I have my first exhibition at the cozy Tortuga Artcafè Winebar in Aegina for all of September. Come for some art and coffee! ☕️✨Tutto bene! ?? ??\
This show came suddenly and I am pleasantly surprised how well my work fit in there. I think it's a perfect match for the vibes and energy of this place and how a lot of my pieces are pictures of Aegina. The name of of this cafe comes from the first currency found in Europe on this island which had a turtle pictured on it.
I am finally getting more out in the world with my work and meeting people from the community and it feels great! I really want to make some magnificent shows in the future.
I have two new paintings coming up. One that I've started in the studio and another that I'm preparing for which will be outdoor and on-site. I've also purchased a bunch of new camera equipment mainly for my YouTube channel. Also, we just book a trip to the island of Amorgos!
This is the first time we tried filming on-site while painting outdoors. My girlfriend did a great job capturing the experience. I'm planning to turn something like this into a series on my YouTube channel and make outdoor painting more of my thing. I've been doing a lot of painting in the studio but I don't think it's nearly as enjoyable and the paintings aren't as good.
Take a look by watching the video below and give a thumbs up if you liked it!
Even though my girlfriend and I had been living in a big city for pretty much our whole adult life, we decided to try moving to the country in Dec 2019. We found a house we liked on the island of Aegina in a small village called Tzikides. We were really uncertain about if we'd like it but it has turned out to be a nice experience so far. There are endless things I want to paint here and it's so quick and easy to get out in nature. There is a huge network of hiking trails on the island and one of them starts right near our house.
When we moved to the new house, I started looking around to see what to scene to paint first on the property. This scene with the lemon tree somehow caught my eye the most.
Later on, this view of two cypress trees caught my eye. I initially took a picture of it on a really foggy day but didn't think to paint it. Then, during a sunset in the spring I got the idea when I saw all these wild flowers and poppies growing in front of them.
Another scene I've painted is on the other side of the house, over by one of our acacia trees. I didn't know about these trees before but in the spring we all of a sudden noticed that it was just blooming with so much yellow flowers. Such a cool looking tree.
There are a ton of other things on the property I want to paint next but I'm probably going to do something else for the time-being.
Some other things I love about being in the country is having much more land to garden. We have a few garden spots, one that we started already is for potatoes. We planted about 30 or so. Soon we will plant more vegetables in the other garden as it gets warmer. Things like tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, cucumber, peppers.
I'm not sure if I ever want to live in a big city again. It's more healthy to live in a smaller town. Being 33 now, I've had my share of fun in cities. Occasionally you miss the conveniences. For example, I really miss ordering food for delivery—especially Chinese food.
I'm always on the lookout for new places to paint. A big part of my process is to just experience and find new environments. Kanakides is an abandoned village I noticed while driving on a random road on the weekend. You could see it on top of a mountain. It looked like such a special place but a little bit difficult to get to.
The first time I went there, I didn't think there was any kind of road and didn't see one. I went through lot of rocks and bushes and stuff and it wasn't so easy. The second time, however, we found a road which made it a lot easier.
View of the village from the road
I absolutely love this place.
It was quite an experience being there. This is what I love about Greece. There are so many places like this that are so fascinating and historical. I feel at home and connected when I explore things like this. Like I am where I was born to be. I can't tell you the feeling I have when I was at this place for the first time. Photos do not do justice.
I will do a painting of Kanakides as soon as possible but I have some other ones I need to finish first. I need to find a way to paint faster to keep up with all the ideas.
