This is something I worked on with my niece Eleni before summer. She wanted to do something creative, to paint or sculpt or something.
I had a small MDF board lying around which I offered for her first go at painting with acrylics. She chose the theme and the colours and, with my guidance, she began to work on it.
The first thing you need is a background, so using a sponge she applied the colours she wanted to produce this abstract green and yellow base.
Once that was done, I sketched in the shape of the pineapple for her so she could begin to apply paint. This is how it ended up looking. Not too shabby for someone who has never picked up a paintbrush in her life!
Sorry the photo is a bit blurry but it’s the only one I have at that stage.
Eleni didn’t want to continue with it after that and asked me to finish it for her, which I did the other day. To be honest I was sick of seeing it lying around (like so much of my art)…
This is the finished product. All that remains is to give it to Eleni to put in her home. It didn’t turn out bad at all, I think. All I did was deepen the shadows, add highlights and basically give it more depth and detail.
Well done, Eleni. I look forward to working with you again after the busy summer season.
I’m very good at doing eyes. I know that. So, I decided to focus on eyes for a little while ’cause I also love doing them. So I’ve done a few pieces of white marble with cat’s eyes which are fascinating and greek island related.
Why do I feel I have to do island related paintings? Well, ’cause I think people who live here, visit here or have summer homes here might be looking for island related items for their homes…
But while I sat there painting, late one evening, mom watching TV from the couch, I played with a few other themes.
Some whales instead of the usual fish…
And another bright octopus.
Not sure what you all think of these, but personally, I like the eyes best. I’m thinking dog eyes, horse eyes, alpaca and cow eyes cause they are particularly soulful… and even human eyes…
I just need to go out and find more pieces of marble. All I have in my collection now is small pieces, more suited to small bugs, like my bees.
Remember my bees?
I’m quite fond of my little bee, currently living in the USA.
Maybe I will do more bees… Though I am running out of space to keep my rocks and marble pieces…
I’ve been picturing a wall mounted narrow shelf, made from pallet wood, to hold it all. It would be really heavy of course… and I’d need the time and access to my tools… Maybe in winter…
Things have been busy lately. Hectic really. I seem to always be going on an errand, grooming a dog, returning from an errand, cooking,shopping for groceries, trying to keep the house clean, and still getting in a swim now and then!
And on the afternoons when I’m not too busy, I sit at the kitchen table and play with paints. It’s a good way to de-stress. If you can find the time… preferably not late at night because then I can’t sleep cause I’m wound up.
I’ve been inspired now and then to try something new just for a change.
So, here are my latest painted rocks. Above a very painterly donkey. I’d gotten the idea to use an old book I’d been given to decoupage a couple of stones just to see how they would turn out. I used larger rocks for these and its not perfect but I kinda like it.
Below is a cat treated the same way…
Next the tried and true octopus, but trying brighter colours and more contrast. Not sure I like it, but its not too bad.
I had to redo this cat cause the watercolours I was using on all my marble paintings doesn’t work so well on rocks. It’s now much better.
I also thought I’d try a couple of very graphic style stones…
These I really like. I love the stark contrast between the black and white.
So, I need a bit of rest before I gotta get up and greet visitors coming to see mom. Who is getting better all the time. She will soon be back to bossing me around.
Not long ago I bought two long rectangular canvases to paint on, and last week, with Peter and Kelly on Syros, I converted my home back into a studio to do this painting. It’s not like I haven’t got about 6 unfinished paintings lying around needing work…
The brief for this one was something beachy, in neutral tones to go over the bed in an air bnb. Once I decided what I was going to paint it went pretty smoothly, though there were a couple of false starts… Hence (good word) it took me almost all week to finish it.
Given my entire kitchen/living room is my studio, I painted on my kitchen table and set it on the stove to dry between sessions. That way I could look at it when I wasn’t working on it, to decide what it needed. Its my process. I need to live with my work a while before I decide its done and can sign it.
My life is in a constant state of moving things around – off the kitchen table and bench so I can cook, back so I can work, from here to there, from there to here but a little to the left, then back again…
And now mom is staying with me, I have to cook almost every day… Mom is a real greek housewife and she expects me to be one too… sigh… I never cooked every single day, but I make her breakfast every morning and I cook lunch one day, eat leftovers the next. However, I must make a fresh salad every day.
This is not easy for me; I don’t cook much. Not since quite a few years ago when an ex felt the food I cooked wasn’t filling enough cause there was not nearly enough meat to satisfy his manly hunger. Since then, I basically cook what I want to eat and if you/he/anyone doesn’t like it, they’re welcome to cook for themselves.
So, the studio has been sacrificed to the kitchen gods. At least for a while.
But mom is getting stronger every day (thanks to my amazing cooking!) and hopefully she’ll be back to full strength soon enough.
BTW – The staged photos are thanks to Photoshop… After all, how else am I going to stage something when I don’t have the wall space?
