Donau's Journey explanations. The traveler

I'd like to explain some details about the project Donau's Journey. It's not an easy task since it hides many messages in several levels and also contains personal information. I will elaborate separated posts with explanations.

Let's start by the beginning.

The traveller starts his journey in box #1. Apparently he has a physical body but he doesn't know his origin or any meaning related to his existence. He is just and AUTOMATON (I love this word).

This corner is dedicated to biological beings. We all are created and ruled by DNA. Incredible vegetal life, fascinating animals and more creatures will follow the evolution according to the code.

He uses the same body position than Le Mat in Tarot cards, with same red shoes and a stick pointing to Le monde (card XXI, The World). 

        

Nowadays the world is bigger and bigger so his stick points to the known universe shown in #21.

He walks forward knowing nothing but with great intuition. Red shoes will guide him along the river in this magical an unique journey, which is the journey of life, the journey of all of us.

Donau's Journey prints for sale

ABOUT
Donau's Journey (El viaje de Donau) is not only a journey along the wise river but also a journey through all of our lives, from biological birth all the way to the sea, with many surprises along the way. Donau's Journey takes the form of the classic game "El juego de la oca" and it's more than a just board game. I used the goose game structure as a geometrical base for numerology, links between squares and relationships everywhere. And it can be used for play as well!

Myriad details wait to be discovered, some more hidden than others. Maybe you can feel for yourself the meaning of each square. This has been quite a personal project and at the same time an explanation of my vision of the Cosmos.

"The highest artistic aspiration is the creation of a one's own universe with one's own aesthetic, symbology and ideas."


THE PROCESS
I saw and admired a version by Rafael Alberti in Reina Sofía museum many years ago. I've always wanted to do something similar and finally started to put ideas together in April 2016. This new creation was growing quite fast and a huge quantity of inspiration came to me both day and night. I was fully focused on this project in April and May 2017 in order to complete it. I was too immersed in this fascinating and crazy river. Now, June 2017, it's complete!



It was done using mainly Rotring Isograph with Rotring ink and watercolors for the drawings and pencils for some details. Fountain pen for the text. Of course all hand done. No tech applied.

Update January 2018: I'm happy to introduce Donau's Journey version in English.

The difference with the original print is not only the language but also the enriched frame.
It's printed in high quality vergé paper 160g/m2. Here some photos of the final print:

I'm much happier with this print quality and paper than the previous one therefore I highly recommend the English version.

Every print is hand signed.

SHIPPING
Worldwide shipping
Shippings on Tuesdays and Fridays
Delivery in paperboard tubes 75 cm long


PAYMENT

Price:
Spanish version: 70 EUR  NOT AVAILABLE

English version: 85 EUR 

Shipping and taxes included.

Paypal payment. To be confirmed later in the next step.
Buy English version here:

Please send me an email for any question: naranjacorreo@gmail.com
Many thanks for reading this page.

Fully digitalized

I can't believe I can say it! Two days ago I completed this project. It was starting to go too crazy because during several hours every day I was full focused on it. It invaded my mind so deeply it visited me during nights and dreams too.

More details soon.

Inks in use

These are the inks I'm using currently. There were chosen in order to match with my notebook style. After years I manage to use them properly and find myself confortable with these tones. My fountain pens love them.

However they are not waterproof and I wonder if I could find similar colors in waterproof brands. Soon I will post a video testing these ink with water. Horrible results.

My atelier is the real world

My current notebook together with the last one.

One of the great points of keeping a notebook is the portability. I don't need a wardrobe full of writing tools, big easel or a studio. I can write in a terrace, in a mountain, in the bed and in the train. But nor under the rain.

My atelier is the real world.

2050. Asteroid Museum

In 2050, 30 years after its discovery, the mysterious half-carved stone was taken from its far orbit and brought to the Earth. Even the wisest still don’t know if it’s a product of nature or alien made. Is nature able to create this smooth surface and regular shape? Obviously yes, and even more complex geometries we can find in Earth. Nobody can imagine what's outside. However something else was carved on this asteroid. Maybe random. Biologists, religious and philosophers debate about the weird symbols found on the surface:

1.) A triangle.

2.) our rods with look like a four digits abacus.

3.) A kind of stain.

But I can find a link...

Proposal of modification for Sevilla

I've heard there are not 7 Eleven in Sevilla. I can't imagine that kind of nonsense life with 7 Elevens nearby. Therefore I suggest opening the first one in the most recognized building in the city, La Giralda.

Just minor modifications. It's time now since the last one were some centuries ago. They will love it.

My very first notebook

I keep all the notebooks and paintings from the school. Lucky me. Actually I keep many memories from my childhood including toys and photos. This one was made the first day of school when I had rarely picked up a pen. Probably the teacher didn't have the proper dots guided letters notebooks for kids and she invented that temporary solution.

The result is a weird thing. Look at these chains of "2"! Apparently it's a disaster but when looking at these pages in deep I find a kind of natural freedom trying to adapt to the new rules.

And it's orange! Well, it was more orange before time tested it.

