My love of art began through family and travel. Walking in ancient footsteps with my mum through Greece, exploring the masters in Italy, classical civilisation in Turkey and the refinement and structure of Japan informed my love of art.

I began telling my own story through art in my adolescence. I remember the piece. It was birth, life and death represented through a rose. At the time, it was my own mortality and the cycles of life at play that captured my imagination. It was peaceful, knowing, and I was captured by the romanticism of the renaissance we were learning about. I wouldn't go so far as to say it was my re-birth, but reflecting on where I am today, it was the start of my love of painting. In those early days I was taught techniques I still use today, like draw, draw, draw as a good painter is a good drawer; underpainting; and layer upon layer of paint thinned with medium creates depth and texture.

My first show was at the Tin Sheds Gallery, Sydney University in the 90's. What struck me most about studying Art at University was that it was a safe place to create, learn and fail. Art took time. That's something I struggle with in the immediacy of the digital world, yet I think this is a constant discord and reminds me of the words of Paul Gauguin, "art is either revolution or plagiarism".

My sojourn with art continued when I studied FDR to Ford, and social stratification through photos at Cornell University in the United States. More studies and sketching at famous galleries like the Prado, Louvre , and MOMA informed my art digest.

Today, I am an artist. I live in a creative home. I continue to learn. I continue to draw. With one flick of the head, I'll pass something by, in another flick, I'll see something that captures my heart and has me mulling over artworks in my mind. You just see a small fraction! Lucky you xx

My work has found places in peoples hearts across Sydney and the States.

Contact via Instagram @yianoula