More December Sketches

Playing with colour for new artworks, random sketching, random writing out of my mind and memories… Or not so random perhaps…

Here some other sketches from my current carnet, they all from December.

The first three are from a very cool musical gig at ACU, on the 12th. The definition from the website of the artist, from Poland, does fit:

Bajzel [meaning: mess] is the purest definition of "one man show" and "one man band". He is a band. He is a musical chameleon tap dancing on pedals, live-looping guitar, bass and beats into virtuosic alternative art-rock exhilaration.

 

The followings are stolen from a very warm and free party in Den Haag (The Hague) at my sweet friend Dorotea's new place.

Dorotea taking a picture

Dorotea, Johannes, Marilù, Stefano (who incredibly resembles a schoolmate I had in my art academy and who now lives in Australia (oh ciao Peter!))

Dimitris

On my way to portrait Dorotea, for some reasons something very challenging to me: I gotta do it with colours, she's too shining to add a black unreal outline to her skin…

Random, from my fantasy

Lovely Lynn

Random strip coming back home on the train…

And again…

And then a portrait made during a video call with my dear friend John, Gianvito, or however you want to call him. I'm very glad of this one. He said "Eta, by now you see everything in your way, did you realize that?"
He's usually very right about me. :)

There is also a digital variation of the colours…

Enough for now.

Much to do, here – I want to keep updated my post by showing some glimpses of what's going on around my nails, but not much time to tell and write. Soon I'll scan also my sketches from the Cremonapalloza Rock Fest, the X edition!

Little Eta's musical gift if you made it till the end of the post: check out this band, The Peanut Butter Conspiracy, related to Jefferson Airplane.

Stay positive, folks. Even this January. Especially this January.

"You must do beautiful dreams, Grandma!"

Even more than usual deeply antifascistly yours,

Eta

#EmilioResisti!

[E se siete in Italia e per caso leggete il mio post, considerate di unirvi al corteo nazionale, sabato! O di crearne uno nella vostra città, ci sono vari presidi contemporanei già in altri luoghi. Mai come ora vorrei essere in Italia. Mando tonnellate di sostegno virtuale. Trasformiamo le lacrime in nuova energia.]

3voor12/Utrecht presenteert ||| [On]zichtbaar in Utrecht ||| Fotoboek met 10 jaar Utrechtse popmuziek

I had almost forgotten to tell it!
[On]zichtbaar in Utrecht made it and, after the successful crowdfunding, it has been published and presented on the 30th of November, at Tivoli Vredenburg.

This is a little fast double sketch I've done during the presentation (from this lucky carnet).

It's really an awesome book, collecting a wonderful selection of the photographs made by 3voor12/Utrecht in ten years of music reports of the pop scene from this lovely town.

I volunteered in the team a few times but it has been always very interesting and, unexpectedly, one of my photographs has always been selected for this book. It's really really tiny and it's on the last page, but I must say that it's a pleasure to watch it together with all these other beautiful pictures. When I finally had the chance to browse this book, I was really impressed. 3voor12/Utrecht made a very remarkable work, making all this book and, of course, during all its history of reports.

My photograph, the third one from left to right on the left page, is from a Kodiaks concert at dB's.

Thanks to 3voor12/Utrecht, to who joined the crowdfunding and congratulations to all the ones who run this project!


CheeriO

The Louder Laughter

As I entered the theatre, in the last row I saw two empty seats next to Nik. One was for sure for Nancy, who was probably going to arrive in a little. So I went to Nik and asked him if I could seat next to them.

I had my first winks with Nancy and Nik that afternoon, while I was standing in the entrance as lovely cotton candy girl for the KLIK! Amsterdam Animation Festival, which I joined as volunteer (having really a lot of fun). Ironically, when I was a child I never tasted any cotton candy, they didn't appeal me at all, and my first time was only a pair of months before the festival, by chance (grazie a Lady Nocina!). But, apparently, cotton candy recalls sweet early memories to most of the people: giving cotton candy for free as I had to do was indeed a very pleasant task, because everyone was infinitely grateful for that unexpected flashback with that hypnotic machine. So it was for Nancy, who indeed was enthusiastic just like a child.

And again she was that enthusiastic when the cartoon Gay Purr-ee* started, because it was a film she watched many times and she loved since her childhood.

She was not just enthusiastic, she was having some very serious fun, actually.

I mean, she was laughing much louder than me.

 – If you know me, you know that's a serious matter. –

Her laughter was absolutely the louder in the theatre and probably the louder I've ever heard.

I'm a total fan of laughters, so I just joined her pleasure with all my heart.

At a certain point, she held my hand authentically happy and she thanked me for sharing the laughs; then I couldn't avoid to proudly tell her how much the laugh is actually meaningful to me and that it has even been the topic of my little thesis, leaving the high school.

