Paintings by Konstantinos Volonakis

Konstantinos Volonakis at the Nautical Museum in Pireaus

K. Volonakis is known for being Greece's foremost seascape painter, or the father of Greek seascapes. He lived from 1837 until 1907 and in his lifetime studied painting in Italy, Germany, Austria, and Greece; in Germany he studied at the Munich Academy along with some of Greece's other prominent painters such as, Litras and Gizis. During his early career he was awarded an important scholarship that allowed him to travel on a ship for two years in Austria painting the countries various harbors. Along with being a professional painter, Volonakis also became a professor at the Fine Arts university in Athens. His work depicts scenes from ports and harbors around Greece as well as life surrounding the sea.

Photos Tinos Oct. '09

Even this old cinema has the area's Venician
pigeon-stoop design.

while waiting in the marble bus stop in Pirgos


a fish carved into the stone path leading to
Pirgos school of Fine Arts for Sculpture

Tinos

It was my first time visiting Tinos. Aside from the Cycladic-style homes with their simple square architecture that Tinos shares with its neighbouring island, it was easy to forget that is so close to the party-Mecca and cosmopolitan Myconos. There in the hilly landscape were hidden numerous tiny villages with their characteristic pigeon perches first brought to the island by the Venicians. Step hills with their walls made from rock reminded me of a time where people lived and depended on the earth's fertility. The most personal surprises were the marble crafted in the most un-likely places in the famous village of Pirgos. This small and wonderful town was the birthplace of Greece's most famous sculptor, Halipas, and two of Greece's most famous painters, Gikas and Liras. We found our way to a small church which was filled with people who were celebrating their friends and family who are named Dimitris on that day. They were giving out sweets and Greek coffee and of course we accepted the delicious treats when they were offered to us!

In the town we also found many houses with beautiful marble decorations on the facade as well as workshops attached to some. Despite the rain we walked up the hill to the Marble Arts museum and the small but pristegous school for sculpture (which is a branch of school of Fine Arts in Greece). To our luck we found the students working over their drafting boards and due to the rain we had the whole museum to ourselves! I found out about the quarrying and cutting process as well as how the artists carved into the marble to create beautiful sculptures and decorations. Much of the stone-work done in Tinos is shipped all over Greece, as the artists of the region are masters in their craft.

It was a very fun trip in terms of seeing the art of that region present in daily life. By just walking through the streets you could see everything from paths, a bus station and even a public ATM made from marble. Even the famous monestary of St. Mary housed several masterpieces of Greek modern painters as well as many detailed Byzantine icons.

Although the monestary's museum spaces could use renovating, the money they have given in the past to the island's talented art students as well as to the municipality in support of the arts has been well spent; for instance there is a museum in the main port town dedicated to Halipas' sculptures as well as other on-going arts projects that have been funded by them. For me it was a very rare opportunity to see the work of religious charity supporting the arts - a wonderful chance to see the things people can do for the common good!

In all I had a great time and could never forget the creative spirit present in the town of marble artworks as well the peaceful serenity I found within the monastery of St. Mary, and finally the delicious and fresh sundried tomatoes, capers and local sweets that we bought by the kilo!

Butterfly Garden

At the beginning of fall
when everyone starts to withdraw,
I begin a phase of painting and creating
a delicate and colorful painting;
with layers of green and pink
memories of summer make me think
of my precious garden of butterflies.

Composition and Contrast

Kasem Kharsa is an Egyptian artist who has grown up in the States, Saudi Arabia and now
lives in Egypt where he is studying film. He sought to become an engineer, but
the artist in him finally won the struggle within.
Although we grew up across the street from each other, and his sister is a good friend, we never met because of our age gap. Years later she introduced her brother's art to me and began corresponding from there. Here is one of my favorite portraits from the few that were sent to me.

Arabian Art

Hello Everyone!
We just received the photos from our Saudi Exhibit in Porto Heli!
Many people came and supported our effort, and the Saudi artists
enjoyed how their art got so much exposure. Hope you like the images.
Regards, Christine

Saudi Embassy Art Exhibition

The Saudi Embassy hosted an exhibit with the
Saudi Artists at the Divani Caravel in Athens.
Many diplomats came and we enjoyed an inter-
national evening. Greek television also broadcast
the event on Ant1 and Net.

Saudi Artists and I at the Acropolis

August Event: Arabian Artwork

emotional and enigmatic

The Prix Pictect winner for 2009, Munem Wasif, made an impression on me with his photographic documentation of the lives of people in a small village in Bangledash. These are people who travel two hours a day twice a day to draw their water...

http://www.prixpictet.com/sustainability/commission/munem_wasif_commission_gallery/

http://www.prixpictet.com/home/

from FLOWER SERIES

Anna Papazoglou is a professional photographer
from Athens. In this series her subjects are found
in the streets of the city inbetween cracks on the
pavement and in otherwise cement-ladden
landscapes. Their mosty small dimensions have been
blown up to magnify their delicate character.
Anna will be in the Athens Fringe Festival this summer
with hand portraits of the event's participants in
an interactive puzzle.

Eco Poster

Here is a poster from a group exhibition

I did for the foundation Evgenidou. They

had week-long seminars and workshops

all to do with learning to care for our planet.

Artists took part in this by making art

that had to do with the theme.

Here is a view of Porto Heli from the shop

Beinvenue 2009

Dear Friends and Family, and All who are Interested:

We Wish you a Beautiful New Year!

You can stop here, or continue to part two:

This is a short letter to summarize our gallery's joys and sorrows and fill you all in our our plans for the new year. For the past year and a half, Blue Fig Art has been growing and taking its first steps. So far things are going pretty well, I mean we are right in line as a new business - it's a complete economic failure. We sold only one painting last year, and that was in Summer (the only time Porto Heli is busy). The shop didn't even officially open until mid-June so the best selling period came and went without taking much advantage of it. On the other side, a lot of learning has been taking place. The first project was to get the empty box with windows to look like a nice full box with windows. We made it pretty much from scratch with a little help from IKEA and Praktiker; and of course, the artists and their paintings slowly made the gallery come to life.

At the end of Summer, we had our Big Opening Night. My mom and I had a big joint party for her new spa too it went really well! I met a lot of artists and potential clients, and it was the night my painting got sold too. I'm finding that one of the best ways to get artists to come to you is by having a Vernissage (gallery lingo for Opening). This year we have a few in the making, one in February, one in April, and one in August.

February's show is all about celebrating the Human Form and I have a couple good artists so far I need just a few more to get the complete picture (haha). One of my artists is Ibrahim BinOmar, who is Saudi. He draws his inspiration from African styles, which is far from the Islamic cultural norm. We met through Sameera Ibrahim, another great person who has been helping either by giving business wisdom, or introducing me to the Arabian art world through her art center. Right now we're working on getting about 9 Saudi artists to Blue Fig Art this summer ( I'm keeping my fingers crossed ) !

Also, this year we will be making improvements to the box. We're going to hopefully get better lighting and internet. We also want to make better ads for the shop and the artists, for instance right now I'm working on postcards with paintings from some of our artists - so look out for one soon!

We wish everyone the warmest holiday season, and I hope that your New Year is filled with miracles and rewarding days!!

Lots of Love,

Blue Fig Art:

Christine Smith and Co.