Newsletter Issue #10: Important Reminder: Be Kind!

Hello, and welcome to Our Newsletter Issue #10!

It is a pleasure to have you here.

We return to our normal broadcasting programme today, with a spotlight on my painting ‘There’s always someone there for you if you let them be (unless you’re a c***). This is a 2021 piece, and arguably one of my favourites. Still part of my Finding Closeness series, but quietly alluding to the direction I am taking for my new work.

There’s always someone there for you if you let them be
(unless you’re a c***), 2021
Oil and biro on canvas
30 x 30 cm
This painting is available to collect, email info@ariettachandris.com to enquire about it

I made this piece for the exhibition Art in the Age of Now (which took place in May-June 2021), after my friend and curator MC Llamas invited me to exhibit. This is probably the fastest I’ve ever painted (about 25 hours of painting condensed into two gruelling days of work, not including the research for the background behind the paint). In the background I scribbled a lot: thoughts, headlines, quotes. It was cathartic; and then I painted. I painted from a photo taken by photographer Hannah La Follette Ryan, who runs the Instagram page Subway Hands (with her permission of course). It was a photo that moved me, and resonated with the overall line of enquiry for my Finding Closeness series. This painting was also the first time I painted ripped jeans, which was daunting before I actually did it and realised it’s a much simpler process than I thought it would be!

The title is, well, a valid point. We’ve all gone through the weirdest couple of years. The main thing I’ve learned is: be kind. You don’t know what internal battles people are fighting. This is an especially important reminder now in advance of World Mental Health Day this Sunday, October 10th. As such, if you or someone you know adds this piece to their collection, I will donate 10% of the sale of this piece to Mind charity.

Below some detail shots of the painting, as it dried my background scribbles have become more visible and I really love that.

See you next week, where I’ll be sharing with you my most recent finished painting for my Finding Closeness series. I haven’t shared it on my website or socials in full yet, so you’ll be the first to catch a glimpse!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Lots of love,
Arietta xx

Newsletter Issue #9: Behind the scenes: September round up

Hello, and welcome to Our Newsletter Issue #9!

It is a pleasure to have you here.

Firstly, happy 1st of the month / October / spooky season to all of you! I don't fully understand how we're already in October, though as the days grow smaller I am starting to look forward to cosy evenings, warm jumpers and a strange sense of focus that comes to me in the winter months.
As is becoming tradition, with this newsletter I pause my weekly focus on a single artwork, and instead share with you some insights from the month of September.

Study of my golden pathos in blue, 2020
Oil on canvas
50 x 50 cm
This painting is available to collect, email info@ariettachandris.com to enquire about it

September has been a bit of a whirlwind if I'm being completely truthful! I haven't spent as much time in the studio as I would have liked but the time that I have spent has been super productive.

Throughout September I have been working on three pieces: the final (for now) piece in my Finding Closeness series (check out a work in progress pic below) and two pieces that are part of a new series/project I have been thinking about for some time. (Pictured above is the first painting in this project, which I created around this time last year). The essence of this project is multilayered. It started as an exploration into the significance of colour, but is gradually becoming more than that as each painting takes on a storyline of its own and becomes a space for creative experimentation. I'll share more about these pieces over the next few months as the idea develops and I work on it further.

I also had the opportunity to collaborate with my friend and talented cellist Garwyn Linnell. He improvised on his cello and I painted, allowing the painting process to be guided by the sound of the cello, and vice versa for Garwyn's playing to be guided by my painting. This was such a different approach to painting for me, and I learnt a lot in the process. You can see one of the results of this collaboration below.

Finally, I've been rediscovering some older gouache drawings recently. I'll be archiving these and adding them to my website gradually over the next month or so. I will let you know when they're available to view.

Song of the Weeping Wood, 2021
Oil on canvas
Created in collaboration with Garwyn Linnell

Work in progress painting

October is looking like a busy month ahead with quite a few paintings underway! Next week, I'll be returning to discussing my Finding Closeness series with a spotlight on my 2021 piece 'There's always someone there for you if you let them be (unless you're a c***)', and the week after that I'll share with you the most recent piece I completed in the series earlier in the summer!

Until then, feel free to reply to this email with any thoughts, feedback or questions!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Lots of love,
Arietta xx

Newsletter Issue #8: A different approach to Finding Closeness

Hello, and welcome to Our Newsletter Issue #8!

It is a pleasure to have you here.

In continuing our journey through my Finding Closeness series, today I share with you my painting 'The 11th Plague'. Can you guess what this one is about?

