November 2024

It was about two years ago when I realized that illustrating books for a living wasn’t going to last for me. Greek publishers paid – and continue to pay – extremely low fees for illustrations. A creator must put in an enormous amount of hours and effort to make images for a single book and that just does not get the respect it deserves. So, the fact that book illustration was not a labor of love for me drove me to leave it behind and practice it on occasion only.

I remember when I was about 10 or 11, my grandmother used to take me into her studio and show me her paintings. I can still remember the smell of the oil paints. Scenes with small fishing boats at sea and flowers painted on metal serving trays were among the subjects she worked on. When she was living in New York in the 1950’s she used to work as an artist for a serving tray manufacturer. She painted wonderful flower arrangements on the metal trays with oils. Upon returning to Greece years after, she brought back some of those trays, and that is the work I poured over, along with all her other paintings, while I visited her studio . My grandmother showed me her painting process and encouraged me to try it out.

So, picking up where I had left off all these years ago, made sense. I had a lot to learn. My background in design and illustration helped a lot but starting on my own to paint in oils was a great challenge! I painted canvas after canvas and subject after subject. Nature, landscapes, architecture and still life, I explored it all. And I am still at it.

I believe, however, that after all this time, I may be close to a point where I finally know how to proceed creatively and as my valued supporters you will all get to see it unfold before your very eyes!

‘We own the Moon’, Oil on canvas, 100x100cm