In the last times, pebbles painted with drawings or messages on the beach of Cepães, in Esposende, have attracted the attention of those who have been passing by. And there have been many admirers of that art that have shared photographs on social networks. The discreet “PGP” signature on the stones is by Pedro Gomes Pato, an artist from Barcelos, who through art conveys his environmental concern.
“I did that in order to get a message across”, begins by telling O MINHO. “I’m an interventionist. Nothing passes me by: social problems, environmental problems. And I think that, as I get older, I become more aware of things. I am not an extremist or a radical environmentalist, what I want is to minimize my impact here on earth. I can’t help seeing a plastic on the beach and not catching it, because I know that when the tide comes, it will take it to the sea ”, he adds.
Photo: Fátima Lemos
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Pedro Gomes Pato is a painter and, since 2014, a tattoo artist, with a shop on Rua Tenente Valadim, in Barcelos. Multipurpose artist, he is also a drummer and a veteran of the Barcelean rock scene, where he integrated bands such as Urbanus and Barulhos do Cheiro. Right now, he is working on a home solo project where he plays bass. “As I like to write poetry, I write lyrics and I am composing some themes that, one day, I hope to have some friends to accompany me”, reveals in a conversation with O MINHO.
Photo: Pedro Gomes Pato
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Photo: Pedro Gomes Pato
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Regarding painted pebbles, which have caused a sensation, the artist says that he has “a lot of habit of going to the beach to reflect”, especially “more isolated” beaches with “a lot of stone”, as is Cepães. And then the idea came up: “Why not leave some messages here? Because, if not for the year, people will come here, this will fill up and they will start to see them ”.
In addition to the “more environmentalist messages”, Pedro Gomes Pato also likes to put “poetry” on the stones. Their interest is that whoever finds them reflects and gains environmental awareness.
Photo: Pedro Gomes Pato
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Photo: Pedro Gomes Pato
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Photo: Pedro Gomes Pato
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Photo: Pedro Gomes Pato
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He also makes drawings on the pebbles, hoping that people will take them home and ask themselves “who is the artist”. “I’ve been to the beach three or four times and left several [pedras pintadas]. People will take the drawings, the messages people will read ”, he points out.
Photo: Pedro Gomes Pato
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“When I made the pebbles, I did it for everyone. Whoever wants to take, takes. It’s like my spirit tells me. I want to arrive next summer and that people have a lot to discover there. It will be funny to see people trying to find a drawing of mine ”, anticipates Pedro Gomes Pato, admitting that it was“ a surprise ”the many reactions that the painted pebbles caused.
Assiduous presence on Cepães beach, Pedro Gomes Pato also gives wings to his creativity in other ways, as in sculpture, recreating the figure of the thinker with stones, which has always given him a “good feedback”.
Photo: Pedro Gomes Pato
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Photo: Pedro Gomes Pato
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Photo: Pedro Gomes Pato
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“People stop and take pictures and when they catch me doing they congratulate me. On social networks there was also a good feedback through my publications. I like to show what I do ”, says the multi-faceted artist, who on his trips to the beach also has the habit of picking up trash. “I’ve already picked up more than a ton in a year, alone, on one-hour rides.”
Photo: Pedro Luís Silva / O MINHO
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In relation to the pebbles, assuming that “it is not an idea that is exclusive”, he intends to continue to make “people reflect”. “I will continue, because my way of trying to transmit things to people is through art. Whether I’m good or bad, I do what I feel ”, he concludes.
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