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September 2025

- The Soul of Art -

In the beginning, it was pure pleasure. When I painted my first picture outdoors in nature in 1978, I immediately discovered my passion for this form of painting. While travelling, I created small watercolours, which I – stamped like postcards – sent to my friends.

Every now and then, I dreamed of giving my art more time and space. But painting remained a hobby for a long time – until the summer of 1992 in Odeceixe. When my holiday was coming to an end, but my holiday budget was running low, I had the idea of selling my paintings. I took a chance and painted what I saw before me: the coast, the beach, the striking Penedo rock and the steep cliff face at Seixe, whose white cap gave it the name 'Ponte em Branca.' The exhibition in Toy's small beach bar was a resounding success: the paintings sold quickly and there was great demand for motifs of the 'white tip.'

The following year, I painted the cliff face again and again – twelve times in parallel, in fact, by placing the blocks next to each other and repeating stroke by stroke. A clever idea? Perhaps. But suddenly the unexpected happened: I lost not only my enjoyment of the motif, but also my zest to paint at all. After these twelve paintings, I felt empty and unmotivated. The following year, I took my painting supplies back to Odexeice, but in all the weeks I spent on the beach, I only produced one painting. It was not until a year later that my zest to paint returned – cautiously, hesitantly, but free of any commercial considerations. I sensed that thinking in terms of sales figures was detrimental to my artistic soul.

And yet – wouldn't it be nice to be able to make a living from what I really enjoy doing? In 1998, I had a brilliant idea. My new girlfriend Monika worked in a photo lab, and I asked her if my delicate watercolours could be reproduced. "Maybe – I'll give it a try," she encouraged me. At that time, there were no scanners; the pictures had to be photographed, and the colours and contrasts had to be finely tuned. I eagerly awaited the result – and when I saw the first reproductions, it was clear: this was the way forward. These initial attempts gave rise to an idea that soon changed my life: MAJOBA – art full of joie de vivre, founded in 2004. What began as a game had now become a way of life. To this day, the reproductions give me the freedom to paint wherever my desire and curiosity take me – and at the same time the joy that my favourite motifs can live on and reach many people.

This is how the soul of my art remains alive: carried by passion, nourished by memories, shared in images that tell new stories over and over again.

> order magnetic bookmark motif  'Evening by the Sea'

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