Yellow Stone Painting

Born in Cyprus, but now living in Exeter, UK, I am an Artist, Writer and ex-university lecturer. I have been practicing Art from a young age, but destiny did not intend me to become an Artist until I had many other experiences in life. I started to immerse myself into Art fully when I established my studio, ‘The ArtHouse’ in October 2016, which then became my stage, and my Art my performance. I playfully explore different avenues of abstraction mainly using acrylics on canvas. However, my inspiration has always been the human figure, and symbols in the universe. Depending on the topic and mood, the layering of colours range from fine semi-transparent to heavy and textured. Similarly, the brushes and other painting aids I use vary from being very big and bold to very fine and detailed. This probably is also a reflection of my feelings which are usually expressed strongly and passionately, which is probably something I inherited from my Mediterranean background. The colours I use and combine are said to be very different, and ‘very colourful’. Even if I use just two or three colours, they burst out with colour and brightness. I searched long and far to find the colours that are in my mind and would enable me to tell my story on the canvas. Similarly, shapes all have a meaning linked to certain feelings, and sometimes they can be as complex as our minds. There are times, usually after finishing a big project that has tired me and took a long time to come to complete, I spontaneously start to paint to free my mind and go with the flow. However, most of the time an image starts in my mind and I continuously think, analyse, search and get prepared to perform the feeling and moods passing through my soul onto my canvas. In a way, the story is usually towards its conclusion in my mind before I start painting it. For some of my paintings, this process of shaping and colouring my story, sometimes took me several months. However, I have the flexibility to experiment different avenues and change direction depending on what the flow of life brings to my painting. I have always been asked to name the type of paintings I do. I feel that Art is like a big ocean and I am still experimenting on the shores of this ocean. If a wave leads me to a certain way, I go and experiment before deciding if it will be a part of my style. Sometimes I find huge waves and they intrigue me to take a leap of faith in that direction.