The 11th Plague, 2021
Oil and biro on canvas
50.8 x 61 cm
SOLD

The pandemic has affected everyone, of course. One of the things that changed for me was how I approached my Finding Closeness series. The project is based on trying to capture moments of fleeting intimacy primarily in public spaces, something that had to be reconsidered as it became difficult to go out and look for those moments. However, as we are humans in need of social contact we found other ways to be together. This painting is an example of just that.

Based on an image that was shared with me by a friend, The 11th Plague depicts my friend's experience of the 2020 Passover Seder. A tradition normally observed amongst family and friends, was still observed as such but in a different way.

Fun fact: The lurpak took me about 10 hours to paint! You can click on the video below to watch a time-lapse showing some of the painting process.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Lots of love,
Arietta xx

Newsletter Issue #7: Current History

Hello, and welcome to Our Newsletter Issue #7!

It is a pleasure to have you here.

Today we will be looking at the painting 'Current History', from my Finding Closeness series.
But, before we jump in here's a couple friendly reminders:
(1) the two unique rose relief prints are up for grabs and can be viewed on my website, check them out here, share to whom you think may enjoy them, and reply to this email to enquire!
(2) If you'd like to read any of the previous newsletter issues, you can find them on my website here. I release each newsletter on my website a week after it has been sent out to you, my lovely readers. As always, thank you for the time you spend reading these. It really is a treat to have this space to write to you.

Current History, 2020
Oil and phototransfer on canvas
190.50 x 102 cm
Signed on back
This painting is available to collect, email info@ariettachandris.com to enquire about it

'Current History'; an oxymoron of a title, but in a way it makes a lot of sense. This is a painting that came to fruition last summer, and with the help of my family and friends. Perhaps some of you can spot yourselves in the photo transferred border?

In a loose sense I wanted this painting to resemble a tapestry. This endeavour was vaguely inspired by the myth of Arachne, which I became familiarised with a few years ago and it has been embedded in my mind ever since. This was the first painting I created following the first lockdown of 2020, after several months of not creating anything because I'm not great at working from home. 'Current History' is a culmination of all those months at home: the weird aspect of trying to navigate a reality where we couldn't actually do much at all, so many walks, really beautiful sunny days (the world was taunting us), a lot of time spent on zoom and houseparty calls (is the houseparty app even a thing anymore?), even more time obsessively reading the news, because listening to it is a bit much, and finally a secret kind of gratitude for the excuse to be a bit of a hermit. It was current life, but also history in the making.

Fun fact: In the expansive green background I've used a lot of one of my favourite oil paints - Michael Harding's Genuine Naples Yellow Light, which is handmade using techniques dating back to the Old Masters. It's a rather pricey paint, with a 60ml tube costing between £57.24-£71.56 depending on where you get it. (Not as expensive as Lapis Lazuli, but not too far off either). Worth every penny though, I can't imagine my palette without it.

'Current History' as it could look situated on a wall.
This painting is available to collect, email info@ariettachandris.com to enquire about it

This painting was featured on a two-page spread in the September 2020 Print Issue 162 of the magazine BHMAgazino in Athens, Greece. I am so grateful to curator Maria Migadi of Martix Art for organising this. It was blissful, as at the same time I had my two other pieces 'We read & read but what do we actually take in?' and 'Love on a Night Train pt. 2' on view at Domatio Gallery also in Athens! Life works itself out so nicely sometimes, don't you agree?

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Lots of love,
Arietta xx

Newsletter Issue #6: Seriesception: A mini series within the series

Hello, and welcome to Our Newsletter Issue #6!

It is a pleasure to have you here.

Following the August round up in the last issue, I am happy to announce that the two rose artworks are now officially released on my website! Take a look, and share to whomever you think may like them! Also, I would like to extend a warm welcome to my new readers, if you would like to read any of the previous issues, you can find them on my website here.
Now, it is time to continue our journey through the Finding Closeness series. Today we are looking at the mini series within the series Love on a Night Train parts 1-3.

Love on a Night Train Pt 1, 2020
Oil and phototransfer on canvas
50.8 x 61 cm
Signed on back
This painting is available to collect, email info@ariettachandris.com to enquire about it

Love on a Night Train Pt 2, 2020
Oil and phototransfer on canvas
50.8 x 61 cm
Signed on back
This painting is available to collect, email info@ariettachandris.com to enquire about it

Love on a Night Train Pt 3, 2020
Oil and phototransfer on canvas
50.8 x 61 cm
Signed on back
This painting is available to collect, email info@ariettachandris.com to enquire about it

Working well as a triptych or as stand alone pieces, Love on a Night Train parts 1-3 have an interesting backstory: I don’t know the people in these paintings but their interactions are etched fondly in my memory because they are so similar, yet so different.

