Greece Archives - Dora Sislian Themelis Art

A Morning in Greece

My morning in Greece, a favorite spot to breathe.

Gathering my thoughts to best describe this special moment during our Greece visit has been difficult, the beauty in this morning alone time being one of the most beautiful in its simplicity, calm, and quietness.

Coffee in the early morning, sweet koulourakia, my book, the shady, quiet balcony, and the view. Heaven.

The words we might use to describe a place, an emotion, or a sense of being maybe comes easier to some people than others.

Writers and poets are, obviously, best at the written word. Painters and photographers are in the visual realm of these arts. And so, as the artist I had to take this photograph of my favorite place at our Greek island home.

The one word that keeps popping up in my head is, dazzling.

I know, it’s a word with sparkle, but I’m using this word to explain how the light in Greece makes everything sharp and clear, still and energetic at the same time.

It’s Raining Here But I’m Daydreaming of Somewhere Else

So, it’s a rainy and cold Monday here in New York. I don’t feel like doing anything I’m supposed to be working on. Something has to get done, but Mr. Resistance is looking at me giving me the side eye. The Muse won’t be hovering anywhere near me because, as usual, I’m not at my desk.

What else is new?

Here I am, at the computer, wasting time, in my opinion. Yes, there’s the networking stuff that has to get done, but I’m just not into it.

I’m busy daydreaming. I’m somewhere else in my head. I’m here:

Son#1 plays traditional Greek music here in N.Y. and around the country. He’s gotten really good at it and has had the opportunity to play his various Greek instruments with some top Greek artists. I’m proud of him to say the least.

He had the chance to play on a new song last year and it’s just been released as a single. It’s on iTunes and you can buy it if you like it.

When I heard the music for the first time it gave me chills and tears of pride. His name is even in the credits and there’s a photo of him playing his instrument, a lyra. I had a “That’s my kid!” moment. It’s so exciting to me.

This song reminds me of summer vacation in Greece, the sea, the sun, the deep blue waters of the islands, and the rest.

For right now, I’m on vacation. It could rain outside all day long, but if I listen to my son’s song I could be sailing to the island on a sunny, warm Aegean day, watching the waves of the deep blue water, seeing the white houses dotting the villages, the low mountains with churches and monasteries up high.

Far away.

Finished Work for Friday

After deciding to ditch the family travel photos and move on to other things, I found this photo of a monastery in Greece built into the side of a cliff on the Cycladic island of Amorgos. It was mysteriously appealing to me and felt that urge to paint so I went along with it. A twenty minute session and I was finished with this work.

Amorgos Monastery ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
9×12 Watercolor on Arches cold press paper

There’s more going on, but I’ll save it for later. See you on the flip side.

Finished for Friday

The sunflower and veggie photos are exhausted. I was hunting for subjects for the next painting by looking through my photographs of this and that. Since I’m not visiting Greece again this summer I wandered to my pictures of our past trips.

It wasn’t such a good idea.

None of the scenes appealed to me as paintings. The photos I took of my view either had my family or other people in them, or they just work as a photograph.

But then I got involved looking at our family, where we were, what we were doing, family we were visiting with, the youth of my sons and their happy faces, their silliness, and who is gone since then.

Many memories live in the pages of those photo albums and rather than finding inspiration I found a sort of melancholy.

A little book of travel info peeked out of my bookshelf and I found a small photo of a Greek island I’d never been to before. The colors and shapes were pleasing so I went ahead and sketched that scene. It felt good to lose myself in the activity and to shake off the downer.

Kalymnos ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
12×9 Watercolor, Arches 140lb cold press paper

Done in twenty minutes start to finish, it’s a bright, colorful scene with none of the memories.

Finished on Friday Doubled

Finished two paintings for today. Don’t get too excited, things could turn around again any minute.

Today I found the time to finish the painting of the little Greek church and when I was done I quickly turned my attention to my old photos from last summer.

There is something very appealing about the Greek countryside and the sea that I cannot resist. But I find I don’t feel too free when painting from photos I’ve taken there. I never seem to be happy about the compositions. Maybe I just really need to be there in person. This work feels stiff to me.

Inlet Church ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
9×12 Watercolor Arches cold press paper

Then there are the photos I took last spring and summer of the vegetables, sunflowers and my garden then make me feel very comfortable when painting from them. I am not so sure why.

This second work was pushed out soon as I finished the Greece landscape. Feeling the need to paint something different right away, I grabbed this photo, cropped the area I wanted to work with, and headed straight to paint. No pencil drawing, just paint sketching. Maybe a little longer than twenty minutes?

Garden ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
9×12 Watercolor, Arches cold press paper

I worked until I felt that I should stop. Much of this work was wet, but I pushed on, only waiting until it dried just enough to continue. Again, I tried to keep the water to a minimum.

Leaving out extra stuff, ignoring other things, just adding detail where I wanted to point out some things and that was it.

This work doesn’t feel as stiff as the previous painting. Maybe it’s me, but it feels so much better.

My Mantra: It’s the Process

So here we are, back at the easel, er desk. Yes, I’m painting flat, on my table with the watercolors. Some people use an easel, but not me. I can’t risk applying paints to have them run down the work. I have enough stress.

Landscapes are not usually my “thing.” Working on this latest landscape might give me more reason to ditch the idea. Don’t worry. I will wait until I’m finished with this.

New landscape of Greece

Since I took this photograph, I went back and removed some color from the water area. It’s a nice, little scene. Okay, my mantra is this: Process, process. Try to remember that it’s the process that counts.

Twenty minutes working on this and I have to run away from it.

The good thing? I cleared up enough of my morning to work in the studio before I do the errands for the day. This is a major accomplishment. As it is, I wake early and get moving, so it is possible to work first, run later.

