Some italian friends organized the amazing Bicycle Film Festival of Firenze and they asked me to do a drawing for an exhibition related, obviously, with bicycles. This "Amedeo's Dream" has been my contribution. I know, it certainly requires an explanation, and here it is:
A few years ago I lived in a small street near the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. One of my neighbors was an old man in love with two things: his bicycle and his pet, a very small dog called Amedeo. Fulfilling both passions, he made a sidecar for Amedeo on his own and attached it to his bicycle.
He's been riding his bike with the small dog for years, becoming quite a celebrity in the neighborhood. But the real question is: Does Amedeo enjoy the rides? Well, if you happen to spot the couple riding the bicycle with the hand-made sidecar, you'll be probably puzzled by Amedeo's look. The dog would be seriously focused on riding, evidently not concerned by peeing or any other trivial matters. Entertaining the image in my mind, I figured that Amedeo might not only enjoy riding, but also dream of being a professional cyclist, winning some stages of the Tour or the Giro d'Italia, even becoming a legend of cycling.
In the drawing I portrayed the climax of Amedeo's dream, going down a hill very fast, with all neighbors waiting for and cheering him on the sidewalks, encouraging the legendary dog and shouting his name.
As you've seen, the man, the dog and the hand-made sidecar are real. Can you imagine? The only fiction is the name of the dog: its real name is Amadeu, catalan for Amedeo.
For the BFF I also made this crazy thing of a killer koala riding a bicycle:
Later, I thought maybe such a crazy idea was a bit too much (I need to control my passion for disturbed animals), and I made this censored version which pleased my friends of the BFF:
