philip at piso yialia 17x21” oil on linen, 2022
2 PM: i started this painting on october 26, using photos i had shot a while ago at piso yialia, a cove near chora, capitol of the aegean island of andros, where my son has a house on the sea. it’s an idyllic spot, surrounded by large rocks and a view of the penninsula which ends at chora.
today, not satisfied with the sky, i came back to it. and when i did, i realized that the title man on rocks doesn’t do it justice. it’s me, philip, climbing over those rocks. my former mother-in-law, the late painter niki karagatsi and i made many drawings and paintings here, just 10 minutes from the house. afterwards, we would compare notes. niki was born in andros, so there was no way i could equal her deep feeling for this place, which was so present in her drawings and paintings. but, as a transplanted american who learned quickly to speak and gesture like a greek, i brought my own music to it. so there’s an echo of brooklyn in every stroke. but perhaps even deeper is the music of what i feel are my former lives in this place of magic.
an early stage of the painting