August 7th
Big plans in the horizon, I wanna keep up with the previous tip on the music selection right now im on luvKMI- Si M piensas, idk the beat really does something for meh, anyways big plans…. :/ lol I dont wanna get too excited before i spill too much but Ive been busy working on some clothing articles that could or could not be something for people to buy, the recent homepage image constititutes as a principle “backdrop” for the subjects in the articles.
What I’m pretty much doing is something I’ve been brewing with Gio for a min now ( a min in this case is 7 years) its pretty simple: Deconstruct on the most basic level, starting with crewnecks and hoodies, repurposing them into simple garments. I’ve been going threough at least 2 or 3 of my own garmets but specifially ordered 2 of each size in white to experiment with the textures of a specific garment.
Moving right along, what i wanna do with this is just push out articles of clothes that i for one would never pay 2-3 thousand dollars for and two just make it. Simple as that, now the color combinations and textures, how it falls on a particular subject will always be inconsistient, I say inconsistient because being part of a cookie-cutter society things need to look a certain way feel a certain way, blah, bla,bla, I’m not saying that i wanna change all that but if i can say at least I changed how that looked for a particular moment on a person thats all that matters.
Below are photos of the progression of the backdrop, some butchered garmetry and whatnot, stay tuned..
July 7th
Here we are writing this blog, thinking about many things that could make sense or not. The people around these parts of town are nocturnal. The city doesn’t sleep. People don’t know how to cry anymore. I sit here listening to Otaku on NTS, reminiscing on how it used to be in Greece with familiar habits. I say familiar because my subconscious is so accustomed to things that used to feel good; doing good for others was something I was accustomed to. Moving right along, a lot has happened in my life as I place what is important in the forefront, a job, my sanity, balancing peace of mind, and of course creation of beautiful things. I’m daring myself to go to Japan for my birthday. I almost don’t believe I can do it, as I take a deep breath, I try and breathe enough these days to realize that it’s not that bad. I mean that in the sense that I live in a transitional living space and have somewhere to lay my head, a shower, and a space to facilitate my paintings. I appreciate Geoffrey and his whole concept of how B.O. operates.
Social Media is in a frenzy where competitive images and words aren’t enough; you have to be obsessive to make your name in this generation. Pops used to tell me..hold on, pops used to tell me a lot whatever it was, it def meant something, anyways, one of my bucket list items is for sure deleting my social handles and only having this website to centralize my ideas and create a hub of ideas for you, the viewer to look in one place to understand what the fuck I’m doing.
I’ve been highly unmotivated these days, shifting from wanting to stare at a screen to thinking negatively about everything. Sometimes I hate the world, sometimes I want the world to know who I am, there are times when I wanna hide from the world and happen to be found like how a worm or ant conceals themselves, and when they are found, what is seen is where they are, when it revealed, I want the world to know as least I am staying active. Speaking of activity, Nightshade (my bike) is my most trusted companion, we almost hang out every day, we go places, and yeah, I guess I have a lot to say these days. I’m currently working on 3 big canvases, I wanna say that I know the direction of them, but then again, looking at them, I’m just existing with them and illustrating my emotions through gestures, and colors. (shrug emoji) I can say wholeheartedly that all I can feel at this point is gratefulness, grateful for being able to take the time to feel completely, spatial expression, shelter, in a sense, to facilitate my existence as a creature on this planet. I’m all over the place, I’m looking into how I can catch myself doing it (like now) and how to deal with it (Mike it’s chill, we all get carried away) I recently saw Solaris from Tarkovsky and feel like there is hope in this world as a painter to create a world of beautiful poetic expression.
I want to hope that I will finish these canvases but the end of the month, let’s see :)
January 11
From the roof
What a way to bring in the new year. Last week, I woke up and pulled the curtain in my room—a daily ritual to admire the beautiful sunrise painted across the sky. Instead, I was met with the sight of smoke billowing over the mountains and spreading into the surrounding areas. As much as I don’t rely on television for news, I decided to turn it on for once. Long story short: Los Angeles was burning, with fires concentrated in select areas, particularly the Palisades and Eaton. Even as I write this, the fires are still ongoing. My heart goes out to everyone who has been affected, whether directly or indirectly. I think of you as I go about my daily life.
On another note, taking English at the college I’m attending has helped me refine my writing skills and unlocked new ways to express the thoughts constantly swirling in my head. Shoutout to Professor Elahi and her amazing syllabus! That said, there’s homework due on Monday, which I plan to tackle tomorrow.
Reflecting on the past few days, I’ve begun to think more deeply about the direction of my artistic work. I’ve decided to focus on a specific area of painting: gradients. It’s a subject that fascinates me, though it feels like there’s still much to explore and understand. Give me some time, and I’ll have some analyses ready to share with you.
