Travelling Series
There is no defined storyline in these illustrations. They’re a mix of random images around the same topic — Traveling — that float in my imagination, and I try to translate into the paper. Each one of them as a small description. Hope you enjoy!
Technique: digital painting
Software: Procreate and Adobe Photoshop
Wonder
Do you know that feeling of wonder you get when you travel? Where every common thing seems to be magical and interesting? That curiosity that makes you not just look at reality, but really observe it?
That’s why traveling, and keep on moving is so crucial so that you don’t get stuck in the same automatized routine and forget that life is spontaneous, unplanned and beautiful.
This illustration is the first of three I’m developing about this topic. Not only about travels but also about the importance of observing our daily life with fresh eyes. In my opinion, Observation is a skill we should practice way more, even when we don’t get the chance to travel as much as we would love to.
We are beings of habits, and, most of the times, routine gets us in a kind of numb space where we forget to look around, to see the little details that have always been there but we, somehow, our busy eye missed them.
Daydreaming
I’ve been missing traveling lately.
Not that I don’t love both my cities, Gaia and Porto, I do. Very much. It’s just that I have the need to breathe a different culture, to feed my mind with unfamiliar images, to walk in new streets, to hear other languages, to eat weird things, to drink shitty coffee, and to experience all that good, funky and unexpected things that come along.
Finally, after 25 years of existence, I had the need to move out. I got more focused on developing my own projects and been grinding to pay the bills and work, simultaneously, on what I love… so taking a vacation it’s no option for now.
Can’t complain though. The house where I moved fits just right, the good weather it’s starting to show up and I’m enjoying the journey of living on my own terms.
As leaving the city is out of the equation, I adjusted my mindset towards life.
Each day I feel grateful for my new surroundings and for the people I have the opportunity to meet. I’m daydreaming more often, and I’m constantly reminding myself to look up when I’m walking the streets, so that I observe the details that have always been there but went unnoticed. Recently I even discovered that Gaia’s buildings are not that ugly and, some of them, actually have beautiful details and nice architecture!
And, most of all, I’m just so thankful that I’m able to spend my time doing what I love. Having the opportunity to create new images to the world and to communicate ideas, moods, feelings through them fulfills my days.
Travel buddies
When you travel with someone you end up connecting with that person on a much genuine and deeper level. The fact that you are exploring the world and going to the “unknown” together, makes you rely much more on each other. Those sharing experiences create bounds that, in my opinion, wouldn’t be created any other way.
To have a friend with whom you are able to “fly” is a blessing. You end up feeling at home everywhere you go and not afraid to look silly or lost on unfamiliar ground .
But don’t misunderstand me. I also love to travel on my own! It’s a completely different vibe. Being alone, out of my comfort zone, and not knowing my surroundings, makes me, in a way, more connected and vulnerable.
I get out of my own head and tend to be more “in-the-moment”. A thing that our brains seem to forget when we are stuck in the same place for long periods of time.