Atelier | Romanos

New Piece, New Technique

2012-01-16T13:01:00.001-05:00

I completed a piece this past weekend that I did as a birthday present for my friend Mason Paul, gallery owner/director at Synthetica-M gallery in Cincinnati's Brighton area I've always been a bit hesitant to give art as a gift because you just never know if it will be liked by the person that receives it. Of course, if you know the person well enough that shouldn't be an issue. Anyway, I've shown at Synthetica-M a couple of times and felt like I'd gotten a good enough sense of Mason's aesthetic preferences in art that I figured it was low risk doing a piece for him. And as it turns out, he liked it! This is the piece:

This is a small piece, around 6x8" or so and it's done on a wood panel. I'm pleased with how it turned out and I was particularly happy with 2 things specifically. First, I have a French dictionary from 1906 that I tore out and incorporated the entry for the words "synthetique" and "synthetiquement", in reference to the gallery name. Synthetica isn't a real word so those were as close as I could get to the actual name of the gallery. The other thing I was happy about was that I used an image transfer technique I'd read about but had never tried. The image of the water tower is the one that I (successfully) tried using this method. I think the element works well content-wise (there are a few water towers in Brighton where the gallery is) and compositionally adds balance to the abstract.

The short description for the process I used to do this is this: First, you print out an image on a black and white laser printer/copier. You then paint a over the image using a clear gel medium. Once that's dry, you run the piece of paper under water allowing the paper to dissolve, leaving the image embedded into the back of the gel medium. What you have then is a sort of translucent piece of gel medium (sort of like a fruit roll-up) with an image on in. You then use the same gel medium to adhere it to your piece and it pretty much just blends right it. This is not a new technique by any stretch, I'd just never tried it before. Can't wait to try it again!

Happy 40th Mason!

First Piece of 2012

2012-01-12T16:14:00.000-05:00

Call me crazy but I think 2012 is going to be a good year. To kick things off right, I did a new piece over my holiday break from work. I had found some cool objects at a place in town called Building Value, that sells salvaged items. Funny how quickly the story came together. In hindsight, I seem to have channeled my inner Rauschenberg. Here is the piece:

Here's to a creative, productive 2012. Stay tuned for more work and posts this year.

DR

Secret Artworks 2011

2011-11-23T14:40:00.000-05:00

For the last 3 years I have been happily contributing to Cincinnati's largest arts charity event hosted by Artworks, called Secret Artworks. I've blogged about the event and it's benefits here before but never get tired talking about it, nor participating. So much so, that this year when asked if I'd join the planning committee, I happily accepted. I was honored to work amongst such a dedicated team who volunteered lot of hours alongside the full-time Artworks staff to put this all together. The event was this past Friday night and it went off perfectly! We held it in a new space this year (the former Contemporary Arts Center) and the museum-like venue only helped the already strong work stand out that much more. Special credit should go to Jolie Harris and Janel Carol for heading the planning committee and of course to Tamara Harkavy and the Artworks staff!

I also submitted 3 pieces, 1 of which I know for sure was acquired. The piece is called LA Ghost and is a study for a series of pieces I will more than likely start over the holidays. Since it is technically no longer a "Secret" I thought I'd share it here:

Virginia Romanou

2011-11-17T11:36:00.000-05:00

Today is my aunt Virginia's birthday so I thought I'd write a little about her.

Virginia is my dad's younger sister (whose age shall remain forever a secret!) though she feels more like my older sister and it's very obvious that we're all related. She's an artist and designer by education and profession, though neither of those words seem to encompass anywhere near all of how she manifests her creativity. Simply put, she is an idea person with an immense amount of creative energy, all she needs is a medium. Books, posters, paintings, exhibits, sculpture, interior spaces, furniture, fashion, photography, the list seems to go on. Funny how the focused and restrained artistic drive in my grandfather was channeled so differently between his descendents. Having just returned from a trip to Greece where I spent an unforgettable time with my dad (I'll write about that next) and regrettably a short time with Virginia, I still feel energized and inspired by my times with them.

Last year Virginia had an exhibit in Brazil that I was unfortunately unable to attend. She had been working on a series of black and white abstract pieces that come together in what she called "stavro-lexo" which translates from Greek as crossword puzzle. These pieces are beautiful in their subtlety and sensitivity in their own right, but curated and composed into the larger work which takes on a life of its own. Simply amazing. Here's a picture of the piece on the wall of her studio:

Needless to say I am a proud nephew and whether she knows it or not, she inspires me constantly to push myself as an artist and designer and to always keep following my passion, experimenting with styles and techniques and never locking myself into one medium. At the end of the day, creativity is an energy not unlike lighting, water or wind. All different but essential in moving life forward. Maybe nature's passions materialized.

