João Catarino lives in the city where he grew up, Carcavelos, very close to the sea and the beach where surfing gained popularity among the Portuguese. With illustration as one of his main activities, as well as his profession, surfing and drawing turned out to be an inevitable combination. 

He was pleased that, as an Urban Sketcher, he became the host and guide of Californian Suhita Shirodkar during the stage of the Sketch Tour Portugal that featured surfing. The desire to show the best waves of the Portuguese coast was an enriching experience and an opportunity to revisit places from a new perspective, letting himself be infected by the fascination and by the close and always interested attention of Suhita.

"With the diversity and contrasting landscapes that switch between Mediterranean and Atlantic features, which we see changing within a few kilometres when crossing a mountain range or an estuary, Portugal, being a relatively small country, seems to have a broader dimension, given the variety that is perfect for this type of itinerary. (…)Sometimes it is through the experience and the vision felt by someone who’s visiting us that we are better able to perceive what a privilege it is to be able to live and travel in Portugal.” 

Praia dos Coxos, Ericeira

Praia de Santa Cruz, Torres Vedras


Praia Supertubos, Peniche


Praia do Baleal, Peniche


Nazaré


Alcácer do Sal


Praia do Carvalhal, Windmills


Praia da Galé


Praia de São Torpes, Sines


Porto Covo


Vila Nova de Milfontes


Praia da Costa da Caparica

João Catarino has a degree in communication design from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Lisbon (FBAUL), where he teaches illustration in the free courses of the Centre for Research and Studies in Fine Arts. He also teaches illustration and communication design at the  Caldas da Rainha College of Art and Design, part of the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria. He was a drawing student at the Centre for Art and Visual Communication (AR.CO), where he became a drawing teacher in 1995.  

His working life has been spent in illustration, and his work has been published in the leading Portuguese media, particularly the press and television.

He has been a trainer in several Urban Sketchers’ international symposiums and his work in travel notebooks has been presented several times in secondary schools, universities and other institutions. It can be seen in some national and international publications in this area.

Blog: www.desenhosdodia.blogspot.com