The Quiet Courtyard

How many hidden courtyards like this must there be in Greece? A space, between the houses where women congregate on white plastic chairs on hot summer evenings to discuss the latest news.

‘The Quiet Courtyard’ is a place of the imagination, inspired by places I’ve visited and the village I currently live in. The flat-roofed, sugar cube house suggests The Cyclades, or possibly Skyros, where I spent several summers. The time of day is most definitely ‘mesimeri’ – the quiet time in the heat of the afternoon, between lunch and the evening coffee. Everything is quiet, apart from the odd dog or cockrel – or it should be, if a neighbour isn’t doing a bit of work on his house!

This mixed media painting was created with layers of acrylic paint, wax and ink on watercolour paper. The first layers of paint were embossed with a variety of tools to create a slightly raised texture and the image was drawn into the wet paint.

When dry, alternate layers of paint and wax were applied and variously scratched into to give a weathered look. The line drawing was done at various points during this process, with and black and blue acrylic ink.

The sky was left without texture, as a clear backdrop for the white washing fluttering in the breeze.