My big fat Greek Painting

The Ogden school painting so far.

Am I smarter than a 6th Grader? Well, when I started out on this project I thought so. Now I'm not so sure.

the Acropolis from Diane's trip.

When Greece was picked I thought of all the great places in it to paint, like the Acropolis or Athens or maybe even where the 300 Spartans made their stand Thermopylae.

From movie "300"

But I was told to forget about Thermopylae by my 6th Grade son, " There's nothing there but a plack, and not much to see. And if you are thinking about painting Sparta there is nothing left of it either. It's all dust now."

So, smarter than a 6th Grader? I might be in trouble.

Traveler Diane in Greece

But I know our Traveler Diane on this journey is smarter than a 6th Grader when it comes to Greece. Diane was born there, adopted by a Greek American family hen she was 11 months old and went back to see her roots 50 years later.

More of Traveler Diane's Story: I went for 15 days, I went to Athens, Crete, Mykonos, Santorini and Evia.

Photos from Diane's trip.

In Evia I met my father's family, cousins and aunts and uncles. It was lovely. Even though some of them didn't speak English, their warmth and family love was abundant.

Diane's and her Greek relatives.

What I found out in Greece was very poignant. I found my story- the one I never had expected to find. (a long story) but at the end of the day what it made me discover was - there's no place like home. And it gave me a deeper love and appreciation for my parents, the ones who raised me.


It was sort of like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. I traveled to this far away beautiful land only to find out that home is where the heart is. A little corny, but a nice lesson to learn on your 50th year.

The Photo that I will be working from for the painting.

The Artist's Big fat Greek Painting: Finally the start of the painting. Here I will try and go through what I'm doing and how I paint.

The Sketch: I never just start painting. I plan out what I'm going to do first and I do that with the sketch for the painting. It's like my road map- It puts the design in my head and I try and not deviate from it much.

Transferring the sketch to the canvas is my next step. I basically redraw my sketch design on the canvas. What I'm painting on is a 18" x 24" Oil primed Linen board. I've just started painting on these boards and think they are great.

Next step mixing up the paint colors. I premix most of the colors for the painting on my palette before I paint. That way I can see if a color is wrong and fix it before I brush it on the canvas.

I make big puddles of the colors for I won't run out in the middle of the painting.

Having so many of my paint colors thought out a head of time lets me concentrate on painting when I'm painting and not mixing.

The next step- Yes there are a lot of steps- I start really painting with my darkest colors on my palette. This helps give the painting structure and weight so it is easier to balance all the other colors that come after it.

Artist Tip: In Oil Painting starting with your darkest colors and working towards your lightest colors is the most common way to paint. Painting in pastels is also done this way, dark to light. In this manor your lightest colors will stay cleaner and have more punch.

After I've put in my darks I try and put in my biggest mid-tone color. In this painting it's the water and hills. At this point in the painting I'm not really worried about the painting strokes, I just trying to block the painting in. Basically cover the canvas with wet paint.

Close-ups of the painting so far.

Starting to add some brighter colors,some reds and oranges.

Time to start on the boats. I wanted the water pretty much worked out before I started the boats. I needed the water wet so I could get a nice soft edge where the paints would meet.

A good start to this painting for Ogden School's 6th Grade class. I was able to get pretty far on this painting in this one sitting. The next time we meet I will start defining the building and some of the other ships a little more. Lots still to do though, and some more of Diane's story.

If any of the 6th graders there at the school want to help me out on this painting, send me your ideas or drawings at www.TheArtistAndTheTraveler.org.

Maybe you can help improve the painting and prove that I'm not smarter than a 6th Grader. Hum?

Thanks for looking in and until next Happy trails!!