Artists

Fresh out of the boat. Or bus. Part of a small collective of street performers just arrived in town. And at least one of them doesn't seem to like the town.

Dimitri the lion is an architecture school dropout who happens to still be very passionate about buildings. Hates Brutalism with a passion. Often starts ranting when he sees a new one.

There’s also Dominique the rat. Kind of a serious gal. She’s another type of artist in secret, she likes to draw but no one must know. She and Dimitri have been dating for a couple of weeks but that’s their other secret. They’ve been trying to keep it hidden and they're terrible at it. They can’t be apart from each other. Just look at them, with their tails around each other. Can you believe it? They actually think they’re being sneaky. They’re adorable, much to their chagrin.

There’s also Sylvie the iguana. She’s been on the road since she was 15 when she ran away with her then boyfriend. It was too much for him though and he was back home some months later. But not her. She fell in love with the road and found her place there. SHe is probably the youngest in the group but of the four here she’s the veteran.

And finally there’s Dalia. She’s a chemistry sophomore, but she took a pause by hopping into the band of a group of artists and is now reconsidering her career. She’s the newest member of the group but it only took that for her to have it with Dimitri’s ranting. She’ll eventually learn to fade it out like the rest of the group. They still are good friends in the meantime though.

That’s it for now I guess I thought it’d be cool for you to know them as their true selves before you get to see their stage personas later.

This is one of the old drawings I finally got to complete this year during my latest art block lol. It’s actually the first time I drew at least three of these characters before they got to appear in other stuff. They, as a concept, are inspired by a couple of things.

First there is the art scene in Zipolite. A beach town funded by hippies that I talked about in another post. Each night you’d go out to the street and there would be performers dancing, playing and juggling fire, and artists selling their art.

And the other is a wandering street circus collective that I knew of. It was about a group of young people and students that went around the country giving impromptu shows wherever they are. I happened to see one of their shows and It was pretty cool. It had all the pomp and preparation as a circus show but without the tent and the animals because I guess that would complicate the logistics.

The last thing I have to say about these guys is that I don’t share Dimitri’s distaste for Brutalism. I actually think it rocks. The architecture in my college was all brutalist especially in my area and it was pretty cool. It was like studying in a castle from the future or something.

I gave him that trait because I am conscious of a lot of people absolutely hating the brutalist style and I just think it’s such a weird and funny grudge to have. I actually had to investigate a bit to write a bit of his rant because I actually didn’t get the issue people had with it. Lol

Also, very on brand for me. I'm still thinking about the name their collective will have. Do you have something?