Lapin describes himself as a mobile illustrator, recording his entire life in drawings.
Lapin is a French artist who lives in Barcelona. In the last 19 years he has filled around 200 sketch pads with drawings.
He tends to draw in vintage accounting books that he finds at antiques fairs.
He has been participating in the Urban Sketchers community from the start, teaching the art of drawing to master’s degree students at the Elisava University in Barcelona, and he was appointed official aviation and space painter for the French armed forces in 2019.
He has published 30 books about Barcelona, Paris, Japan, Cuba, and many other subjects.
The “mobile illustrator” is in his element as he travels through the Alentejo landscape.
Tell us something you saw that you had never seen before.
Watching glossy ibises and herons at sunset during the boat trip on the Tagus was unmissable. I was not expecting to see those birds in the wild in Europe.
What was the greatest challenge of this experience? And the greatest reward?
The greatest challenge was capturing so many places in such a short period of time. This forced me to draw faster than normal, not checking my work as much while trusting my intuition. I know I will have to revisit some of these places, since I left a lot of drawings behind...
Was there a particular meal that stuck in your memory?
My favourite dish was a tomato soup - simple, but so flavourful. I could return to the Alentejo just for that soup. During the same meal I also ate "Monte da Vinha" cheese; another unforgettable experience. It was so good!
What was your favourite moment during this journey?
There were many intense moments during this trip, such as drawing the Elvas cityscape at dawn, admiring the incredible Monsaraz panorama, and spending the night in Castelo de Vide. But the most intense moment was seeing the mares running in the fields when we visited Alter Real. I will always remember the sound and dust made by all those horses running in front of us.