Recently I watched some art documentaries by the brilliant director Michael Blackwood. He’s captured the creative processes of some of my most celebrated painters: Philip Guston, Chuck Close, James Rosenquist, Roy Lichtenstein, to name a few. I love how these artists describe their work, while Blackwood captures them in their rawest form. Many of their processes are things I already incorporate into my own work, but watching them approach art in their unique ways has given me new insights on how I can improve.
When people ask what I paint, my answer is always, “Whatever you see is what it is.” Behind that, though, is a rigorous process. I often sample and distort images, mirror them, or pick up on figures and gestures that seem to "speak" to me in the studio. My works tend to “live” for long periods, absorbing the environment and revealing their purpose over time. It’s like they understand their role in the world before I capture and contain them in the forms they’re meant to take.
I used to dismiss certain art styles—like works with a single stroke or monotonous surfaces—because they lacked a premise, even after reading the artist’s statement. But my perspective has changed for some artists. What I’m trying to say is this: Many of us know how to paint, but far fewer know how to curate. Without curation, works often remain stranded in a limbo of visual appeal. To me, the combination of curation and physical work is like a beautifully crafted menu, where each dish complements the next in terms of taste and presentation. A bad analogy, perhaps. Let’s try again: It’s like… never mind, you get the point.
Right now, I’m focused on curating my work better. I often have so much to say about certain aspects of my process, but I rarely take notes. Documenting the process is more than just taking photos—it’s about writing down the steps, describing what you’re feeling before and after, and capturing the essence of the work in words. This year, I plan to make the written part of my process a priority, and I’m already excited about it.
Be safe, Los Angeles.
December 24th
Yesterday
These past couple of days have been pretty interesting; the “Moodboard” definitely helped. Right now, I’m listening to Polonius - Disrobing the Invisibility Cloak (Soulburn, Pink Tentacloids for Hair), and I start wondering, why did I wake up today not in the Christmas spirit? How is it that every American is not seeing what’s going on in the world? They can through fake news, media, etc. Where does that leave an individual such as myself to feel even the slightest spirit?
Anyways, being that it is Christmas Eve, people who don’t have much are wishing this was over. Today is a rainy day, good enough to recover from a sore neck from the most adventurous dream ever. So much so that I forgot what it was, but I was left with a sore neck. In Greek, we call it: ψύξη (psiksi), which essentially means “cool.” However, when any sort of air hits your neck and head area when your body is warm, you wake up with a sore neck.
Enough about the neck. These commissioned canvases are sort of an Iliad for me in the sense that I’m revisiting my older techniques and also investigating my reference points.
The influences mostly come from things I see and happen to capture on my phone or snapshot in the dome.
Above are the first remains of phase one from the canvas approach. I intentionally left remnants of paint not for the photo but to create an emphasis on how texture and color play an important role in creation. You see, the blue on its own can be an art piece. I know some of you will say, “It’s just paint on pallet paper.” Well, yes, of course it is, but did you ever consider that just like in nature, articles such as these don’t need much to be complete? Blue sky, green grass, clear water, black sky—I can go on and on, but you get the idea.
I'm working on a sweet playlist to share the musical experience too. Honestly, putting it here in written form is fun because saying it gives me anxiety, whereas typing it here allows the anxiety to steam out of my fingertips and puts the ideas in a compartmentalized modality that's fit for any human being.
These images are just from my phone, nothing fancy, but I do want to scan them eventually to add to my digital archive. So with that said, Merry Christmas!
If I don't journal anything before New Year's, have a happy New Year too. Peace!
December 16th
IRL
December december december so many ups and downs but over all having health is the most important.
Moved to the United States again and I have to say, I still can not belive I’m here, reajusting after 6 years. Anyways finding jobs out here is definatly present but the situation I’m looking to position myself is somewhere or something thats in the Arts Dept, meaning anything that has to do with creating from the heart. That may sound like alot but when it really matters it makes a deeper impact on yah.
Moving on, Jobs were offered and jobs were turned dowm, nevertheless the persistance should always be there. Looking for a job is a simple act, starting off with what motivates you? Is it the money? Is it the labor? Once you locate that you are then in the front seat, determining your course. My course is painting.
Until recently I havent been driving in my course leaving me months without so. December now, the closing out year and I’m getting back into this.
I’ve been walking around Los Angeles and it amazes me on how being born here I never lived here. Such a big city, see, I grew up in Greece, techincally. The diversification of living in both continents gives me so much insight on how I approach my disipline. Moving right along painting right? Yeah…. (takes a deep breath) the long story short of most of what I live is described in my art. The blog provided now that I have available to me will sorta give u an in-depth look into what is it that I do when im not slaving away for the man.
So without further adieu: ENJOY.
For starters every painter needs inspiration, these days its called Moodboards, more specifically images that reflect a sort of aesthetic to build a foundation of the “Big Idea" anyways below is a moodboard that was created in December to build me up into this
“Big Idea”
