It’s not only cold – it’s wet too! I really shouldn’t complain though, especially when I look at what’s happening across the United States and Australia right now. It makes me realise just how fortunate we are here on Skiathos. … Continue reading
Well! As the saying goes, you really DO have to watch out for what you wish for! If you’ve read my last post you’ll know what a significant part water plays in life on this island and while most of … Continue reading
(a video of Mary Dillon’s work will be here soon!)
There are few ORIGINAL PAINTINGS still available, so if anyone interested, please drop me a line.
PRINTS (framed or unframed), CANVAS PRINTS and now
*NEW! GREETINGS CARDS of all the images are available through Fine Art America
(or contact me directly)
But it’s not over quite yet!
The exhibition will continue to run for one more week – until June 24th.
I’ve just returned from a long weekend in Ireland – my first ever visit to the ‘Emerald Isle’ and it certainly lived up to every expectation! The genuine warmth and friendliness of everyone we met, the fast moving expansive skyscapes, the dark dramatic scenery and majestic medieval monasteries, more than made up for relentless rain and fine mist seeping in from the nearby Atlantic ocean.
The ruins of Monaincha Monastery
We had gone to visit my dear friend, Irish artist Mary Dillon, at her Almond Tree Gallery in Roscrea
where last Friday night her latest exhibition of beautiful water colours, called ‘Nourish’,
was officially opened by The Irish Minister, Maire Hoctor
Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with Mary who visited me not once, but twice, this year, on Skiathos. She’s a wonderfully talented artist, and so generous with her gift – she continually inspires and encourages me, Mary and I became instant friends. I was so thrilled to be able to attend her important event and see her vibrant, colourful work of flowers and fruit (including figs, olives and pomegranates from my garden) that she began in Greece, all completed, beautifully framed and hanging on her gallery walls.
Mary & Yours Truly
With typical Irish hospitality, the evening was a great success and soon turned into a party with spontaneous uninhibited singing and dancing from all who attended.
Then true to form everyone descended on the local pub where the music and free-flowing pints of ‘Guinness’ continued well into the small hours.
The following morning (feeling more than a little worse for wear!) We visited Mary in her beautiful home and had the wonderful opportunity of seeing her at work in her fabulous studio:
Another Highlight of the trip was a day’s sightseeing in Kilkenny where we visited, in the impressive Design Centre, the atelier of Bridal Gown couturier, Mary MacGuinness, who had also visited me on Skiathos this summer.
Mary, Mary & Me
All in all we had a wonderful weekend. We stayed at the ‘Monaincha Guest House’, the elegant Georgian home of our gracious hosts Carmel & Tom Moore- a truly magical place!
We also had the good fortune to meet the prominent Irish (well, Scottish actually) landscape painter
Jock Nichol, whose work with his exquisite use of colour, perfectly captures the haunting vast expanses of bogland and dramatic cloud formations so typical of this part of Ireland. Inspired also by the words from Irish poet Seamus Heaney’s ‘Bogland’:
“We have no prairies
To slice a big sun at evening -
Everywhere the eye concedes to
Encroaching horizon,
Is wooed into the cyclops’ eye
Of a Tarn. Our unfenced country
Is bog that keeps crusting
Between the sights of the sun……….”
I had hoped to visit the peatlands (the Lough Boora Parklands in particular, with their amazing outdoor sculpture park) but alas there simply wasn’t enough time – so I’m really look forward to returning to Ireland again someday soon.
SEE THIS CLIP!
On a final note:
This evening the Irish TV channel ‘RTE’s ‘Nationwide’ programme featured Mary Dillon at her Almond Tree Gallery talking to Diarmuid Peavoy about another exhibition that she hosted a few weeks ago which showed the work of three prominent Irish ‘animal’ artists; Siobhan Bulfin’s beautiful bronze horse sculptures, Heidi Wickham’s amazing charcoal ‘cows’ and Cassandra Darlington’s exquisite pastels of horses and hounds. – all of whom are also inteviewed and talk about their work. A definite ‘must see’, here’s the link: http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/1126/nationwide_av.html
We arrived Back at the monastery at 7.00pm just as the formal speeches were being delivered by the Mayor, Mr Nikos Plomaritis, and Father Angelos to a host of guests and dignitaries who had gathered to celebrate the raising of the Greek flag on Skiathos -
and the church service was due to begin.
