A rainy night

Montevideo, Uruguay, 1950.

A cab travels through a cold and rainy night in the capital city. It's July, which means winter  in the southern hemisphere.

The lady in the backseat sits silently as the trusty Ford Pilot pierces the darkness which envelops it like a giant cloak. Soon it will reach its destination, and after that, it will be back to "patrolling" the streets in search of new customers. 

It's winter in Montevideo, and the nights are cold. But the cabby has a glimmer of hope: his country is doing well in the world championship football taking place in neighboring Brazil. If only... Could it be? Is a miracle in the making? Suddenly he spots somebody signaling him to stop. The poor man is soaked! Another passenger, another trip. Another reverie.

 

© 2024  José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.

At Night

Sweet little Rain, sometimes I wonder: what happens in the living room while I sleep? Does stillness reign in shadows? Do your eyes see?

 

© 2023 José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.

A wig for Rain.

Hi everyone, I hope you're doing well! 

I finally got a wig for my ball jointed doll Rain!! I had been looking for one for a long time, and finally got it thanks to a seller I know.

The wig is made of real, braided hair. It is quite long, and comes with two red bows. All I need to do now is make sure it fits her well (it sits a bit loose on the head) and she'll be ready to go. Well, that's figuratively speaking of course; the girl is staying with me!

 

I hope you liked this blog. If so, leave a comment, and see you next time. Thank you!!

 

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.

 

I Am Your Shadow.

 

 

 

"For she visited you in dreams

Her pale moon face shining bright

And chased away your fears

In the deepest of the night."

 JPT

 

 Wish you a great weekend, and see you soon!

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.

 

Rain and The Unknown Dead

Rain, my little ghost girl, has a thing with poetry. Same for song lyrics and wise words.

The girl is very spiritual, you see.. Every time I find something that I'm sure she will like, or write some stuff of my own, I share it with her. And you know what happens next? She comes alive! And then I see her face, her fair, pale skin, her dark hair, and those intense, blue eyes that seem to come from far, far away. Then I notice a soft smile on her luscious lips, and a twinkle in her eyes. I think she feeds on dreams. Like most of us, she needs them to exist.

This time around I presented her with the lyrics of a song by the German 'metal' band Lunar Aurora, a sample of which is quoted here below. The song is titled "The Unknown Dead", and its lyrics are more like a poem, than song lyrics. Also, what's interesting about it, is that the music almost completely obscures the singer's voice, so it's very hard to understand what he's saying. It feels as if the words are buried just underneath the music, mixed with the earth and roots of the trees, like in a shallow grave..

 

"Es werde Nacht.... und es werde Finsternis." ("Night came, and Darkness came.") 

"From bloodstained stargates to hellish forges 

And sky-clad summits to the eeriest gorges.
But now depart for my road goes yonder,

A road that darkens while in light I wander.
But pierced with beams when everything's sombre."

 

 Taken from: The Unknown Dead by Lunar Aurora.

 

That's all for now, folks. Thanks for visiting, keep safe, and see you next time!

 

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. "The Unknown Dead" lyrics are © copyright by LUNAR AURORA. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.

 

Rain: "Glück"

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author. Extract from "Glück" © Lunar Aurora.

Rain and Oscar

Sharing a picture of Rain and her teddy bear Oscar. Beware of his claws...

* * *

Thanks for visiting, and see you next time!

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.

Jane's attic, update XXVIII: a portrait of Rain.

Here's another quick update regarding Jane's attic project. And this one happens to be the result of 'international teamwork' between me and Rebecca Micallef, my friend and fellow-miniaturist of 'My Miniature World' fame.

What you see here is a framed print on canvas of a portrait of Rain, the little ghost girl that is one of my creations, and who I often refer to as 'my daughter'. Rebecca made the print at my request, using a special technique of her own, and sent it to me for framing.

Of course, such a wonderful print asked for a suitable frame. So I worked on a nice frame I had, to make it look more nice still; to make it look really antique! And not satisfied with 'weathering' the front of the frame, I also worked on the back, as you can see in the below image.

The canvas print was stuck to a wooden background which I weathered as well, and fixed in the frame, adding two nails and some wire, just like one would see on a life size frame. And although I know that this will be hidden from view, I felt I needed to do it anyway. Leaving the back untreated just because it won't be seen was simply not an option! I must say I'm very happy with the way it turned out, and I hope you think the same!

Thanks for visiting, and see you next time....! 

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.

Rain

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the birth of 'Rain' as a graphic novel character. A character born out of sorrow, out of loss, the ghost of a young girl that visits the realm of the living to tell tales of the beyond, and to bring justice and solace to those in need of it. 

Below is a watercolor painting which I did of her back in 1998. This and two other drawings took part in an exhibition for upcoming graphic novel artists held in that same year in the 'legendary' graphic novel shop 'Mekanik Strip' in Antwerp, Belgium. Today the portrait graces one of my living room walls.

Rain artwork, which was exhibited in Mekanik Strip, the 'legendary' graphic novel shop in Antwerp, Belgium.

After the exhibition I produced a couple of short stories featuring 'my daughter', as I affectionately call her. They were published under the name 'Rain's FreakShow' both online and 'on paper'.

During a comics fair in The Netherlands, I showed one of the stories to the late (yet immortal) Don Lawrence of 'Storm' fame. He looked at it with great interest, took his time and gave me his compliments for my work. I remember few moments in my life when I felt as happy as on that day..!

Following the initial success, the project came virtually to a standstill. I became increasingly frustrated by the feeling that I could not depict Rain as I saw her in my head. She became something larger than life to me, an entity that I could not 'translate' from the ethereal realm of shadows to the reality of crispy white paper. So the production of artwork stopped, and Rain continued developing in my head, and in my heart instead, invisible to the public, but very much present as part of my everyday life.

A 'one off' manga-style Rain comic strip (Dutch).

Rain's FreakShow 'BLACK STAR' logo.

Some years ago, while visiting a dolls & teddy bears fair, I saw something that took my breath away. There, standing on a display table, was a doll that bore an uncanny resemblance to my Rain! Some differences aside, she had a total 'Rain' feel to her!!! The maker, an incredibly talented lady named Mrs Willeke de Swart, had created a doll that made my heart jump with joy! Of course I had to have her, the hefty price tag that comes naturally with such a unique, hand made porcelain doll was the least of my concerns!

Rain, Oscar, and me.

Once I 'adopted' the doll, which of course I immediately christened 'Rain', I decided to commission a rather 'creepy' teddy bear for her, just like the one she has in the stories. This teddy (Oscar) was made according to my specifications by a real pro: the lovely Marrie van Vliet. She even made 'Oscar' in two sizes, one for Rain, and another, much bigger one for photography purposes. 

Fast forward to today, the 'Rain doll' has featured in countless photo shoots (and so has Oscar), and kept the dream alive that, some day, my Rain will come out in full force, ready to take over the world and fulfill her destiny as the bringer of solace, the comforter, the one that takes your tears away...

"I am your shadow, the echo of your soul.." (Rain)

"Sometimes, she comes to life, 

and is just there for me,

to bring me joy and peace..."

"Look at those eyes, those are not the eyes of a doll!

Behold her lips! Soft as the petals of a rose!

Look at her skin, that is no longer porcelain,

but real, warm, breathing skin.."

"Sometimes, she comes to life and is just there for me, to bring me joy and peace..."

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.