The bad thing? I tire early and lose the afternoon/evening hours.

Remember: Process!

Daydreaming Again

Deciding on the next painting, I settled on daydreaming about traveling. Greece this year is not a possibility, nor is anything else for that matter. But daydream? That I can do.

Some of my paintings of Greek themes had a very good response at that art event I participated in so I thought I would revisit my photos of our trips. I tested out a small sized watercolor block just to see how I felt about the colors I would be using.

Hmmm…

I dropped in color after flooding the paper with water, outlining the major areas that need work. After it dries I’ll go back in and add more color and detail.

Good thing this was too wet to work at because I am notorious for pushing it too far when I shouldn’t, then tossing it as a goner. Not even twenty minutes in and I had to stop.

Will it make the thumbs up pile? We will see.

Painting From Life

Painting from life can be both exciting and nerve wracking, for me anyway. I seem to go into a trance as the action of painting and the colors of the paints hypnotize me. I don’t see what I’m doing. Overdoing the work with watercolors can happen before I can blink and wake up from my stupor.

These two little paintings are the ones that were sold in my Etsy shop. Both were painted on site. I painted Beach Day while at my favorite Long Island beach, Pt. Lookout. This couple were sitting in their beach chairs enjoying the day. I guess they were having a good day, for all I know they were annoyed with each other and just sitting there. Can you tell that I like a good story while I work?

The Greek harbor scene was painted while we were on a short day cruise to three Greek islands, Aegina, Poros, and another one that I can’t remember now. They were all lovely and had different scenes, but at Aegina we sat at a cafe to have an icy ice cream frappe because it was so hot we couldn’t continue without something cold. We were at the harbor and I had time to quickly draw the scene out with a bit of color. I finished it later on, but basically had it sketched with paint right there.

When I started with watercolors I purchased a small travel set that included half pans of basic colors, small brushes, and tiny pad of watercolor paper, and a little bottle for water. It’s like a fanny pack you can clip around your waist, but I never do that. I added pencils and some other stuff I need for painting and it’s the perfect bring along set.

The funny thing is the paints that are included are minimal yet I do my best work using just those colors. The palette at home has so many colors now, but I gravitate towards the ones in the travel set. I think I should pay attention to that and maybe minimize my choices. Whatever I do, I know I like painting from life. I just have to try and stay in the present rather than have those out of body moments.

So That’s That With That

Handknit Spa Cloths in the Etsy shop

While typing away here, thinking about the Greece vacation, trying to decide how to finish that garden painting, and overall impatience and indecision that is my usual trademark, I found out I had a few orders in my Etsy shop. When did that happen?

A buyer purchased this set of spa cloths I knit. They’ve been up on the site for quite a while. Months ago someone bought a set, but the site’s been sort of dry for some time. I’m not sure how much I like Etsy for art. The artists there have been complaining that there’s a lot of mix ups in the search feature. If a shopper is looking for original art, the search will include a lemon reamer among the paintings. What’s up with that? How confusing is that to someone looking for an oil painting or a pencil drawing?

I have a few small watercolors on Etsy, a couple of small handknit items, and the bead jewelry I’ve become fascinated with lately. The paintings I’ve been doing this past year haven’t made it to the online shop yet. I’m ambivalent about putting them up and having them sit there. But maybe that’s the idea? I don’t know.

So I prepared the spa cloth order and sent them out. Yesterday I noticed I had another order for the same set of cloths. What a thrill! I put aside the garden watercolor for now and got busy knitting this order. And then today I saw that a friend of my mom purchased a couple of small watercolors. Another thrill! Things are looking up!

Oh, and by the way, we’ve decided to nix the Greece vacation this year. There’s too much going on here and there to warrant knocking ourselves out to go. Better off staying put, taking a short trip to the east end of Long Island, knitting, painting, beading, and waiting for my first grandchild to be born. (Thrill!)

So that’s that with that.

To Go or Not To Go, That’s The Question

Did you ever really want to do something or go somewhere, but when you think about it you really don’t want to do that thing after all?

I’m in such a dilemma. The Mr. needs a vacation. When I suggested going somewhere close by a few weeks ago he said no. He doesn’t want to leave his business. But he really needs to get away and change his outlook, environment, you know, all the things that a vacation, or even a day off, can do for a person. I could get away from the house stuff and maybe get some painting in. For me it could be a short car ride away or a couple hours flying time.

Mind you, I’m not that innately adventurous, but I push myself. Sometimes I dream of flying away if I see an airplane overhead. I imagine going to a different place and having some cool experience where ever. Then I think of how I need to plan and shop and do, and then I’m done with it.

The Mr. was born on Patmos, an island in the Dodecanese in Greece and it’s beautiful there. He emigrated here with his family when he was a kid. He would love to go, I could too. On some summer days he’ll talk about how it was on the island, what he could be doing if he was there, but he’s here and he has a business to run. I get that.

Things in the world are such that it would be pricey to go so last minute. Business is at it’s busy time right now. The euro and the dollar are an issue. August is the vacation season in Europe. Travel to Patmos is a pain because there isn’t an airport there. You need to fly out of Athens to another island and take a dolphin, or get on a ferry in Pireas for six hours. It’s alot of traveling for fifteen days of vacation. Not to mention that Greece is not stable right now, every day another entity is on strike, there have been riots in Athens, and everything has become more expensive.

Our indecision only makes things more difficult. All the whats, whens, whys, wheres and hows are thrown around during our discussions. First we think we’d like to go and then we think of the reasons not to go. Then we think it’d be good to go. Next discussion we say forget it. My family all say just go and don’t think too much. We talk about it later and say Yeah let’s do it. The next day we’re not into it anymore. Neither of us can decide. Both of us are wishy washy.

Planning is not my forte. This vacation stuff is such hard work I could just stay home.