The feeling was totally like that satisfaction of finally meeting someone who understands, for both of us.

«The point is that I laugh of absurdity. I just see the absurdity everywhere – and I laugh of it.»

«Indeed!»

We completed our sentences each other.

«It is like… Waiting…»

«…for Godot!»

And so it was that she mentioned me Norman Cousins, who healed himself by laughing (thanks above all to Marx Brothers filmography!).

You also have the Internet, so I won't steal you the joy of  eventually researching more by yourself, since my current informations are not very deep yet. Here I just want to specify that, of course, it's hard to know how actually Cousins survived 26 years more than his doctor prediction, but, after all, I'm not so surprised by the power of the laughter.

Are you?

…All this disconnected post, by the way, it's because I realised I didn't publish yet my humble Nancy's portrait, nor the other few sketches I made at KLIK!, and since I just noticed her birthday was the 10th of February, well, that's perhaps a nice chance to fix that, isn't it?

Here's Nancy, folks!

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A cellist at the lobby…

…and the drummer

Mr. Paul Rudish
(dedicated to my beloved Elisa Cristantielli)

* I had never watched Gay Purr-ee (1962, Abe Levitow) before, but I sometimes had a familiar sensation… But for sure that's not because I instead know The Aristocats (1970)… it must be a mere coincidence…

Another huge acid satisfaction in my bucket ::: (you shouldn't cut your hair, man)

I'll explain what you have to do.

Earn the first row, possibly in front of Makoto Kawabata's amplifier, close your stupid eyes, untie your hair (please, feel entirely each of your hair, coming down from the root to your chicks), bow to the music, head bang horizontally, listen to the caress of the trip through your own hair and get hypnotised by Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O.

…When you'll slowly wake up from such a trip, you won't believe the only thing you made was to stand in front of a stage.

Know first who eventually will see you will think you're having the longest orgasm ever – get ready to the consequences. Well, or don't. Who mind, perhaps you're having the longest orgasm ever!

Anyway, although I was enjoying the concert in trance, my stupid eyes wanted their slice once again…

Hiroshi Higashi

Makoto Kawabata

Tabata Mitsuru

again Hiroshi Higashi

Koji Shimura

I usually don't post this type of photographic memories, but for this special night I do like to make exception to show I joined Koji's real job: taking a picture with a lady every concert.

Koji Shimura with me

And this exception must call its related exception, the fun after the other great psych concert I enjoyed this year, also in the same locale, the dB'S; in April I saw Cinema Soloriens and, yeah, they're actually strongly connected with Acid Mothers Temple because Daevid Allen, who was playing in Cinema Soloriens too, is synonym of Gong – and Gong had a great good time with Acid Mothers Temple, which obviously gloriously turned into Acid Mothers Gong.

So, here these other exceptions, thanks to Luc Pilmeyer, who photographed this unexpected dance during the middle of the dinner we had together after the concert, in a Greek restaurant. 

me and Daevid Allen
photograph by Luc Pilmeyer

Daevid Allen and me
photograph by Pilmeyer Luc

By the way, I'm very serious saying you shouldn't cut your hair.

Guess why during the Vietnam War special forces recruited Native Americans and, lately, decided to let them keep their long hair. Just guess it.

He Who Travels Far

Once upon a time a little eccentric, evil child, angry with anything and anybody, decided he was made to travel far.

Mongolia is the land he dreamt to reach more than any other since he learnt to read.

Today that child has grown, became unexpectedly good and after months  warming up himself and learning the Asian culture, to don't look like a rude ignorant man from Europe or America, today, after Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos, now that grown child is at his last stop before the goal…

Today that child has grown, he's in Beijing and his heart gets faster each time he thinks about that: in six days, that grown child will be in Mongolia.

Hanggai is a band which lets whisper Mongolia in their magical art.

Some members of Hanggai are from Beijing, where the band is based; the leader and some other members are from Mongolia.

We Who Travels Far is their second album.

If I'm not mistaken, maybe you didn't neither really notify that title, when you were electrified by it for the first time, a long time ago, when you were still living in your beloved Utrecht and I was still in Italy. At least, I know I did notify it for sure.

The past 19th of May, around two months after your departure, when Hanggai came to Utrecht, I was floating around the stage to portrait them,

wishing to be blown by your same wind.

Vai maluco! :)

Six Months In A Roll

That joy I wish most of you still knows

of discovering the photographs from a roll you exposed a long ago.

Cees and Natalja

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The following pictures are from Copenhagen and the first part was in another roll I already posted
among other tributes to the rhythme.

I can see you

Gianvito and Giulia

Christiania 

Christiania 

Christiania

°°°

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The next ones are from Errolan's rehearsal, in February.

°°°

Dogs, good music and gezellig.

And Masha.

Cheers,

to the Friendship!