In Part 1 we have an older couple: the woman looks so at ease as she rests on the man who is absentmindedly staring toward the adverts at the top of the carriage, waiting for their stop. There’s something peaceful about this, I remember the interaction put a smile on my face. In Part 2 the couple is younger; their energy was chaotic, and to this day I am not sure if they are friends or an item. They hopped on the train like a whirlwind, dropped their bags and plonked themselves onto the seats, where they proceeded to have an animated conversation. I was reading a book at the time and the whole interaction was so out there it made me look up and chuckle. In Part 3 the couple are so enamoured with one another, this was a late night interaction and they were definitely boozy, perhaps they were on a cheerful journey home after a successful date? Who knows.

This is what I really love about the ‘Finding Closeness’ series. In the instances where I don’t know the people I am painting, it is an opportunity to create small stories about who they are and what they’re doing. To people watch, if you will. I’m sure I am often wrong in my assumptions, but that’s not the point. The point is to try and explore this aspect of humanity, these curious fleeting moments that highlight a sense of humanness.

Love on a Night Train Parts 1-3 as they could look in your home.
If you would like to see them separately in different settings email info@ariettachandris.com to enquire about it

These three paintings were featured in the exhibition People Like You + Me at the East London Liquor Company, which I co-curated with Julia Howe in February 2020. 'Love on a Night Train pt. 2' was then also exhibited in September 2020 in the exhibition In Connection at Domatio Gallery in Athens, Greece.

Slightly delayed in sending this newsletter out today as I’ve been travelling!
Feel free, as always, to let me know your thoughts. I always enjoy reading them.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Lots of love (from Greece),
Arietta xx

Newsletter Issue #5: Roses are red

Hello, and welcome to Our Newsletter Issue #5!

It is a pleasure to have you here.

Each month I like to spend some time reflecting on how the month that has come to a conclusion has been.
As such, in this issue I pause our journey through the Finding Closeness series, as I instead would like to take this opportunity to share with you some of the work I've been doing throughout August.

Bottom artwork:
4 Roses, 2021
Oil relief print on canvas
20 x 40 cm

email info@ariettachandris.com to enquire about it

Top artwork:
3 Roses, 2021
Oil relief print on canvas
25 x 35 cm

email info@ariettachandris.com to enquire about it

Alongside my painting practice, I strongly cherish any opportunity to try my hand at different types of making. Throughout August, I did just that.

Recently, I've been playing with some new paintings that focus primarily on colour and composition, I'll share more about this this in due course, but the reason I bring it up is because at the core of these paintings is a desire to experiment. In some of these new paintings I wanted to incorporate some relief prints. I wasn't sure how to go about this, but after quite a bit of research I found a way. Before printing directly on my painting I did some trial runs, and honestly, these little experiments had me so excited! They really reminded me of the Greyhound prints I had done in school (links to pics at the bottom of this newsletter if you're curious). As such, I have decided to let these roses have their own life as stand alone pieces. They are available to collect, and soon I will be uploading some proper photos onto my website. I'm so excited about these because it's opened up a potentially entirely new body of work, so watch this space!

Throughout August I've also been working digitally by reimagining some of my drawings that are available through my website. Here again, the practice has centred on playing around with colour and composition so as to complement the new paintings that I've been working on. Eventually I would like to make some of these digital drawings available to collect, but I'll share more information on the release of these when I've ironed out the details.

Sometimes you have to take a close look at yourself, 2021
Digital drawing
Coming soon

In the horizon are dreams, 2021
Digital drawing
Coming soon

So there you have it, some of the work I've done throughout August!
What do you think? Let me know by replying to this email!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Lots of love,
Arietta xx

p.s. here are the Greyhound links in case you're curious:
Greyhound 1
Greyhound 2
Greyhound 3

Newsletter Issue #4: A painting celebrating doggos everywhere

Hello, and welcome to Our Newsletter Issue #4

It is a pleasure to have you here.

How have you been over these past couple of weeks?
I've been out of London for a short while, which has been dreamy, and prior to that I had quite a creative few days where I experimented with various ideas, some of which I will share with you soon!
In this issue, we pick up where we left off and continue our journey through the Finding Closeness series with my 2019 painting 'Man's Best Friend'.
(Last time we looked at 'BPOFY', in case you needed a reminder).