Xronia polla theia mou!

Missing Pieces

2011-09-06T13:18:00.000-04:00

Ok, this is sort of a play on words but stay with me for a minute. I always tell people that art is for the artist and if anyone else likes the work they do, it's serendipity. With that, most artists I know feel the need to keep a new piece around a bit to sort of feel it or live with it. Let it speak back to you in a way. That's how I feel for sure. Right when I finish a new piece I tend to say to my self that this is my new favorite piece and how can I sell it. But art is like anything else living in that if you need to keep it, it'll tell you and if it's ok to let it go, it'll tell you that too. If you're not an artist this may sound ludicrous, but trust me, it's true.

Well, I did a show earlier this year in April where I was cranking to the last minute to get 2 pieces done in time for the opening. Both sold which was cool, but the only problem was that I never got to live with them at all before they were put on exhibit. One of the two I was ok with selling when I did as I had another one from the same series that I preferred anyway. The other one however I not only didn't get to live with, but I dont even know who bought it. It's not necessarily the most significant piece I've ever done or anything, but it was a bit of a departure for me and I really like it. I'm sure I'd have sold it soon enough anyway but I would have liked having it around for just a bit longer so it could say goodbye.

This is the missing piece. "Color outside the lines".

Silently Obtain - Synthetica-M Gallery - 9/3/11

2011-09-04T17:04:00.000-04:00

Last night was a 1 night event at Synthetica-M gallery called Silently Obtain. The concept was to have a number of pieces on exhibit and rather than being priced with the built in gallery commission, the pieces had a "reserve" price that covered what the artist wanted to make and the rest going to the gallery. I think the idea was really great and the turnout for the night seemed good too. Aside from the uncharacteristic (for September) blazing heat, we had a nice crowd. The opening of the new 3rd Party Gallery next door to Synthetica added to a good vibe to the event. I met some really cool and talented people too, some who happened to be artists exhibited in the show. Thanks again to Mason Paul for including me and putting on another good event! You may also want to check out the work of Alton Falcone, Jared Dreyer and Curtis Goldstein.

This is the piece I had on exhibit last night. "In a fit of fuchsia".

Dynamic, Transformational & Static - Video

2011-07-04T13:26:00.000-04:00

Synthetica-M Gallery owner/director, Mason Paul has posted a video of the current exhibit that I am a part of. Check it out here!

Deconstructing the Collage - Hide and Seek

2011-06-08T02:15:00.000-04:00

I'm biased in my love for collage and mixed media work and for good reason. More than a painting, a collage/mixed media piece to me has so much more meaning and depth due to the finite nature of the items which it incorporates. Generally when people see my collage work in photos they seem visually interesting to them in composition, but it's when they see the pieces in person and here the stories of where the artifacts and ephemera that are incorporated into the piece, that the "a-ha" moment occurs. Collages tell stories and just like different actors and scenes come together to tell a story in film, so too do all the various items, brush strokes and their juxtapositions, completing a dynamic visual narrative. With that said, I thought I'd breakdown one of my collages and call out some of the items and where they came from.

To start with, here is a picture of the piece Hide and Seek. It's a 49" x 51" collage and mixed media piece done on reclaimed plywood.

To break it down into more detail, here are 4 close up pictures of the piece, starting from the top left. You can get a bit more of a sense of the details and how the items are layered and composed.

You can get an even better sense of the level of detail and all the items that are incorporated into this piece. There are probably close to 50 objects of various sizes interspersed throughout this collage but I thought I'd call out 12 in particular to give some more background about.

1. A rusty washer I found in the street on my walk home in Cincinnati
2. A tag found in an old metal cabinet, circa 1950s
3. A family photo bought at a garage sale in Chicago, circa 1960s
4. A postcard of cold war era Berlin, bought in Berlin in 2009
5. A hood ornament from a truck bought at a flea market in Amsterdam in 2008
6. A tin soldier prayer plaque bought in Athens in 2004
7. A newspaper insert picture of Steve McQueen from 1955
8. Pages from a 1952 HAM radio directory with a hand written note found inside the directory
9. Club flier torn off of a wall in Berlin in 2009
10. A photocopy of the Voyager spacecraft
11. A hand-painted image of the TV tower in Berlin
12. The inside of an envelope

Though there are a few items from Berlin that tell a bit of the story that I intended, you can see that a number of the pieces are newer, much older and/or completely irrelevant to any story regarding Berlin in any way. However when all assembled, it's clear there is a story of a place and time. A story all created using finite items that can be used only once. That's the part of collage that I really like. The commitment required to create them. I collect artifacts from all over the world, from different time periods and I selectively choose which are to be incorporated into new pieces. And once an item is used, it's gone. Every step counts and no piece can ever be replicated. I hope that this little break down helps demystify the process a bit while telling a bit of the backstory behind the actual story.

