Sea Facing
While much of my recent large-scale work has been shaped by the light and sea of Greece, the outcomes have often been abstract and not tied to specific places. In this new series I’ve moved toward a more representational approach, painting direct, illustrative scenes – of coasts, harbours and sea-facing buildings – made during and inspired by travels across Greece: from the Peloponnese, Attica and Phocis regions to the Cycladic and Ionian islands.
This body of work functions as a deliberate counterpoint to my ongoing conceptual and curatorial projects Light on Water, TILL and (going live at the same time) Films of Return. Where Light on Water traces an abstract visual language – one I’ve been developing since art school, in which the gaze gradually shifts closer, to the point the horizon disappears – these paintings return to source, to observation, and to the particular atmospheres of place. The sea remains the central theme, and the surfaces are, as ever, recycled. Each work features water and light reflections, but here, unlike my other works, the vantage point and surrounding land is also painted.
Made during an extended period working in Greece – where I’ve been spending a part of each year since 2021 – the series is a conscious effort to ground my work and create purely for the joy of painting. Here, I’m documenting specific coastlines I’ve spent time on and felt compelled to record, aiming to capture the qualities of light, weather and built form that define each setting.
Few of these pieces document the endless blues of summer commonly associated with Greece and its islands, rather, they capture the unique light of other seasons. Paintings of ancient Monemvasia in the early morning, moments after sunrise; backlit churches of Syros captured when the sun is most intense; humid haze in Nafplio; Hydra at dusk.
These new paintings will be shown together as the series takes shape, with a first cluster of 35 set for display at Tatha Gallery next month.
Petalioi Gulf I
Vintage artist’s box (base)
Oil · 16.5 x 39.5 x 4.5cm