It lasted for about an hour and the forecourt continued to fill up with townsfolk and tourists (who’d somehow managed to decipher the ‘Greek-only’ posters dotted around the town).
A crowd gathers
The art on display, provided by the 7 UNESCO artists, was well received and Yanna Xera’s incedible painting, on display inside the monastery, caused quite a sensation.
Yianna Xera with her incredibly detailed, intricate masterpiece
Gifts, provided by the monastery; a commemorative framed photo of the painting were handed to the crowds at the end of the sevice. I’m almost embarrassed to post my humble offerings next to hers – but well, here they are:
'Evangelistria at Dawn', oil on canvas, size 110 x 100 cm
'Tsamiko' a traditional dance performed by Greek men. Acrylics on canvas, size 102 x 76 cm
'Skiathos Maidens in Traditional Dress', acrylics on canvas, size 102 x 76 cm (with newly added flags)
And last of all, the (finally finished!) ‘Oxi Day’, which caused quite a stir with the young bandsmen who delighted in identifying themselves on canvas.
Then followed a night of fabulous spectacle with live music courtesy of the youngsters of Skiathos band, led by Mr Alvianitis
(note my 'well-lit' oil painting of the monastery in the background!)
and a trio of local musicians:
who provided the music for the traditional folk dances, provided courtesy of the Women’s group of Skiathos:
Young Skiathites, folk dancing in traditional dress
Their exquisite costumes rustled and glimmered under the illuminated backdrop of the majestic monastery – it was truly a sight to behold. I did manage to capture the beautiful young girls in a quiet moment and they gracefully, automatically ( and effortlessly!) slipped into this pose for my camera:
a bevy of beauties
It was clear after chatting to one of the young beauties, who goes by the charming name of ‘Delesti’ (loosely translated to mean ‘honour’)
Delesti chatting to another beauty, Mary Dillon
that the traditional Skiathos island dress continues to be worn with immense pride.
Then and a veritable feast and copious amounts of wine (from the monastery’s own vineyard) was generously provided for all who attended:
The evening culminated in several speeches delivered by members of the UNESCO delegation: 
;
Mr Elias Demirtzoglou, Mr Stefanos Vogasianos-Roy and Mr Panagiotis Papazaxariadis, who issued medals to the clergy, the Mayor and their representative on Skiathos, artist Maria Kalatzi, who had organised the exhibition.
Certificates of participation were also handed to each of the artists who took part and a wonderful poem, especially written for the occasion, was beautifully read by the award-winning poet Mrs Stella Leondiadou
Finally, words from Mayor Plomaritis and Father Angelos brought the evening to a close – although the dancing and merriment continued.
The following day I was honoured to accept an invitation, along with my fellow artists to join the ‘who’s who’ of Skiathos, at a spectacular lunch, kindly hosted by Mayor Plomaritis, at The Hotel Hesperides:
in which toasts were made and thanks were offered. Later that evening, an informal drinks reception was offered to the artists, by the Delegation. A perfect ending to a very eventful few days!
I consider most of the days that I’m fortunate enough to spend on Skiathos as special but some days are just a bit more special than others – and this weekend was filled with just one exciting event after another!
Beginning last Friday with the sudden closure of XL, which left so many holiday makers stranded and many more unable to reach the island at all, it was a great relief to hear that my expected guests (artist Mary Dillon & her friend, Mary Mcguinness, Bridal gown couturier) from Ireland, had been so determined to get here, they’d managed to find an alternative route (through Athens & Agios Konstantinos) and I was able to meet them off the Sea Cat, on the port, on Saturday afternoon – just one day later than originally planned.
Earlier in the week I’d locked myself in the studio to paint and, with only a short break on Friday night (to welcome artist Yianna Xera and the UNESCO delegation arriving from Athens 
and to attend their welcome dinner hosted by Father Angelos from the Evangelistra Monastery,
Welcome Dinner at Agnadio restaurant
I finally managed to finish all my paintings for the exhibition at the eleventh hour, by working right through the night till 8 o’clock Saturday morning!
