 A rather fitting table ornamentation at Butter Corner café, Bankstown, Sydney, given that the character is from a film about creative burnout. (Photo: by Author) Okay. So, I’ve mostly been stuck under a cloud for the past quarter (Q3) and not really “achieving” much of anything. Apart, of course, from virtually running myself into the ground with attempting to post a 3-year anniversary blog for each day of the World Youth Day 2023 Lisbon pilgrimage. After a week I could not keep up the envisioned day-by-day schedule, so I pivoted to collecting related days together and posted groups-of-days to reach the final day. Suffice it to say, lesson learnt, not doing that again!  Exterior of the ‘Sistine Chapel Exhibition: Revelations – Sydney 2026’ space on the forecourt of St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney. (Photo: by Author) I have been outside, mostly... Visited the ‘Sistine Chapel Exhibition: Revelations – Sydney 2026’ during its last few days. Been out and about with some folks sporadically. Watched an anniversary screening locally of ‘Spirited Away’ on the big screen, with subtitles. I have also seen ‘Coyote VS ACME’ (twice!), which I can heartily recommend anyone to go see, but I do acknowledge that one’s own enjoyment from it is heavily dependent upon how much you already love Looney Tunes. Also, continuing on with the animated-theme, I did go and visit the Ghibli-themed café, Butter Corner (Instagram page), in Bankstown with a fellow artist for a meet-up. Nice vibe and good food, though all too easy to miss on foot. I’d crossed a main road before I realised that I’d walked past it. D’oh! Q3 Blog round-up
Parting notesThe parting video recommendation for this quarterly blog post is the story of a British man who opened a cheese shop in Okinawa, Japan, from the GaijinPot team on YouTube. Enjoy: Well, we will see if I can pull off a 2026 Q4 post or not, but until then a happy 800th Anniversary of the Transitus (Death) of St. Francis of Assisi to you all. Pax. Vincent Cavanagh 4 October 2026 (*8 October 2026 – adding back in paragraph about Butter Corner Café that I missed during the initial publication.) *ALL COMMENTS CLOSED DUE TO SPAM*
Yes, it’s been a long time between posts. Not helped by a self-inflicted depressive mood caused in part by the marathon that was uploading the WYD Lisbon 3-Year Anniversary posts. Yeah, not likely to do that again. So, to break the drought here is a selection of some of the more recent sketches and doodles I’ve made in the past few months.  Some perspective work with a spaceship design. Would most likely be outfitted in orange paintwork. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2026)
Robotic (?) full-face mask, showing the progression from the first draft drawn on a stick-it-note to a more rendered look in the current sketchbook. Although I do prefer the look of the eye-goggles in the post-it-note version. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2026)
Another progression from stick-it-note to sketchbook exploration, this time with an android's head. Both of the sketchbook versions of these two character heads were done from memory and not with the original stick-it-notes in view. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2026)
 Another spaceship, this time in more of a retro science fiction–slash–Flash Gordon–style flavour. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2026)  Rough two-panel sketch of Socket-Head depicting different levels of social interaction dependant on the people he's interacting with. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2026)
Some later sketch developments upon the “Secret Captain Stranger Man” face-mask design. The first one (numbered 3) ended up looking more like a villain with a moustache than the intended hero look. I rectified those issues on the next full mask (numbered 6) by heeding the old dictum “less is more.” (Vincent Cavanagh © 2026)
Vincent Cavanagh 18 September 2026 *ALL COMMENTS CLOSED DUE TO SPAM*
To mark 3 years since going to WYD 2023 Lisbon, I’ll be posting some previously unseen photographs from each day of the pilgrimage. It won’t be anything extensive, but I hope you’ll still join me for the journey. ■ Day 21 Last sight of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary in Fátima, standing out against the early-morning mist / cloud / meteorological phenomenon (I'm not an expert, folks). (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023) Due to COVID-induced travel requirements, the whole of the diocesan pilgrimage was split over three separate departure routes from of Europe: Lisbon, Paris, and Madrid. Myself and the pilgrim small group I was in would soon be on our allotted coach to Madrid. The last ones to leave Fátima, if memory serves—we were definitely the last ones to land back in Sydney at the end of everything.  A very brief refuelling stop for both coach and pilgrims at the CESPA (now Moeve, S.A.) Border Portugal service station on the Spanish-side of the Portugal/Spain border. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023)  Along the highway we passed the walled city of Ávila, home of St Teresa of Ávila, on our way to Madrid. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023)  View from the truly airport-adjacent hotel of the just visible lights of Madrid-Barajas International Airport. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023) ■ Day 22 This mural by the Ecuadorian artist Oswaldo Guayasamín titled "Hispanoamérica", is opposite the platform screen doors in Terminal T4 for the Madrid-Barajas Airport People Mover, which our group took to reach to Terminal T4S (satellite terminal) where our flight was scheduled to depart from that day. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023)  Finally arriving, our flight to take us from Madrid to Doha, Qatar, for our connection home to Australia. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023)
