute... this is art, and art is not supposed to follow rules. and since I'm the artist and I'm supposed to express my thoughts, I think that there's nothing offensive in naked bodies. naked is beautiful and my Jesus will be beautiful and yes, he will be naked."

in my work, Jesus is the waterman. my starting point to this concept is Luke 22:10, that says "a man will meet you carrying an earthen pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he goes in." that was a kind of announcement of the age of Aquarius. I then saw Jesus as the own man with the pitcher of water. he was not just the avatar of the Pisces era, for his message is universal and it will stay forever. and in the age of Aquarius it will be finally understood and followed in its purity, without "the veil of the letter".

that's the meaning of the nakedness of Jesus: the purity and truth of his message. nothing more to hide or being corrupted by men in their political interests, no more manipulative interpretations. just the truth, as it is. naked.

talking to my good friend Marcelo Peregrino later on the msn, I told him about my project and fears. Marcelo is a big fan of Jesus as much as I am, then I knew he would understand me. he responded me with a song by Gilberto Gil, a famous Brazilian musician (please forgive the rough translation):

If I want to talk to God,
I have to be alone,
I have to turn off the light,
I have to silence my voice.
(...)
I have to have my hands empty,
to have body and soul naked.

and then, my friend said, "the Divine is naked."

starting new artwork, in spite of some dark clouds

these have been strange days of lethargy and sickness around the house. first baby, then me, then my husband. according to my researches on the symptoms, it seems like a "family" gastroenteritis. I still feel nauseous and weak. baby looks better, my husband doesn't seem very fine yet. I was working in my new piece yesterday when I started to feel real bad and had to leave the board. freaky.

my new work is called The Waterman and it is intended to be a triptych. I wish I could get the 3 pieces finished until late this month. I've been brainstorming it for a while, made some studies but things do not seem totally in place yet. sometimes it starts almost like a blur, and then when I decide to adventure myself into the board, things simply happen. since I started working with the illustration boards I don't do preliminary sketches anymore. I like to preserve the freshness of the drawing, its initial energy, and the board is strong enough to bear all the erasing without getting damaged.

but anyway... I am very anxious to see Watchmen and I think that it will be possible only late this month. for total fans like me, this is the same as torture!

love my artwork?

...so now you can find products featuring my illustrations and paintings on RedBubble. they have greeting cards and different types of prints, including matted and framed. new additions will be done in the future. go visit! and don't forget to spread the word...