Lesser Known Waifu #5 - Adriana (Fighter Destiny 2)

Fifth in my "Lesser Known Waifu" series, here is Adriana, the Brazilan dancing-fighter from Fighter Destiny 2, a Nintendo 64 exclusive fighting game with lot of style, unique scoring system and a banging soundtrack and very unique characters.

Adriana is unfortunately very little known, but I liked her a lot the moment I saw her many years ago, when I was still a wee lad, and I decided that it was time to have her shine.

The idea behing that painting is that Adriana is entering into the Brazilan fighting stage by doing some acrobatics, so this artwork captures her as she is performing her entrance and she looks at her opponent.

She does not do that in-game, but I wanted to make her do something unique, because this artworks sub-series of mine needs the characters in unique stances and poses.

I also noticed that she is not sporting feathers on her hat but petals, but it was too late I already finished working on her - I went by memory lol.

This one took me 2 DAYS because of the goddamn vegetation - I am very slow at painting vegetation, I always screw up and have to redo some of it (I probably screwed how sunlight color work on palm-trees leaves lol), and the final result I am never satisfied with, but I guess it looks at least passable for a vegetation background.

Paulinho da Viola: Paulinho da Viola (1978)

Paulinho da Viola, like many a Brazilian artists, has a confusing number of eponymous albums to his name (‘The King,’ Roberto Carlos has over 30), this being his fifth by my count, and ninth or tenth overall -- and it was a popular one, by all accounts.

Born Paulo César Batista de Faria, in 1942, da Viola was nicknamed after his instrument of choice in the 1960s, whilst a member of the samba group A Voz do Morro, and he later struck solo fame in the ‘70s, staking his claim as a purist of the form, yet a vibrant and vital one, at that.

This LP from ‘78, then, sought to reinforce that reputation, starting with the hand-made guitar celebrated all over its gatefold sleeve and copy that relates the magical process by which a tree donates the wood out of which music will one day emerge, etc.

It continues with a series of textbook sambas, guaranteed to get the feet moving, in “Sentimento Perdido” (“Lost Feeling”), “Uma História Diferente” (“A Different Story”), and an enduring standard in “Coração Leviano” (“Frivolous Heart”).

Paulinho also takes a gentle swipe at the Portela samba school’s stagnant politics with “Atravessou” (listen for the sweet cuíca), acknowledges the choro revival of the late ‘70s with “Sarau para Radamés,” and welcomes samba great Monarco for a duet on the oft-recorded “Miudinho.”

Finally, Paulinho lends his soothing voice (a legacy of the bossa nova tradition, I think) to subtler fare like “Sofrer,” “Pelos Vinte” and the jazzy “Nos Horizontes do Mundo,” ensuring there’s a little something for everyone on this LP.

Though his hit-making days are now largely past, Paulinho da Viola is still revered as a a living legend of Brazilian popular music, and continues to reside in Rio, where he performed the national anthem for the 2016 Olympics.

Balance is not an exercise of symmetry; it is an exercise of letting go.

Inspired by the wonderful Thamires Mattos.

Artist Sean Kitt:

www.seankitt.com

www.seankitt.tumblr.com

www.instagram.com/sean_kitt

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