The Greek Island of Serifos part four

Most of the pictures I took were of  doors! I am always fascinated by them. I have a big photo collection of doors from the Greek islands and maybe should have an exhibition of them one day.. just kidding. i just love them.

Serifos has hundreds of churches, most of them tiny, reminds me legos!

Every day after going to the beach, I would head over to this cafe and Art journal :)) it was everything I had dreamed of,  all winter..to be on a Greek island and just play in my journal!  It was the most rewarding holiday.. I came back to my studio full of inspiration and ready to get back to painting.
This is the view from where I sat :)

Another interesting place I found to journal was here. This room belonged to a cafe, it was very artsy with all sorts of paintings and odd household stuff on the walls. this room had no roof! which made even more fascinating! lol

one last picture of a gorgeous sunset..

Thank you for following my trip :) I now have to go catch up on all your blogs to see what I missed.
xoxo

The Greek Island of Serifos part three

Good morning sunshine :)

As I write this post, I am also preparing Christmas artwork to show to my galleries...feels kind of funny. I wonder how the island would be during December..

This is the beach in Ganema. The water was crystal clear.

On the way to Ganema..
I'm glad I didn't take my car, because the roads are so windy and narrow. better to take the bus everywhere on the greek islands.

This is said to be Cyclops cave!

This is Megalo Livadi beach. Do you see those trees, right on the beach? they look like pine trees, but they are salt water trees! they only grow by the sea! amazing?!

I feel extra lucky and more connected to Serifos, because I will be selling my work at "Thimisi Gallery" in Hora :)  Georgia, the owner, bought my pendants and will be adding more of my work for next summer :)

That's me sitting outside of the gallery. Isn't that a cute little bench?  and the yellow watch I'm wearing...I bought on the beach from a vendor for 5 euro!!  so happy and silly abt this watch :)) lol 

When I build a house on a Greek Island it will have hundreds of chimneys!! I'm so in love with these. This house has a very narrow bridge leading on to the veranda. how can one not fall in love with this architecture?..
I will continue tomorrow with the last part of my journey to Serifos and art journaling on the island. Hope you are having a great week :)
xoxox

The Greek Island of Serifos part two

One of the most interesting things that I saw in there, was the wall art! I never expected to see photo transfers in Serifo of all places. they would pop out on odd walls. Vey creative!!

and street art! Now please tell me you wouldn't  be smiling as you walked on these streets?!

this was on a roof top :)

and because it gets very windy, this is how they secure the flower pots.. cool?!

This is one of my most favorite pictures.. I was walking to the very top of the fort and discovered this house full of chimneys! I think some of them are for the wood burning stoves!

more flower pots..

I got all excited when I saw this lilac flower pot, that I didn't realize that I had walked in someones yard, poor people were just staring at me and probably thought to themselves.."another American tourist" lol
Part three continues tomorrow :) hope I'm not boring you..

The Greek Island of Serifos

Hi my friend :)) hope you are having a fun summer!  Mine has been really great so far. I just got back from Serifos and I have to tell you I've fallen in love with this beautiful and most authentic Greek island!! Get you coffees ready and enjoy. I want to share these pics with you and hope I won't bore you, but I was thinking of you when I was taking them :)  It will take me several posts to show you Serifos, which is also rich in mythology. It is said according to Greek mythology that Medusa's head is buried here, under a 12th century church, up at the fort, in Hora. That's where I stayed.

Hora is built all the way on top of a rock! some of the houses are built on the side of the cliff. very scary and dramatic, but they are "solid as a rock"! The walls of these stone houses are 70 cm thick. They are cool in the summer and warm in the winter. They are like snow white houses! tiny and the bathrooms are outside! not very convenient when you have to "go" in the middle of the night and its freezing out there!! which I had to experience one night..lol
Most of the roofs on these houses are someone else's veranda! at the house I stayed, in order to fix the screen window, I had to walk several streets over to find the window. kinda like a labyrinth.lol The narrow streets are like that too. windy and at first I would get lost and find myself in a newly discovered street!

This is the way to the house.

The view from the house was i n c r e d i b l e !!  I would sit out on the veranda for hours and just day dream.. I was lucky to be there at full moon which was sooo beautiful reflecting on the sea at night!  I also found this radio station that played beautiful music and would listen to that the whole time I was there.

Do you see those white stairs, on the right? they lead up to the fort and the old church, where Medusa's head is said to be buried. I fell in love with those stairs! they look like they are an extension of the rock. just genius!  This will be included in my next painting :))

These were some of my neighbors..

No cars allowed in Hora..so this is how they removed the trash. Isn't he adorable?!
I will continue on my next post...so much to share!
xoxox

vacation mode :)

Four more days until I leave and I can't focus on anything else!  This vacation is long overdue and all I can think of, is sitting by the sea with my art journal and this is what I have been doing for the past two weeks..preping pages. of course I'm also thinking about swimming and getting a decent tan, but journaling is my dream vacation...isn't that funny?.. but I am an artist after all..   oh I will be taking loads of pictures, so be prepared lol! I am going to bore you for sure.
At this point I would like to thank Kristin for the fabulous summer of colour. I'm going to miss that for sure!! so Kristin.... and I am sure,  lots of other artists would agree, would you pleassse  come up with something for Fall?!  you were such a wonderful host!!  I didn't have time preparing for the last part of the show and tell, please forgive me, but my mind is already on vacation mode :)  thank you for this and all the other artists for your beautiful comments and support!! 

These are some of the pages I'll be working on.

This is coming with me too! I've been working on this punch needle embroidery since 2008! lol. The title is " Transformation"   I must finish it this year!
I wish you all a happy rest of the Summer :) and lets all come back this Fall, rejuvenated and with new inspiration!!
xoxoxo

summer of colour- orange

Just got back from a long weekend to the most beautiful lake in central Greece, Lake Plastira and am so pleased to share these pictures with you! but first let me say, that this week's challenge for summer of colour is orange! It's a colour that I use often in my work!  In this painting, the elephant theme continues and I decided to play with BB's hair and give her a more fun, summery look :)

This weekend I took a train trip! to central Greece, to attend in a music festival in the most amazing place in the mountains, Lake Plastira. It was only for a weekend but I feel so rejuvenated, it feels like I was there for at a week :)

The village where I stayed at, Pezoula, is on the mountain and is surrounded by fir, oak trees and chestnut trees!! I have never seen a chestnut tree in person, have you?

There were rivers running through the forest and villages and you could drink the spring water! amazing!!

There was even a water mill, where the local ladies wash there blankets and rugs!

This is the entrance to a local tavern.

This what I saw in the forest..

I saw a dragonfly!! same colour as my tattoo!

The music festival was right on the lake.

a greek chicken roaming the streets! hahaha

This is what came up to me while I was having coffee down in the valley, in Karditsa!

Hope you've enjoyed this little tour and are having a great summer! Next week I'm taking a two week vacation, which is something I haven't done in years. I'm off to the Greek islands and counting the days!!
xoxoxo