Dynamic, Transformational and Static - Opening 6/4/11

2011-06-05T16:31:00.000-04:00

Last night was the opening of my lastest show, a group show at Synthetica-M Gallery in Cincinnati's Brighton area. I was one of 4 artists exhibiting and was pleased with the quality of the work, the way it was set up and the turnout. Much thanks to gallery owner, Mason Paul for a great night! For those that couldn't make it, the show runs from June 4th through the end of July. To arrange an appointment please call the gallery at 513-602-2574. Here are some pics from the show and a few images of the pieces I have up for sale.

Dynamic, Transformational & Static at Synthetica-M Gallery

2011-06-03T21:38:00.000-04:00

This Saturday, June 4th, I will be exhibiting in a small group show at Synthetica Gallery in Cincinnati's Brighton gallery district. The opening is from 7-11 PM and promises to be a well curated show with a diverse range of talents and styles. Thanks to gallery owner and curator, Mason Paul, for including me. I'm happy to be a part of it and look forward to a great event. Hope to see you all there. Pics of the show will be posted within a few days of the opening.

2 Wrongs Dont Make a White

2011-06-03T21:24:00.001-04:00

That's the name of this new piece I finished. It's part of a show I have at Synthetica Gallery in Cincinnati that runs all of June and July. The piece starts to merge some of my collage and painting but adds the twist of celebrating the materials, both natural, processed and artificial. Hope you come to the show to see it in person and there are some work in progress shots in the post below.

A Peek Inside the Studio

2011-06-03T21:20:00.000-04:00

My studio is in the basement of my house and aside from that fact, those that know my work and how I create it, know that it's not a neat, linear process, nor a tidy space. For one, I typically have 2-3 pieces going at once. There's paint, collage ephemera, old pieces, sculptures, music, tools, etc all over the place. It's also a bit dangerous to navigate due to how much stuff I've packed into a small space! I might add, that my recent obsession of working large isn't helping. I do get requests however to check out my studio though and since I rarely let anyone down there (for safety reasons) here's at least a peek into my other world with some work in progress. Enjoy.

New Piece

2011-05-29T13:21:00.000-04:00

I've been working on a bunch of new pieces in preparation for a show in June and this is one I hope to include. It's another giant collage/mixed media piece called "In a Fit of Fuchsia".

IDSA Art Event - Designers, Paper, Beer

2011-05-29T13:18:00.000-04:00

This year the IDSA held it's Mideast Conference in Cincinnati, and as Cincinnati's Chapter Chair I was busy for months working with our planning committee to plan and deliver a meaningful experience to our attendees. One of the events we held was on the Friday night of the conference and was called Designers, Paper, Beer. The event was an exhibit and silent auction of artwork created by designers. Artists were asked to submit pieces that express their interpretation of "paper". How it inspires you, how you work with it, etc. Fellow designer, artist, coworker and friend, Michael Roller, was the brainchild behind the concept, which resulted in submissions by almost 20 artists from all around the country. The event was really well attended by close to 200 people, all the work sold and proceeds went to benefit our favorite local arts organization, Artworks and the IDSA's Design Foundation, which provides scholarships to design students. Thanks for everyone for your participation! Here is a pic from the show with one of the 2 pieces I submitted (the giant Moleskine).

Secret Artworks

2011-05-29T13:04:00.001-04:00

I submitted a few pieces to Secret Artworks again for 2010 and the event was even bigger and better than the last! Cant wait to do it again this year! Here's what you missed:

This is at the exhibition in the Westin. Great venue and amazing turnout!

This is me with friend and contributing artist, the talented Steve Wuesthoff.

This is one of the pieces I submitted. Can't go wrong with SpaceBee!

Secret Artworks "Exposed"

2011-05-29T12:57:00.000-04:00

Over the last couple of years I have participated in Artworks charity art event called Secret Artworks. The premise of the event is that artists anonymously contribute pieces that are 5"x7" which are exhibited at a large show. Patrons then pay something like $75 per person to attend the event (which is always an amazing time with a massive turnout) and with their admission fee are entitled to 1 piece to take home. The cool thing about it is that the person acquiring the art has no idea who did the piece until it's pulled from the wall revealing the name of the artist. Very cool idea and makes a nice chunk of revenue for a great charity. Cant wait to do it again.