The weekend began peacefully enough:
Sun rising over Skiathos Town and islands beyond
I drove high up into the hills first thing, on my way to the monastery, to collect wild flowers and greenery for the table decorations for the evenings celebrations and exhibition opening. All the artists who’d gathered to set up their paintings, joined in the fun and under the direction of the ever-capable Despina,
Despina shows us how
bunches of wild thyme, oak, sage, olive, quince and pomegranate, were coaxed and cajoled into oasis blocks by our inexperienced hands and somehow miraculously transformed into glorious displays!
Voila!
With paintings in place and tables prepared, there was just enough time to meet my friends at the port, enjoy a leisurely lunch on the ‘Paralia’ (during which we witnessed the start of the Divers assoc. ‘Swimathon’ To the island of Tougrias and back!)
and pop home for a quick wash and brush-up (but, alas, no chance of any sleep yet!) before returning to the Monastery for the opening and evening of celebrations……
…..to be continued
I must be the only English person on Skiathos who needs to go home to the UK for a holiday!
But home I must go…..my work here, for the time being anyway, is done (finally!) and I badly need some rest and recuperation. I must also see my family before they forget what I look like!
It has been a long arduous journey. Maddeningly frustrating at times, when, for every step forward. I seemed to be taking three steps back but that said, as I look around now at all we’ve managed to complete in such a relatively short time, I feel a huge sense of achievement. From this:
To this:
The villa, the pool, the studio, the landscaping are all but finished – though there’s still much planting to do – and though I say so myself, I think it all looks pretty amazing!
The island has proved a wonderful place to be and the friends I have made along the way, with their constant, all-embacing support and encouragement have shown me that Skiathos is indeed a very special place and one that I feel very privileged to be able to live in.
I shall return after a month or so, ready to start the art classes and painting holidays in earnest with a (hopefully!) new-found energy and fresh enthusiasm and this time without the distraction of cement-mixers and builders rubble! I look forward to meeting new artists (and would-be ones) and to continuing my love affair with this magical part of the world and it’s generously welcoming people.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my week by week account of my new venture and that you’ve been sufficiently inspired so that one day you may decide this is somewhere you would like to visit (and paint!) too. A warm welcome awaits you at Villa Nicara.
I’ve been busy working on a couple of new paintings. These are two I’ve just completed which I’ll add to the current exhibition on the Bourtzi (to replace the ones that have been sold):
‘Skiathos Dancers in Traditional Dress’
oil on canvas, size 1m10 x 76cm
‘Skiathos Dancers’ Detail 1
‘Skiathos Dancers’ Detail 2
‘Olive Tree’ oil on canvas 60 x 80cm – SOLD
‘Olive Tree’ Detail 1
‘Olive Tree’ Detail 2
‘Olive Tree’ Detail 3
I now feel my own stand better lives up to the exhibition title of ”COLOURS OF SKIATHOS’
If you’re visiting the island do try to visit – it will run till the end of August – and new works are added all the time.
Also, fellow English artisit Gail Stathakis is holding her first solo exhibition; ‘The Skiathos Dream’ at the ‘Archipelagos Gallery’ (newly acquired by the charming Tassos Bifkinis and his delightful wife, ViVi) in Skiathos town. Be sure not to miss it – It is a wonderful opportunity to see Gail’s exquisite pastel drawings of Skiathos landscapes. Earlier in the week I attended her opening night. here are some photos of the event:
There’s another general exhibition of Skiathos artists work being planned for mid August (this time at Evangelistria Monastery, hopefully ) so I have lots of painting to do…not to mention a new website to build….
But for now, I’m ready to get on that plane, leave the sunshine, beaches, olive groves all behind, head for home….and get some SLEEP!
(back soon!)
Every year in August, the Mayor of Skiathos’ Cultural Committee organises an Art Exhibition, on the Bourtzi, to display and promote the work of local artists. It is always a highly successful and extremely well-attended event with virtually the whole population of Skiathos, turning out for what is one of the most eagerly-anticipated highlights in the Skiathos calendar.
These are some photos of the last year ‘s event showing the work of just some of the artists (out of more than thirty who exhibited) . Namely Despina Mitselos, Asia Brassan, Gail Stathakis, Stamatas Patir, Giasemi Kondili, Georgios Vrezarianos, Eleni Mermiga, Panagiota Koroniou…… and myself
Here are four of my paintings from the ‘Skiathos Churches’ series:
