2 PM: i took Ellas to the next level. still a lot to do, but now we get a sense of what the composition as a whole will look like once completed.
we now see the greek flag on the right, with an icon featuring an image of christ.
in a way, one could say that this painting is a distillation of my 15 years living in greece; filtered through the intervening 48 years and colored perhaps by the recent visit of my son dimitri with his family and the memories it stirred up.
although i am jewish by birth and have many memories of being in synagogue with my dad, my experiences with the greek orthodox tradition: my deep connection with the construction workers i painted during that period, my visit to mt. athos and my numerous visits to the byzantine museum in athens have cultivated a deep connection.
i can’t recall when or where i shot the 3 collaged photos i’m using for this painting, but when i came across them a few days ago, they struck a chord.
Ellas, 64x30” oil on xtra-fine portrait linen at 2pm