This impressive French illustrator born in 1941, was inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame in 2016. Frankly I knew nothing about him at uni, (don’t know why no one mentioned him), but I find his work quite fascinating, interesting, witty and well placed in the history of art. Billout’s irony and colours make his work stand out as being part of a surreal world. Add to this his brilliant technique and you get phenomenal art. He was born in central France, in the city of Decize. He enrolled (1950’s) in advertising classes at the Ecole des Arts Appliqués de Beaune, in the Burgundy region. Later, circa 1962 he relocated to Paris. There he worked for advertising agencies until 1969 when he moved to New York City and began his career as a full time illustrator. In 1969, his entire portfolio was published in the New York Magazine. From there he received assignments from Redbook Magazine, The New York Times, Life, Travel & Leisure, Encyclopaedia Britannica and others… By 2008 his client list was made up of: The Atlantic, The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Oprah, Travel & Leisure, Business Week, Fortune, Time, and many others. Billout also published several books…
This is a phenomenal illustrator and I truly encourage you to look further into his work, if you are interested in illustrating, or if you are simply a lover of good art…
Bueno, sinceramente no me importa ni me interesa. Somos artesanos. Hacemos lo que tenemos que hacer para “hacer” arte, pero terminamos reproduciendo y rehaciendo lo que ya se hizo. Y eso no importa porque el arte no tiene que ser original.
Hoy en día están tratando de destruir el arte de los artistas comparándola con “arte”, o cosas, hechas por robots, ordenadores y animales.
Hoy en día se eleva el arte conceptual a niveles que no se merece.
Hoy en día están virando todo al revés pero la vida se vive al derecho.
This impressive French illustrator born in 1941, was inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame in 2016. Frankly I knew nothing about him at uni, (don’t know why no one mentioned him), but I find his work quite fascinating, interesting, witty and well placed in the history of art. Billout’s irony and colours make his work stand out as being part of a surreal world. Add to this his brilliant technique and you get phenomenal art. He was born in central France, in the city of Decize. He enrolled (1950’s) in advertising classes at the Ecole des Arts Appliqués de Beaune, in the Burgundy region. Later, circa 1962 he relocated to Paris. There he worked for advertising agencies until 1969 when he moved to New York City and began his career as a full time illustrator. In 1969, his entire portfolio was published in the New York Magazine. From there he received assignments from Redbook Magazine, The New York Times, Life, Travel & Leisure, Encyclopaedia Britannica and others… By 2008 his client list was made up of: The Atlantic, The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Oprah, Travel & Leisure, Business Week, Fortune, Time, and many others. Billout also published several books…
This is a phenomenal illustrator and I truly encourage you to look further into his work, if you are interested in illustrating, or if you are simply a lover of good art…
(Coexistence?/Francisco Bravo Cabrera/All Rights Reserved)
During biblical times, and earlier, what is today called Gaza was Philistia. The Philistines were peoples from the coasts of the Aegean Sea. But through that narrow place between the Mediterranean and the Sinai Desert, many tribes and civilizations have passed. The Persians, the Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Greeks, and the Romans. During the Byzantine Empire, the Gaza Strip was Christianised and became a center of learning, wisdom and cultural expansion. It was not until the year 637 A.D. that Muslim armies captured Gaza and annexed it to the Rashidun Caliphate, which began the Arabization of the strip. They imposed Islam, and the Arabs mixed with the existing population.
From 1517 to 1917, Gaza was part of the Ottoman Empire. At that time, Arabs, Christians, and Jews coexisted in Gaza peacefully. From 1917 to 1948, Gaza was administered by the British government. In 1948, immediately after the creation of the state of Israel, Egypt attacked, and Gaza became territory administered by the Egyptian army; the strip was officially created and declared a territorial zone added but separate from Egypt. In 1967, Israel was attacked by the armies of an Arab coalition, composed of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Syria. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) defeated all the Arab armies and conquered the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. This was the so-called “Six-Day War.”
It should be noted that Israel, after the Six-Day War, took control of Gaza, as they had won it in battle, and began to modernise it. They built roads, electrical networks, water systems, schools, hospitals, and all the other necessities of a civilized society. This greatly benefited the local Muslims (the so-called Palestinians). Furthermore, they were able to seek employment and improve their lives in Israel. This lasted until 1994, when, following the Oslo Accords, Gaza came under the control of the Palestinian National Authority. With international assistance from USAID, the EU, Japan, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, roads, hospitals, schools, and water treatment plants continued to be constructed in the strip.
Then in 2007 Hamas arrived. This terrorist group rejects the legitimacy of the State of Israel. They believe only in armed resistance and have vowed to fight until the Jewish state has disappeared. Ever since they were formed in 1987 they have declared that «Israel exists and will continue to exist until Islam destroys it». They consider that Palestine is the historical area that was named Palestine by the Romans after they expelled the Jews and destroyed the Temple. They consider the entire area Islamic territory, which they call the “waqf” (the inalienable). Hamas completely rejects any solution that is not «total liberation» of Palestine. They do not recognise the Oslo Accords nor any direct negotiation with Israel.