Man's Best Friend, 2019

Oil and phototransfer on canvas
30.5 x 40.5 cm
Signed on back

This painting is available to collect, email info@ariettachandris.com to enquire about it

'Man's Best Friend' is a funny little piece. In my head I always think this is the only animal based artwork I've attempted but the reality is quite different as I've explored this theme in a few artworks in the past (you can check some of them out here). Perhaps I think this way as this is my first detailed oil painting of a dog.

This painting captures the fleeting moment of someone getting on a rather busy London tube with their dog, and a random stranger reaching out to say a quiet hello to this four-legged friend. The stranger did not have an exchange with the dog's owner, he barely even looked at the dog; he reached out almost instinctively to say hi, and that made me think about how that's something I would do. It's probably something a lot of people I know would do. Who cares about other humans when there's an innocent four-legged friend in the vicinity, am I right? Jokes aside though, there was something extraordinarily gentle and special about how this whole scene unfolded, and it was a lovely way to illustrate how this idea of fleeting human intimacy really does just permeate into so many different actions and themes.

'Man's Best Friend' as it could look in your home.

This painting is available to collect, email info@ariettachandris.com to enquire about it

Truth be told, I am realising as I write this that I haven't shared this painting too much since I made it. Why? I am not entirely sure. Perhaps it has something to do with sometimes wanting to give my paintings some space to breathe before I open them up to the public eye. Anyway, here it is now! I hope you enjoy it.

Next week, we will either be continuing our journey through the Finding Closeness series, or I will share with you some of the work I've been doing throughout August. I haven't decided yet. As such, this is your chance to let me know if there's anything specific you would like to read about! Looking forward to hearing from you.

Until then, I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Lots of love,
Arietta xx

Newsletter Issue #3: Be Proud of You

Hello, and welcome to Our Newsletter Issue #3

It is a pleasure to have you here.

Last week, we looked at the first piece in my Finding Closeness series, as well as the overarching theme of the collection.
Today, we will be taking a closer look at 'BPOFY', the second painting I made in this series, and also one of my favourites.

BPOFY, 2019

Oil and phototransfer on canvas
50 x 50 cm
Signed on back

This painting is available to collect, email info@ariettachandris.com to enquire about it

While all my artwork is unavoidably personal to me, 'BPOFY' is particularly so. I began this piece in early 2019 when the idea for Finding Closeness was still in its infancy. This painting was, at the time, a quaint journey into still life painting; a necessary bit of practice for any artist. It was inspired in full by a bouquet of Valentine’s Day flowers that I received from my dad (an annual tradition), with a coded message on the card: BPOFY. Mysterious. 

As always, I called my dad to thank him for the kind gesture, and (in Greek) he goes, “well, did you get it?”. 

Truthfully, I hadn't. But, following a hilarious conversation it was explained to me thatBPOFY was short for Be Proud of You. It was (and still is) some solid advice, and I knew then that I had to immortalise these flowers in paint. In respect to the series, this one here is all about the intimacy involved in the act of giving a gift, something that we can all hopefully relate to in some way. 

The more I look at this piece, the more meanings and narratives I can add to it, but I won't cloud your judgements further. Instead, why don't you tell me how you relate to this piece?

'BPOFY' as it could look in your home.

This painting is available to collect, email info@ariettachandris.com to enquire about it

Since its making, BPOFY has received a lot of attention; most notably it has been featured in two issues of The World of Interiors Magazine (August & September 2021 Issues). It was included in the prolific Art in The Age of Now exhibition at the Fulham Town Hall, and last year (pre-Covid) it was featured in the exhibition People Like You + Me, which I co-curated with the wonderful Julia Howe at the East London Liquor Company. 

Looking ahead, I am considering turning this painting into a limited edition print.
As ever, I always value your feedback, so let me know whether this is something you would like to see!
In the next newsletter, we will be exploring the piece 'Man's Best Friend', you can check this one out here.

Until then, I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Lots of love,
Arietta xx

Newsletter Issue #2: Finding Closeness, an ongoing exploration

Hello, and welcome to Our Newsletter Issue #2

It is a pleasure to have you here.

Today's newsletter is slightly longer than usual, as I would like to introduce the series I have been actively developing since 2019,
Finding Closeness, as well as the first painting of the collection.

In many ways this is a project approached with an idealistic desire to remind myself, and you, kind reader, of the more gentle aspects of human nature. This collection of work is rooted in an effort to capture the intangible idea of human intimacy through its many various forms.