■ Day 23 Hardly warm, but familiar and comforting, and appreciated, refreshment in the car after getting through the International Arrivals gauntlet (as a first-timer) at Sydney Airport in the late evening. Vincent Cavanagh © 2023 Post scriptum Thank you to those who joined me on this—rather foolish—endeavour of marking and reliving three years on the pilgrimage to World Youth Day 2023 Lisbon. I think it safe (if not more so for my own sanity) to say that this is where I leave buried the memory of WYD Lisbon and let the grass of time take over the disturbed soil beneath. I leave the future memory-making to the younger ones in the Body of Christ. Pax, Vincent Cavanagh 10 August 2026 *ALL COMMENTS CLOSED DUE TO SPAM*
To mark 3 years since going to WYD 2023 Lisbon, I’ll be posting some previously unseen photographs from each day of the pilgrimage. It won’t be anything extensive, but I hope you’ll still join me for the journey. ■ Day 16 One of the two large tarpaulins used to mark territory for the diocese that I helped guard with diocese’s Advance Team. It later transpired that this tarpaulin was to be for the Under 18s part of the pilgrimage cohort. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023)  Pope Francis arriving on the WYD Lisbon Vigil Stage/Altar, with (then) Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, Archbishop Manuel Clemente, to the left of frame already seated. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023)  A vista of Tetris-packed WYD pilgrims after the Eucharistic Vigil presided over by Pope Francis. If offered, I think myself and a few others would have gladly used a BB Gun or similar to take out the Vigil Site floodlights. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023) ■ Day 17 Sunrise over the Tejo River. A word to the wise, never say to yourself “I don't want to see the sun rise.” Because, from experience, doing so seems to all but guarantee that you will see it. And if you think that you'll get some sleep during the WYD Vigil night, with the constant floodlighting over the whole Vigil site?--Fuhgeddaboutit! (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023)  Sunlight breaking over weary WYD pilgrims and the Vasco da Gama Bridge, Lisbon, as Fr Guilherme Peixoto continues his DJ set for the morning. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023)
Vincent Cavanagh 5 August 2026 *ALL COMMENTS CLOSED DUE TO SPAM*
To mark 3 years since going to WYD 2023 Lisbon, I’ll be posting some previously unseen photographs from each day of the pilgrimage. It won’t be anything extensive, but I hope you’ll still join me for the journey. ■ Day 12 Wall mural by Pedro Das Neves in the inner courtyard (or whatever it’s correctly called) of the Iberostar Selection Lisboa hotel, our accommodation for World Youth Day Week in Lisbon. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023)  Iberian glazed-tile (azulejo) artwork depicting Spring (Portuguese: Primavera) on the opposite, City-bound platform at Saldanha Metro station. Our pilgrim group were waiting on the suburb-bound platform for the metro service that would take us most of the way to the Gathering of Australian Pilgrims in Lisbon. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023) ■ Day 13 Sharing some Portuguese pastries and sweet delicacies after dinner, on the cobbles next to the foreshore of the Tejo River things, not far from the Duke of Terceira monument. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023) ■ Day 14 Sourcing another night’s dinner (dumplings in this case) from a hole-in-the-wall kitchen marked on the WYD Pilgrim App’s map as validating Pilgrim Meal Vouchers. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023) ■ Day 15 A more traditional azulejo tile-work on the wall of the Coléginho de Santo-Antão-o-Velho (College chapel of St Anthony) where our third Rise-Up Catechesis was held. Thankfully indoors and out of the blazing sun! (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023) Vincent Cavanagh 1 August 2026 *ALL COMMENTS CLOSED DUE TO SPAM*
To mark 3 years since going to WYD 2023 Lisbon, I’ll be posting some previously unseen photographs from each day of the pilgrimage on their respective days. It won’t be anything extensive, but I hope you’ll still join me for the journey. Nota bene Much like how the pilgrimage in 2023 took more out of me than expected, this digital reminiscence has likewise taken a lot more out of me than I first thought. So, to lessen the self-imposed workload and prevent myself from totally going under, I will be grouping shared-location days together in single blog posts and publishing them on the anniversary of first day in each group. Moving forward this will mean fewer individual 3rd Anniversary posts but those same posts will be longer than the previous single-day posts. Thank you for your understand. ~ VJC ■ Day 9