Game of the goose shop in Paris

I found this shop a couple of years ago in Paris but I was not too involved in that game during that time. I came back to Paris now and I looked for this shop specifically and I found it thanks to GPS position in the photo I took the other time. Well, more or less, but I finally found it.

Nowadays I'm full dedicated to my personal project about Game of the goose, which I should choose a name for. The shop is full of old versions, all of them handmade by the owner based on the original games. Fascinating. This level of quality provides a great feeling. The book attached is a great plus Inspiration.

Here I show how is going with my own work. Draft to be finished soon:

Sennelier, Paris

Located in the other side of Senna river, in front of Louvre. Maybe the outside says nothing to the eyes and certainly the window is so simple and (apparently) careless. But wait to see inside. It's exactly the old style I'd like for a studio with all these wooden drawers and shelves. Every year of its long history is doing the atmosphere better and better.

In the second floor there are plenty of choices for drawing. I was surprised by the variety of Japanese fine tools, not easy to find in real shops by there.

Bangkok in my mind

No matter how many times I go to Bangkok, when it comes to my mind I always remember these concrete ways in several levels and colorful taxis.

Well, recently I also visualize mango sticky rice and some tropical fruits. I don't need to say I miss Bangkok a lot.

Paris sights

People looking at Eiffel Tower.

Here some photos from my last visit to Paris. The world is going crazy. I always say the time for tourist places is gone. All sights are full of people everywhere and the experience when visiting them is always the same.

Avoid places with tickets windows and buses.

People looking at Notre Dame.

People looking at Mona Lisa. 

People looking at Mona Lisa.

People looking at Venus de Milo.

Chinatown in Bangkok

I was happy to discover this Chinese bubble in the middle of Bangkok.

Crowd, gold shops and street food in everywhere. It's cock year now and I couldn't resist to buy a couple of Chinese New Year envelopes together other similar stuff.

Yes, reliable bag

After two and a half months of traveling with my new bag I can write down the conclusion of the experiment: ORANGE TEST PASSED.

38 liter capacity is a little big for my current requirements. Maybe 33 liter could fix much better. Anyways its quality looks reliable enough when considering this kind of bags for light packing.

And it's turquoise-green.

Saigon: Motorbike culture

If one thing comes to ti mind when I remember Ho Chi Minh is the motorbikes. Not just traffic with full of them but rivers of scooters filling the road... and the sidewalks! As crazy as fascinating.

Btw, I loved Ho Chi Minh. A great discovery of nice, polite and elegant people, with good manners. A lot to learn from Vietnamese culture.

Field Notes after 2.5 months of use: Unbreakable

This Field Notes Expedition edition after a two and a half months trip. Everyday in my pocket for fast notes. It's almost unbreakable. It's supposed to be waterproof and other crazy-proof. The thin notebook is perfect for the pocket and replace my usual little organizer for travels (mainly because of the thickness).

Writing on such a plastic surface is weird.  Only a few pens can be used, for example ball pens.

Next time I will experiment with a similar format but filled with my dear vergè paper, a pleasure to write on it. Probably it will not last this long but maybe it ages in a beautiful way.

About nomadic life

Ah, the nomadic life… (note necessarily me). What a fascinating lifestyle it is. Easy and appealing. It hooks. 

No ties to belongings, contracts or bills. He walks light, just a few kilograms in quantity of 6 or 8, plus what he wears, which allows him to move forward easily, almost in an ethereal way. He takes the advantages from each place and discards the bad ones. He takes the flowers and misses the thorns. He enjoys optimizing the luggage and even creates a a new words to describe that feeling. He didn’t find that word yet but probably it woulds ends as “-tisfaction”. He knows the value of magical technology and allows it to take some grams in his bag. Doing like that applies also to life. We are here just temporary and it’s better go light. Belongings will not come with us, actually they will become dust eventually. 

I add something: Being nomadic is not needed all the time. Actually it fatigues a little.

Ah, the dollar... Mickey doesn't love you!

I had the opportunity to use dollars in Cambodia recently. Having US dollars in the pocket creates feeling which don't happen with other currencies.

US dollar pushes you to spend money. It also gives you a kind of power, even when you carry just a few dollars. It's all about psychology.

Anyways, here I show a tribute to dollar and money in general. A weird entity everybody use but not many people understand. Meaning of money now is so different from some decades ago since it's not just a value keeping but a complex system of rights and taxes. However it remains the same in people's mind. Maybe it's because notes in paper are the same.

And yes, again: Mickey Mouse is not your friend. He doesn't love you!

Eyes: A window to the Cosmos

Fascinating eyes. What a complex move in the evolution path. Why eye was created? Some could think (and they do) the final goal of the universe is to be self-conscious. I don't think so even when it's a magic explanation.
Anyways one thing is clear: I can feel the Cosmos is looking at me through the eyes of a wise cat, a calm elephant and more cases. It's all about feeling.

Angkor Wat (ercolor)

Angkor Wat in watercolor style.

Also writing about a new discovery: No head Buddha. Negative thinking? Practice no head. No thinking at all! I guess it's my favorite Buddha from now on. Better even the laying Buddha.