There is a bit of a catch though: these depictions of closeness are often layered over photo-transferred news articles which mostly discuss the ongoing climate crisis. (And, if you know me personally, you know that this is a great cause for concern in my brain). Why such darkness behind something so gentle you may ask? Well, because humanity is a multilayered phenomenon; there is good, and there is bad, and they both need to be acknowledged. Also, there’s something poetic about painting over these backgrounds and seeing them be overcome by scenes of closeness. The texture of the phototransfer remains beneath the paint, some words can still be deciphered; the scars of the world are ever present, and they must not be forgotten, but they must also not distract from the inherent human ability to display and experience this intimacy. Perhaps, if we all as humans could extend this intimacy toward our home, we could perhaps even save it?

We read & read but what do we actually take in? 2019

Oil and phototransfer on canvas
40.5 x 30.5 cm
Signed on back

This painting is available to collect, email info@ariettachandris.com to enquire about it

Pictured above, is the first painting I made for the Finding Closeness collection. It was my first experiment with the idea, so I approached the painting process openly, as I would a sketch. The brushstrokes are by design more visible in the flesh tones and the folds of the clothes. The background over the photo-transferred article is more of a wash, keeping the text prominent in the piece.

The man in this painting is solitary. Here, that sense of intimacy that runs through the whole series is found in the way he’s engrossed by his reading within the public domain of the London tube. As I frequently work from photos that I have taken, I remember the instance during which I took the reference image for this piece. The man who's photo I took and transformed into a painting, seemed relaxed and completely captivated. It reminded me of how I can be when I am transfixed by a text.

The title 'We read & read but what do we actually take in?' is somewhat rhetorical. What dowe take in? In a fast paced society where every day we are bombarded with information, news, events, how much of that remains in our memory and most importantly how much of it should remain?

This piece had the pleasure of being included in the exhibition In Connection at Domatio Gallery in Athens, last September. The exhibition was carefully curated by Mary Stefanouand the Domatio Gallery Team. Although I was unable to attend the exhibition personally due to this pesky little thing called Covid, I am incredibly grateful to have been able to exhibit my work in the city in which I grew up, and hope to do so again soon in the future.

'We read & read but what do we actually take in?' as it could look in your home.

This painting is available to collect, email info@ariettachandris.com to enquire about it

In our next newsletter, I'll be spotlighting my painting 'BPOFY'. You can check it out in advance on my website here. If you do, be sure to let me know your thoughts! I always enjoy hearing your interpretations of my work.

Until then, I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Lots of love,
Arietta xx

Newsletter Issue #1: First newsletter! Hello & Welcome! :-)

Hello, and welcome to my first newsletter!

It is a pleasure to have you here.

Truly, I should call it our newsletter, as the premise of these emails is to take up a tiny bit of space in your inbox each Friday in order to update you on what I am doing as an artist.
I only ever want to grace your inboxes with happiness, so there will be occasions where you may hear from me less as I work behind the scenes to bring you something lovely each time.

Thank you for signing up, I am so excited to be writing to you!

Art in The Age of Now, exhibition photo

Art in The Age of Now, exhibition photo

For this first newsletter I wanted to reflect on the month of July, which has been incredibly productive.

I entered July with a feeling of excitement after the hugely successful Art In The Age of Now group exhibition at the Fulham Town Hall (thoughtfully curated by MC Llamas, and Art Below), in which I had the honour to exhibit two of my artworks (pictured below). It was a whirlwind of amazingness in so many ways, and I am thankful to have been included.

My painting 'BPOFY' then made an appearance in the Artist Impressions section of The World of Interiors Magazine, August Issue (exciting!) and I finally finished one of the most challenging paintings I've ever made after starting work on it in 2019. I will share more about this painting in due course.

This month I also began proper work on another painting which I had started to visualise in 2019, and I am simultaneously working on two other, smaller, but equally exciting pieces.

There's Always Someone There For You If You Let Them Be, 2021
Oil and biro on canvas
30 x 30 cm
This painting is available to collect, email info@ariettachandris.com to enquire about it

BPOFY, 2019
Oil and phototransfer on canvas
50 x 50 cm
This painting is available to collect, email info@ariettachandris.com to enquire about it

See this?

These are my updates for this week, quick and easy, and that's how I hope to keep them!

From next week, I will start to spotlight my artworks, and discuss them in a bit more depth in terms of my thought and making process.

Until then, I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Lots of love,
Arietta xx