 View of the Apostolic Palace from inside St Peter’s Square, Vatican City, Rome. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023) ■ Day 10 Half of the wooden model of the Colosseum by Carlo Lucangeli on display, behind glass, inside the Colosseum itself. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023)  The body of St Robert Bellarmine, SJ, a major figure in the (Catholic) Counter-Reformation, laid to rest under a side altar on the right side of the Church of St Ignatius of Loyola at Campus Martius, Rome, next to his student St Aloysius Gonzaga, SJ, as Bellarmine had wished. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023) ■ Day 11[Video] An impromptu performance of the sea shanty ‘Wellerman’ by Fr Samuel French and assorted World Youth Day pilgrims as we all waited for our flight from Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport to Lisbon, Portugal, to arrive at the terminal gate. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023)  Touchdown in Lisbon. View from the window of the airport bus as it took us from our arrived flight, past other aircraft, and on towards the main terminal building of Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023) Vincent Cavanagh 28 July 2026 *ALL COMMENTS CLOSED DUE TO SPAM*
To mark 3 years since going to WYD 2023 Lisbon, I’ll be posting some previously unseen photographs from each day of the pilgrimage on their respective days. It won’t be anything extensive, but I hope you’ll still join me for the journey. ■ Day 8 Morning Mass in the Chapel of Frate Leone of the Papal Basilica and Sacred Convent of St Francis in Assisi, before our pilgrimage departed Assisi. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023) [Video] A wonderful, coin-operated, animated Nativity scene tucked away in one of the old streets of Cascia. Please don't ask which street, I don't recall it. I lost my sense of orientation at least three times while we were in Cascia, going up and down steep mountain laneways multiple times. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023)  Standing room only in the cloister of the Monastery of St Rita (formerly St Mary Magdalene, in St Rita's time), Cascia, while hearing the life of St Rita. In the background is the (then dry) vine bush that St Rita tended under obedience to the Mother Superior, who was testing Rita's vocation, and which, after a time, came back to life and bore fruit. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023) Vincent Cavanagh 28 July 2026 *ALL COMMENTS CLOSED DUE TO SPAM*
To mark 3 years since going to WYD 2023 Lisbon, I’ll be posting some previously unseen photographs from each day of the pilgrimage on their respective days. It won’t be anything extensive, but I hope you’ll still join me for the journey. ■ Day 7 [Taken end of Day 6] Bronze relief on the pulpit in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels, Assisi, depicting parts of the life of St Francis of Assisi. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023)  [Taken end of Day 6] View of the Basilica of St Clare from the window of the shared hotel room in Assisi. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023)  [Day 7] Bronze statues of Pietro di Bernardone and Pica di Bourlemont, the parents of St Francis of Assisi, by the Viterbo sculptor Roberto Joppolo outside the Chiesa Nuova, Assisi, which was built atop St Francis' family home, as our Assisi tour guide Eduardo Antonio told us how his own life mirrors that of Pietro. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023) Vincent Cavanagh 27 July 2026 To mark 3 years since going to WYD 2023 Lisbon, I’ll be posting some previously unseen photographs from each day of the pilgrimage on their respective days. It won’t be anything extensive, but I hope you’ll still join me for the journey. ■ Day 6 Inlaid marble mosaic The She-Wolf Suckling Romulus and Remus (1360s, reconstructed by Leopold Maccari in 1865) on the nave floor of the Metropolitan Cathedral of St Mary of the Assumption, Siena, surrounded by emblems of major Italian cities. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2026)  View of the Piazza del Campo, Siena, as the split-for-lunch group started investigating places to find food. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023)  I cannot stress how much of a life-saver gelato was during the Italian part of our pilgrimage. Forget the calories and just have it to keep yourself cool and not keeling over in the Mediterranean heat. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023) Vincent Cavanagh 26 July 2026 *ALL COMMENTS CLOSED DUE TO SPAM*
To mark 3 years since going to WYD 2023 Lisbon, I’ll be posting some previously unseen photographs from each day of the pilgrimage on their respective days. It won’t be anything extensive, but I hope you’ll still join me for the journey. ■ Day 5
 More fool me for ordering the pizza for lunch and not expecting it to be as large as it ended up being. In hindsight, it was probably what kept me upright for the rest of the day until we returned to our accommodation on the outskirts of central Florence. Grazie molto! (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023)
Vincent Cavanagh 25 July 2026 *ALL COMMENTS CLOSED DUE TO SPAM*
|
News and Other StuffAbout recent artwork, inspirations and other things I find interesting. Archives
October 2026
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
All artwork and images on this website (unless stated otherwise) are the property of Vincent Cavanagh and cannot be used without his permission.
|
Social Links
|
Powered by Weebly
|