MY ART

Life leads us along unexpected paths, and for me the next step seems to be art.

 

 

I’ve always loved to draw and paint. I was that kid with ink on her fingers – doodling in my schoolbooks, sketching the family Labrador, painting outdoors, bullying everyone into various craftsy projects. I remember whole summers where the terrace was littered with batik paraphernalia, or mosaics made out of sea glass.

 

 

Art class was the highlight of my week, and I was lucky to have a very inspiring teacher in high school, who encouraged me to to try new things, and to take part in a worldwide competition, where I won third prize (I’d quite forgotten about it until I sat down to write this page!) Sadly, that was where my art education ended. My plan to go to art school didn’t work out, and life took over – but I still kept at it in my spare time.

 

 

When my grandchildren were born, I decided to make an alphabet for each one of them. Wild animals, heroes of Greek mythology, sea life, ponies, dogs, flowers – each had a different theme, and I amused myself by using various techniques, such as lino cuts, collage, and drawing on old book pages.

 

 

In the last couple of years, lifestyle changes have allowed me to devote more and more time to painting. Through WordPress, I came upon Charlie O’Shield’s Doodlewash blog, and then art challenges – such as World Watercolor Month and Inktober – got me sketching on a daily basis. They also got me posting on Instagram, where I discovered a great community of artists. Their encouragement, tips and comments have inspired me and helped me improve. YouTube videos and short online classes have introduced me to new techniques.

 

 

I drew and painted in sketchbooks and travel journals, and made lots of gifts for babies’ births and christenings, and for friends’ birthdays. Then I started getting some commissions, and was asked for small watercolors to display and sell in a shop beneath the Acropolis.

 

 

The next step seemed to be to try to sell online, so I have now set up an Etsy shop, called AthensLettersArt. Anyone interested, please drop by and take a look.

Larger works are for sale privately, or through my profile on ARTMAJEUR https://www.artmajeur.com/en/mmarinopoulos13/artworks

 Also on my public page on Artwork Archives https://www.artworkarchive.com/profile/marina-marinopoulos

 

Since my watercolor posts on this blog have proved to be quite popular, I  thought I’d add a page of art information. I’m not sure how this will develop yet, but meanwhile, I’m happy to answer any questions about materials and supplies. My main love is watercolor, but I also like pencil, charcoal, ink, water soluble colored pencils and markers, collage, and pastel. Stay tuned for further developments!