I am lucky to live on an island full of creative people. One of those people, who’s work I’d seen around before but only recently met, is Dimitra Skandali. Dimitra is a gorgeous, inspirational woman who grew up on Paros and who creates the most fantastic works of art.
I visited her studio last week and she allowed me to take some photos of this wonderful space while we had a coffee and chatted.
Like all artists, her space is full of stuff… stuff in the process of being created, finished stuff, bits of stuff, stuff to make things with, stuff which might come in handy one day, collected stuff, found stuff, wonderful stuff, fun stuff, pretty stuff, old stuff, broken stuff, small stuff, big stuff… just STUFF in all its forms.
I could have spent happy hours exploring her studio!
Her workbench in the middle of the space has tools and materials laid out in preparation for her current projects, laid out neatly, everything within reach…
Crates and bags of dried organic matter, flowers, thread, the ubiquitous stuff she finds which might work in this or an upcoming project.
I just love these hanging baskets dotted with dried flowers. I can’t wait to have my own studio full of things like that… and the space to leave things out and not have to pack one project away to begin another, have visitors or cook…
A weaving project she’s working on laid out over an antique chair. Made from old fishing nets, seaweed and other materials she’s weaved together. Beautiful, haunting and oh so intricately worked.
One day I’ll have a mannequin set up with my tea bag dress in the corner of my studio and pretty stuff everywhere!
Look at all those gorgeous hanging bits and woven art on the walls!
One of the first pieces of Dimitra’s work I’d ever seen was a collection of framed work she’d made using seaweed, like this below.
The little office nook. How cute is that!
I could really relate to her studio – like many artists, myself included! – there are surprises everywhere you look. Part of an old lamp is now the home of a large rusty moth… and it just works!
Dimitra runs the Cycladic Arts Center, a place that has artists in residence from around the world through the year, has shows on a regular basis and hosts events.
I encourage you to visit her website to see her work and explore the Cycladic Arts Centre site.
I came home inspired… then looked at the mess I call a home/studio and despaired. I am nowhere near her league of professionalism.
It’s time to start working again! It’s been too long.
I admit, I’ve been lazy. Very lazy. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t done anything at all. I’ve done a few things…
Including this very large painting of a shell.
It’s a commission for an air bnb studio apartment, the theme was something island-ey and the main colour had to be grey.
It took a while to do, first I had to find something I liked as a theme, then I worked on layers to achieve the colours and texture I was after.
I think I achieved it.
For now I’ve hung it over my bed in my bedroom as its the only free wall in my place. The new owner will pick it up in a month or so, till then I’m the one enjoying it.
Here are a couple of close ups that show the texture I was aiming for. It’s not nearly as textured as the cat on a chair I did last year because I didn’t cover the canvas with magazine pages first.
I’m pretty pleased with it. I’ve rarely worked on something this size – 120cm x 90cm. But I like it, it was fun. It was done on a recycled canvas so now I’m looking for more large canvases to recycle!
So, you may ask, what other things have kept me busy? Well… Vincent keeps me on my toes for one thing. He’s either sleeping, chewing on things he finds in my toolbox, selecting a toy from his toybox and playing with it, asking for cuddles, wanting to go out and socialize and have coffee with friends… what did I do with myself all those months without a poodle?
Plus I am working through a list of things to get done both online and in real life.
I’m halfway through making a small table to hold my grooming tools while I work, using all sorts of odd and end bits of timber I have lying around.
My dog bath arrived and has been set up. Now I await the plumber.
I’m waiting for the wind to die down so the guys can come out and do more concreting on our building – a slab for the container to sit on, columns and a structure which will house the electricity meters.
Yes. You read that right!
I actually heard from the electric company and it took me two visits to see the guy I needed to see, who just wanted to show me the map he’d made of where they will bring in the power.
I said “That’s fine”.
He said “Get your construction crew to build a spot for the meters.”
I said “Sure” and it was done. Only took getting up at 6.30am two days…
I also got a call from the water authority!
Wonders will never cease.
This was trickier.
I was told that the closest route to get water into our property was through one of the 3 neighbouring houses above our land. So I have to find out who they are and knock on their doors to see if any one of them will give the water company permission to put pipes through their land…
This is Greece.
How likely is it?
I don’t know.
As for the road access… I’m still on that, but I’m told I will most likely need a solicitor to locate the owners of the other properties who would benefit from opening that section of road. No way I can find the owners on my own… and the neighbour who said she will fight the issue with me can’t find her contracts… which would mean I’m requesting a road on my own.
How likely do you think the council is to do this if me and my brother are the only ones asking?
Since I never seem to find the time to paint lately, I figured I would go ahead and work on a commission.
A friend of mine ordered coat hanging racks for her two granddaughters.
Coat racks. Too plain, I thought. Not much scope for “zefiness”… So I started on the idea of a shelf with hooks.
I found some pallet table drawers online and they were just the thing!
