Tag Archives: watercolor painting

ARMCHAIR TRAVELS – GREECE

Welcome to Armchair Travels, an invitation to travel around the world through the reportage illustration of Studio 1482.We have gathered art from our travels to share with you in the hopes that, while you can’t get out and see these places (yet), our experiences may bring some happiness and light to your day. Please check back often as we will be posting new adventures weekly.

Enjoy Greece…by Greg Betza

In August of 2009 I traveled to the Greece, visiting the islands of Crete and Santorini, as well as spending a few days in Athens. My wife is Greek-American and much of her family lives in Crete. Through our years together I’d heard countless stories about everything from the smell of bread baking in the early morning to the blue sea just steps from her Yiayia’s home.

Town square, Kalyves, Crete

The village was a new experience for me. Visually it was both everything I imagined and things I had not considered. The streets and buildings felt like they grew there and had always been, but the modern world and the demands of tourism in the 21st century had definitely begun to impose themselves on even this smallest of communities. Turn your head one way and see the most beautiful flora and deep blue sea and turn back around for a small internet café and car rental parking lot.

A main village road. Cafés, bakeries, etc.

Bouzouki player at summer festival

Boats sit in the small River Xydas, Kalyves, Crete

Olive grove Kalyves, Crete

From there it was on to the magical island of Santorini. An island, more specifically a caldera, or volcanic crater! Aside from the cliffs dotted with white washed homes that look like candy, I remember so clearly the sound…or lack of it. At the top of the caldera where most of the dwellings are, you are basically up in the sky. A vast, silent sky.

Drawing of Oia, Santorini

One of the many blue domed Orthodox churches famous on the island

We did make it down to sea level to visit the Bay of Amoudi. A small bay below Oia full of restaurants, fishermen, and a few windmills too.

Bay of Amoudi, Santorini

Returning to Crete before departing out of Athens we spent a long day in the capital city of Chania. Throughout its history the city has been occupied by the Venetians, Ottomans and Greeks. The architecture reflects this in the most beautiful way. You can just draw buildings all day! Again, the balance of old and new exists here as well. There are many beautiful restaurants and bars lining the waterfront.

Streets of Chania

Streets of Chania

On our way home we stopped to see the many sites in Athens. Among them, of course, the Acropolis and Parthenon. I’ll leave you with this last drawing made before my trek to the top.

To see more Armchair Travels from the reportage artists of Studio 1482, please click HERE.

ARMCHAIR TRAVELS – MAUI

I’m excited to introduce Armchair Travels, an invitation to travel around the world through the reportage illustration of Studio 1482. We have gathered art from our travels to share with you in the hopes that, while you can’t get out and see these places (yet), our experiences may bring some happiness and light to your day. Please check back often as we will be posting new adventures weekly.

Enjoy Maui…by Greg Betza

2016 marked my 10 year wedding anniversary so my wife and I decided to take our family of 3 to the islands we’ve heard so much about. For a number of reasons we settled on Maui for the majority of our stay.

To say we were happy with our choice would be terribly understated. This vacation was perfect, just as perfect as the Hawaiian weather. In fact, that is the first memory that comes to mind. I remember making the paintings below from our balcony and thinking, with disbelief, “this is perfect weather…it never changes…it’s just perfect all of the time.” And to me that was a great place from which to start this adventure.

Of course there was more than just the weather. A few days into the trip we braved the legendarily beautiful and dangerous Road to Hana. Of the many stops along the way, and there were many, I particularly enjoyed the Maui Garden of Eden. With a name like that, what more is there really to say. We spent a few hours there among the rare flowers, plants, vistas and peacocks! Here are a few watercolors from the stop.

The natural beauty of the island seems never ending. We took a day trip to Lahaina, Hawaii’s former capital, to see their famous banyan tree. Lahaina Banyan Court Park is rich with history and the islands oldest and largest banyan tree. This tree has 16 trunks and is nearly a quarter mile in circumference! The trunks create a sort of maze where people find spots to rest, pose for pictures, find relief from the sun, or as I did, paint.

From the weather to the natural beauty to the people, Maui is a magical place.

Bloomingdales live paint portraits | Greg Betza

Bloomingdales

I was commissioned by Bloomingdales to ‘live-paint’ portraits of their customers. It was so nice to see their clients’ faces when they saw their likenesses appearing on paper. I don’t often talk about art with people who are not artists and it amazed me how impressed and fascinated they are by the process of creating art. Their observations and opinions are diverse and genuine. I learned a lot.

I went into the day thinking mostly about the job that I had to do and how I would execute it. I came away with so much more…meeting new people, of all ages, and hearing their thoughts on what I was doing and how much they enjoyed the process.

Thank you to Bloomingdales for asking me to live-paint portraits of your patrons. Great day!

Bloomingdales live paint portraits | Greg Betza

Bloomingdales live paint portraits | Greg Betza

Bloomingdales live paint portraits | Greg Betza

Bloomingdales live paint portraits | Greg Betza