From its origins, Hamas has carried out thousands of suicide attacks against Israel as well as uncountable rocket attacks on to Israeli territory, as well as other terrorist actions against Israeli objectives. Their motto is armed resistance and that is their principal way of negotiating. They indoctrinate their children and force radical Islamic ideas into their heads. From early childhood the are taught the creed that Israel must be destroyed. Hamas has the people of Gaza that might not be in agreement with their ways under a strict Islamic dictatorship. They use their population as human shields, including women, the elderly and children. The cycle of indoctrination commences with the very young, then becomes more aggressive with adolescents until they are ready to become guerrilla terrorists or suicide bombers. Once they have died in their criminal act, they are converted into martyrs and money is given to their families. This has been the reality ever since Hamas has been governing Gaza. How can Israel, or any other country live next to such neighbours?
On the 7th of October of 2023 Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza. They murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 others, converting them into hostages. They were taken to Gaza. By June of 2025 they had only released 148 of the hostages and at the same time re-patriated the bodies of 56 dead ones. Note that on the very day of the attack, October 7, 75 hostages died in captivity. Now there are 50 hostages still imprisoned by Hamas but it is believed that only 20 are alive. Why don’t they talk about this genocide in the news media here in Europe and in the US? Why don’t they accuse Hamas of crimes against humanity? And if they want to accept that this is a war, why do they not acuse Hamas of war crimes and demand ther immediate arrest of their leaders?
What is the result of all this horror caused by a terrorist organization that Europe wants to recognize as a legitimate government? The result is that Israel will finally do what is right, what is indicated, and what is necessary. Not only for peace in the region but for the well-being of the Muslim citizens who currently occupy Gaza. It seems disgusting to me to see how the news broadcasts in my country (Spain) have become the voice of a terrorist group and daily spew Hamas propaganda. The Palestinian people (if such a people exists; let’s say they do) deserve peace just as much as the Israeli people. But there is no peace without coexistence and respect. Israel built everything that was beautiful and useful in Gaza. Hamas is the one that has destroyed it. Let them stop deceiving us.
And since I was asked to write about Gaza, here it is, and what I said is my opinion, but based on historical facts, not on pro-Palestinian propaganda, which in summary is propaganda pro-Hamas. I am not affiliated with any political party, nor do I lean in any direction, neither to the right nor to the left. I am a free thinker who studies, researches, and does not get carried away.
Somewhere on the shores of the Aegean Sea, today, Monday, August 11, 2025.
(Coexistence?/Francisco Bravo Cabrera/All Rights Reserved)
During biblical times, and earlier, what is today called Gaza was Philistia. The Philistines were peoples from the coasts of the Aegean Sea. But through that narrow place between the Mediterranean and the Sinai Desert, many tribes and civilizations have passed. The Persians, the Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Greeks, and the Romans. During the Byzantine Empire, the Gaza Strip was Christianised and became a center of learning, wisdom and cultural expansion. It was not until the year 637 A.D. that Muslim armies captured Gaza and annexed it to the Rashidun Caliphate, which began the Arabization of the strip. They imposed Islam, and the Arabs mixed with the existing population.
From 1517 to 1917, Gaza was part of the Ottoman Empire. At that time, Arabs, Christians, and Jews coexisted in Gaza peacefully. From 1917 to 1948, Gaza was administered by the British government. In 1948, immediately after the creation of the state of Israel, Egypt attacked, and Gaza became territory administered by the Egyptian army; the strip was officially created and declared a territorial zone added but separate from Egypt. In 1967, Israel was attacked by the armies of an Arab coalition, composed of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Syria. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) defeated all the Arab armies and conquered the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. This was the so-called “Six-Day War.”
It should be noted that Israel, after the Six-Day War, took control of Gaza, as they had won it in battle, and began to modernise it. They built roads, electrical networks, water systems, schools, hospitals, and all the other necessities of a civilized society. This greatly benefited the local Muslims (the so-called Palestinians). Furthermore, they were able to seek employment and improve their lives in Israel. This lasted until 1994, when, following the Oslo Accords, Gaza came under the control of the Palestinian National Authority. With international assistance from USAID, the EU, Japan, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, roads, hospitals, schools, and water treatment plants continued to be constructed in the strip.
Then in 2007 Hamas arrived. This terrorist group rejects the legitimacy of the State of Israel. They believe only in armed resistance and have vowed to fight until the Jewish state has disappeared. Ever since they were formed in 1987 they have declared that «Israel exists and will continue to exist until Islam destroys it». They consider that Palestine is the historical area that was named Palestine by the Romans after they expelled the Jews and destroyed the Temple. They consider the entire area Islamic territory, which they call the “waqf” (the inalienable). Hamas completely rejects any solution that is not «total liberation» of Palestine. They do not recognise the Oslo Accords nor any direct negotiation with Israel.