In this pic, I have already removed the front drawer panel, leaving the finger pull hole.
I didn’t want a hole there, so I found some corks that fit and glued them in. Eventually, there will be pretty white knobs on the corks for hanging a scarf or cap. I ordered them but they haven’t arrived yet.
I began by painting the drawers pale pink. I then mixed up a lighter and a pinker batch to create an ombre.
I thought it was too pale, so I darkened the pink for the bottom slat. Now I wonder if it was better paler… oh well… It’s a process!
I also cut 2 bits of trim to act as a barrier to hold things safely on the narrow shelf. In the end I made the trims the palest pink to offset the brighter pink.
Once the paint was dry, and before putting on the shelf barriers, I added cute little critters to the slats. They are different but the same, if you know what I mean. They’re done in the different shades of pink with a black outline.
I added double under-shelf hooks to the bottom, I couldn’t find them in white, but they tie in nicely with the black outlines on the artwork.
Here they are with some of my recycled sock bunnies and one of my favourite shopping bags.
All in all, I’m pretty happy with how they turned out. Now I just need the cute, simple white flower knobs to arrive, and I can pack them up for shipping.
Yes, I know. I’ve gone and done another disappearing act. But as usual, I have great excuses.
I’ve been busy grooming dogs in the morning, working 5 hrs every afternoon/evening at a travel agency, and trying to get a swim, a rest and some food in between.
Unfortunately, art has gone by the wayside as is always the case… its always the first thing I sacrifice. Cause its easy to do. Jobs for money get 1st priority, then food, then rest. Even the dishes get more attention than art… as pitiful as that sounds.
This coming feom a woman who didn’t mop the floors for weeks…
So, for now I’m sharing the last 2 small pallet trays I painted. I found the trays and couldn’t resist them cause they seemed cute, and just added a few touches to make them cuter.
The first one got fish, cause, well, everything gets fish pretty much. The second got an octopus… just because.
Other than that, life is pretty much as always. The island is still full of people but its a lot quieter than last month. I yearn for winter and quiet. And time to myself, to be at home for whole days at a time where I don’t have to see anyone at all… or be anywhere.
Oh lockdown, where are you now?
Is it healthy to wish you could just be left alone to do your own thing?
I bought a tiny folding bluetooth keyboard which I’m trying out on the phone. It will take a little getting used to if I’m to use it to do stuff like this, but it sure will be handy for connecting to the TV for searches and other typing needs.
Whatever.
Hopefully I will find/make some time to do some art soon. I miss it.
Over the last week or so I’ve been working on some serving trays… They’re sort of a good filler project when I don’t feel like tackling something big, or when I just want to relax and paint while watching something on Netflix.
Plus, I get to do some retail therapy as well because I have to buy the trays I want to paint. I do love me some retail therapy! (In Tasmania, where I had a workshop, I would make my own trays… sigh. I miss having my own workshop…)
These are the first two of the new trays (not to be confused with the first trays I did which you can see here). They’re smaller than the first two, but not everyone wants a huge tray. I figured these can be used to serve on but also for display in the centre of a table.
Here is a closer up of the bigger one – a school of fish in a spiral. I’d once painted a marble with tiny fish flowing across it and a friend loved it. I gave it to him as a gift but thought I’d re-use the idea.
Wooden tray 40cm x 30cm, white washed, oil paint, varnish. 35 euros.
The second one is more ‘usual’ for me, being bigger fish. This time they are black, white and shades of grey. Unfortunately, the light reflection washed out the image in the photo a bit. It’s very contrasty, as it looks in the photo above.
Wooden tray 36cm x 26cm, white washed, acylic paint, varnish. 30 euros.
Now on to other work, then back to the next lot of trays… something totally different next time.
Meanwhile, it’s hot, and Greece is on fire. Literally. There are fires everywhere. I would never have thought it possible that Greece would have so many bush fires. Living in Australia you expect it every summer… but I never thought Greece would be so badly affected. It’s devastating.
And the heat continues. It feels like we didn’t get a proper summer for a long time, then it jumped from 23-degree days up to 30s plus in a week. At least that’s what it feels like. The mainland is having over 40-degree days and we are expecting to get some here too. Being by the sea, we are lucky. We can go dunk our heads in water when it gets too much. Cause even the wind is scorching hot.
Hopefully summer will be over soon enough. And with it the madness which is a Greek island during tourist season. Ugh.
This was a commission for an apartment. My friend wanted something in grey and white, not too dark, large in size, to go above the bed.
I worked on this for a while to get it right and I’m quite happy with how it turned out. Up close it has quite a bit of texture, but on this piece I only used acrylic paint, no added paper as I do for some of my art.
Here are some pics of the work in progress. You can see it changed quite a lot as I worked on it to achieve the look she wanted, starting with blocking in the basic shapes, then layering from dark to light.
Its a large piece as I mentioned, about 90cm square. On recycled canvas.
