I ran into a DJ here in Sao Paulo yesterday named Hisato who handed me a new EP from his rock-electro outfit, Hello, Kate!!, called Girls. Even before listening to the songs, I was struck by the incredible hand-done illustration in the liner notes (only an itsy-bitsy part of the actually long, horizontal painting is shown above). It was done by a local artist named Catarina Gushiken, who has her hands deep in illustration and has a direct link to fashion through six years of work as a designer for Brazil’s super-famous Cavalera brand. Richly detailed and painstakingly done in watercolor and ink, each picture shows a clear influence from Japan and is organic in thought and execution. I’ve been complaining that I can’t even draw chicken scratch and it turns out she gives private drawing classes — a great service that I’d love to see more artists offer out of the kindness of their hearts.