From its origins, Hamas has carried out thousands of suicide attacks against Israel as well as uncountable rocket attacks on to Israeli territory, as well as other terrorist actions against Israeli objectives. Their motto is armed resistance and that is their principal way of negotiating. They indoctrinate their children and force radical Islamic ideas into their heads. From early childhood the are taught the creed that Israel must be destroyed. Hamas has the people of Gaza that might not be in agreement with their ways under a strict Islamic dictatorship. They use their population as human shields, including women, the elderly and children. The cycle of indoctrination commences with the very young, then becomes more aggressive with adolescents until they are ready to become guerrilla terrorists or suicide bombers. Once they have died in their criminal act, they are converted into martyrs and money is given to their families. This has been the reality ever since Hamas has been governing Gaza. How can Israel, or any other country live next to such neighbours?
On the 7th of October of 2023 Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza. They murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 others, converting them into hostages. They were taken to Gaza. By June of 2025 they had only released 148 of the hostages and at the same time re-patriated the bodies of 56 dead ones. Note that on the very day of the attack, October 7, 75 hostages died in captivity. Now there are 50 hostages still imprisoned by Hamas but it is believed that only 20 are alive. Why don’t they talk about this genocide in the news media here in Europe and in the US? Why don’t they accuse Hamas of crimes against humanity? And if they want to accept that this is a war, why do they not acuse Hamas of war crimes and demand ther immediate arrest of their leaders?
What is the result of all this horror caused by a terrorist organization that Europe wants to recognize as a legitimate government? The result is that Israel will finally do what is right, what is indicated, and what is necessary. Not only for peace in the region but for the well-being of the Muslim citizens who currently occupy Gaza. It seems disgusting to me to see how the news broadcasts in my country (Spain) have become the voice of a terrorist group and daily spew Hamas propaganda. The Palestinian people (if such a people exists; let’s say they do) deserve peace just as much as the Israeli people. But there is no peace without coexistence and respect. Israel built everything that was beautiful and useful in Gaza. Hamas is the one that has destroyed it. Let them stop deceiving us.
And since I was asked to write about Gaza, here it is, and what I said is my opinion, but based on historical facts, not on pro-Palestinian propaganda, which in summary is propaganda pro-Hamas. I am not affiliated with any political party, nor do I lean in any direction, neither to the right nor to the left. I am a free thinker who studies, researches, and does not get carried away.
Somewhere on the shores of the Aegean Sea, today, Monday, August 11, 2025.
Bueno, sinceramente no me importa ni me interesa. Somos artesanos. Hacemos lo que tenemos que hacer para “hacer” arte, pero terminamos reproduciendo y rehaciendo lo que ya se hizo. Y eso no importa porque el arte no tiene que ser original.
Hoy en día están tratando de destruir el arte de los artistas comparándola con “arte”, o cosas, hechas por robots, ordenadores y animales.
Hoy en día se eleva el arte conceptual a niveles que no se merece.
Hoy en día están virando todo al revés pero la vida se vive al derecho.
Definitely one of the most interesting and important artists of the 20th Century. He was one of the few whose works were purchased by The Louvre while still alive. So do not be judgemental or shocked, (due to the new puritanical mindset and imposition), Balthus was a phenomenal modern artist.
(Thank you for your support, please like, comment and share as this helps our channel)
(Doing some Jazz-Art here in València! Photo property of FBC, Omnia Caelum Studios València)
(2021)
Like I have always said, art is the search. Not necessarily the search for something original, but the search for a different way to express something deep, something meaningful, something frivolous or even something simply decorative. Art is all that. It is a message, it is an alphabet, a design, a decorative piece, a piece of shit perhaps, but to the artist it should be the result of the search. As an artist gets deeper into the search he discovers that there are many ways to express feelings and emotions, to transmit messages or to decorate a room…
If there is not a process of discovery, the search, chances are that you won’t find anything…
(Francisco Bravo Cabrera, Omnia Caelum Studios València)
(«Pharaoh Jazz», art digital original by Francisco Bravo Cabrera)
I would like to say that this is one of the first (done in 2001) of the Jazz-Art Series of graphite/ink drawings on Canson paper. There may be others from the same time but this one has survived. I apologise for the quality of the photograph. Actually I had a tee-shirt made with this image and that’s the only thing I have now so I stretched it and took the picture (it is now framed).
This drawing is very important to me because it has within the composition the idea, the jazzyness, i.e. the elements that later formed the series JaZzArt en València. I started with the idea of music, but music is totally abstract and I did not intend to create an abstract drawing. So I revised my thought and started sketching the idea of music, the flow of the phrases, the staccato, the legato, the syncopation, the rhythm, the voice of the singer, the swing of the players…
I think you get the rest…
If you would like to see a complete…well, almost…collection of the black & white drawings, please visit us on our Instagram, @Francisco_Bravo_Cabrera and I think you will get a complete picture and you will see how this 2001 drawing became the great grand-father to the drawings that came later.
JaZzArt en València 