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So, when, at the age of 21 years old and half way of my Medicine course, I decided it was time to start working, technical illustration of cars emerged as the most natural option.

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I invested all my energy into a single work, still black and white, about "ground effect ", the great technical innovation of the time, which in parallel with the rediscovery of the turbocharger, was to revolutionize the sports cars. So I introduced myself in the newspaper "Motor", with an article and drawings ready for publication.

 

It was late September 1981, the Formula 1 season was almost finished and any material that helped retain readers during habitual winter break would be welcome. I was thus received with open arms by Henrique Sequerra and José Ribeiro who, under the close supervision of Mario Guerreiro, edited and published my work three weeks in a row during the month of October.

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Less than a year later, and with some further steps in the use of color, I started the longest collaboration of my life with the "Turbo" magazine and its founder, José Vieira. This, for its visionary and innovative feeling, proved to be a pivotal element in my career.

 

These were fantastic times, when I worked for the simple pleasure of doing what I enjoyed the most, without even thinking about the paycheck for one night, or even one month, of work.

 

In 1986 I did my first airbrush work and, a year later, began a very rewarding collaboration with "Philip Morris International", to whom I’ve made the cutaway drawings of Prost’s, Senna’s, Berger’s and Johansson’s McLaren Formula 1 cars.

 

By this time I met Francisco Santos, and had the privilege of working in the illustration of several of his Yearbooks of Formula 1.

 

In 1988, I started working, on a regular basis, with the Spanish magazine "Motor 16", directed by Sergio Piccione and Alberto Mallo, with the German "Motor Klassik" and "Rally Racing", with the Japanese "Racing On", and between 1990 and 1993 with the, also Spanish, magazine "Gran Auto 16", directed by Manuel Domenech .

 

In 1993 and 1994, I did for Ove Andersson’s Toyota Team Europe, the cutaway drawings of their fabulous cars of the World Rally Championship .

 

For seven years, I worked almost exclusively and exhaustively in technical illustration, which allowed me to evolve in a decisive and meaningful way, in the field of airbrush technique and hence the quality of the drawings made.

 

In the mid-'90s, however, the collaboration with the magazines became increasingly sparse and casual, consequence of the development of my work in fine arts. If I had learned to draw by making car illustration, it was with my experience in painting that I learned how to use color. Over the last twenty years I merged painting with illustration and the latest drawigns are proof of this evolution in the field of color.

 

With this site I sought further motivation to organize and retrieve drawings and texts made in these past 34 years, which were scattered and in natural degradation; and simultaneously to create a mean of sharing this work with those who may have interest in it.

 

In the early years of Formula 1's return to Portugal I was a curious and assiduous frequenter of the pits and paddock of the Estoril circuit, witnessed by the numerous photographs that I took, and kept, of that time. The vast majority of photographs intended to capture the technical details I needed to make my technical drawings. Looking for an artistic sense was almost always absent in obtaining these images, in which the first concern was, of course, to not disturb the work of mechanics and drivers. Many of them were made at a glance, before being kicked out of the pits cordially. I decided to share some of these images and others, which I have selected so that each one of them may prove as a witness of its time.

 

During the first year and a half, I've published, each day, in the website, a photo that I have made, being the main criteria for their choice their originality, relevance or curiosity. I will continue to publish new drawings from the articles on the site. Each month I'll continue to publish further works on the different themes that compose it. I will therefore provide all drawings and texts that I’ve made over these almost three and a half decades and that I own, either the original or a quality copy.

 

I began my studies in aerodynamics in 2001, which culminated with an internship in the Fondmetal wind tunnel, in Bologne, Italy, by a kind invitation of the Toyota Formula 1 Team, in 2003. As a result of this learning, I accomplished five technical articles, four of them are already available on site, and the last one will follow.

 

And so, gradually, I will share with you the result of my passion for automobiles.

 

Welcome!