Photo credit:
Elli Papaioannou
Traditional costume in Olympos, Karpathos, Greece
Photo credit:
Elli Papaioannou
Tag: artist
Photo credit:
Elli Papaioannou
Landscape from above Othos in Karpathos
Oil on canvas 50x70bcm
Lone Olive Tree in Greece
Oil on canvas May 2024
This tree caught my eye while out walking in the outskirts of the village of Makyneia, in the Nafpaktos region of Greece. The golden grasses and spring flowers surrounding it totally “zinged”!
Oil Painting of an Olive Tree
This one tree stood out in particular, surrounded as it was by a gloriously golden field of grasses and wild flowers. Its Squareish format also perfectly suited my small canvas.
Springtime in Greece – oil painting by Ask
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Lady in the Window
Sometimes the only way to capture a scene is to grab the phone from your pocket and to click. However, an image on a phone is soon forgotten, overtaken by the simplicity of capture as more and yet more images mount up , all hidden from the world on a tiny micrchip.
40 x40 cm
In this case, I was walking along the side of the little path parallel main road in Μακύνεια, mainland Greece, on my way back from the local shop there, when I spotted this lady in a her kitchen window. Even though she was some distance away, my clever phone with its 5 lenses, allowed me to choose to capture it up close and as a square image. I didn’t, however, have any square canvases with me, so its had to wait a couple of months for my vision to come to fruition!
Oil Painting by Ask Artist in Greece Παλαιό Αρχοντικό Σπίτι στη Φούρκα, Κασσάνδρα.
As I walked into the nearby village, this battered old house struck me, as it is reminiscent of traditional houses from the last century, that were the prerogative of the well to do. It now lies empty, unloved, but its grandeur lives on. Its on the main road so although I knew I wanted to paint it, when I came back the next day alone, I set my easel on the opposite side of the road, on waste ground overlooking the garden of another property, so was able to paint in peace and also to include the blue and the pink flowers.
A cluster of local children soon gathered around me with the usual 5, 000 questions. “Τι ζωγραφίζετε;” – “What are you painting”, and ‘Αν επιτρέπετε, πόσο χρονών είστε;” – “If I may ask, how old are you”! And that from a ten year old!
When they heard the reply they politely said “Δεν φαίνεστε” – “You don’t appear that old” which I guess compared to the Greek γιαγιάδες (grandma’s or simply old ladies) is probably true, as I was in a skimpy dress and not all in black!
Anyway night fell before I had finished, but I was still putting the final brushstrokes for that day when a man came up in his car, and insisted that I move, so he could park in that particular spot, even though there was plenty of room at the side of me!
So I packed up, feeling a little deflated, but fortunately was able to finish the painting two days later.
How a painting begins… midsummer in Greece!
Its scorching hot, in the middle of the day in Greece, but have found a shady spot underneath a fig tree in a secluded corner of Galaxidi. The easel is up and the painting sketched out in charcoal directly onto the 80 x 60 cm canvas, underpainted in cerulean blue oils. Semi-squishy fallen figs get stuck on my sandals, but at least I found a subject quickly and have made a start. Its my last full day in Greece so need to work fast!
Oil painting in Samos, Greece, by Ask
I love Greece, and all her people, but most of all love the old ways of life, and the old traditions. As I used to live in the north of Greece, in Thessaloniki, I read and write and speak fluent Greek, so its easy to feel Greek too!
This painting though was initially captured as a photo on my phone, as it was my last day in Samos, and was actually on my way to the airport, but had diverted on the spur of the moment, to take one last look at Manolates and to try to track down the lady I had heard wove traditional rag rugs on a handloom. I was standing outside her little shop while she packaged up my parcel, when I spotted this delightful old man walking up the hill, using a walking stick, so quickly positioned myself to get the ideal shot on my phone, as he approached the blue doors but without covering the view of another man casually sitting in front of that same door. Success!
It was several months later though when I finally got round to turning that initial idea into an oil painting.
It starts though by underpainting the canvas in diluted blue oil paint, then sketching out the image in charcoal.
Then gradually adding the main features of the people in the painting
Its for sale at £850, though I now prefer to keep all my work!
Contact Elaine Ask on +_447990867058 to arrange the purchase or buy it and pay online on Etsy https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ElaineAskArtist
Samos – Oil Painting by Ask: Misty mountains, sunlit house, and three short-sleeved black shirts.
Its mid October on the Greek island of Samos. From the terrace above my little Airbnb house in Palaio Karlovasi, the views are perfect in every direction for painting.
The mountains opposite have a dreamy layer of mist floating below the peaks. Below that olive trees grow in red earth, and to the right a whole forest flourishes. Its the next level below that, that really catches my eye. A glowing white, red roofed house has three black short-sleeved shirts paraded like flags below the balcony. A large church building, Aghios Isidoros, hides the rest of the foreground from view. I make the church of lesser importance, and bring the house with the washing line much closer, as that is really my main subject.
Today the sky is flecked with clouds looking like horizontal brushstrokes, so that is where I start after sketching out the main outlines.
The painting in situe on my easel
Ask - Artist 