One of the cool things about this show for the artists is that the Artworks team who curates the show, selects 100 of their favorite pieces and asks the artists that created them to be a part of a separate show called "Expose", where artists can exhibit one of their normal size pieces of work. I was fortunate enough to be selected as one of these artists and was a part of the exhibit held at Artworks beautiful gallery space. This too was a well attended show and was a great opportunity to meet some of the artists who donate their time and artwork to the Secret show. Kudos to the Artworks team for all their hard work every year with both of these shows! Here is a pic from the show.

Clifton Cultural Arts Center

2011-05-24T13:36:00.000-04:00

I was a part of the CCAC's innaugural show titled, Golden Ticket, which opened in October of 2010 at the CCAC in Cincinnati. The show had an impressive collection of talents and a great turnout of attendees, and although less than ideal art placement and lighting, I appreciate the efforts of the CCAC staff in curating and putting on the show. The call to artists is open now for this year's show and it promises to be even better. You can find more details here.

Finally!

2010-10-04T21:39:00.001-04:00

Ok, call me dumb, but I've been locked out of my own blog due to email/password mix-ups for a while now. As you can see it's been a while since I've posted anything! Well, now that all is right again in the world (for now anyway), I can update my many (few) readers about all that's been going on.

So, it's been a busy year, but mostly with paying work. Seems that 2010 is following in 2009's footsteps as one that is crap for selling artwork. I understand that bills come first so I cant complain too much.

I have still been a part of a few shows this fall. First off, The Clifton Cultural Arts Center had their first "Golden Ticket" art show, which although not the best displayed show I've ever been a part of (putting it nicely because I like the people that put in on), it did have a nice collection of artists and was fun to be a part of and support. I was also selected as one of the top 100 from the Secret ArtWorks event last December and so will be a part of a group show on October 22nd. I'll also be submitting again to SecretArtworks this year and am happy to support the organization and all they do for the community.

I plan on being more productive this fall and winter and have been speaking with several local and national gallery owners to get in the queue for shows. Stay tuned!

Giclee prints now available of "Ides of March + 1"

2010-01-17T22:28:00.000-05:00

This particular painting always seemed to be liked by many people but there's only one and it's already got a home! Well, thanks to amazing new printing methods called Giclee prints, I now have available for purchase high quality reproductions of this piece. Prints are printed onto canvas then stretched, giving the appearance of almost the real thing. I will be doing a limited run of 10 prints and am currently taking orders. Stretched 24"x36" prints are $270. Please email me if you'd like to order ne of the series. atelier.romanos@gmail.com

Clearing Inventory

2009-12-17T22:00:00.000-05:00

With the new year upon us and many new ideas to pursue, I need to find homes for my remaining inventory of paintings and collages. Have a look here and let me know if anything strikes your fancy!

DR

SpaceBee!

2009-12-13T20:17:00.002-05:00

SpaceBee goes live! Friends, now that I have SpaceBee trademarked, I'm working on a number of items that I hope to have ready for the holiday season. First up, I am unveiling 2 limited series paintings based on the piece I submitted to Secret ArtWorks. You have your choice of a neon pink and orange version or a blue/...green/neon pink variant. These are original 5"x7" paintings on canvas boards and are available for $40 unframed or $55 framed. Please email me at atelier.romanos@gmail.com to place an order.

Secret ArtWorks 2009 - Sale!

2009-12-09T08:53:00.000-05:00

As you know, I recently participated in the Secret ArtWorks charity event to support arts projects around Cincinnati for kids. 2009 was a record year for the ArtWorks foundation, which is awesome news! Here's a recap of Secret ArtWorks by the numbers:

1474 Secret Works of Art submitted by 536 participating artists
700+ vouchers sold
900 guests in attendance
$50,000 raised for ArtWorks programs!

Now even though they had such great turnout, there are a number of pieces that went unsold, so they've decided to do a special sale on Friday and Saturday 12/18&19 to sell the remaining work. It's a great deal, $35 for 1 or $60 for 2, so I recommend you check it out. I know I will! Details are in the picture below and you can see what pieces are still available here.

DR interviewed on Strategic Aesthetics

2009-11-29T18:53:00.000-05:00

I was recently interviewed by fellow artist and co-worker, Mike Roller, on his blog Strategic Aesthetics. Mike is a talented artist and designer and has been steadily growing his following on his blog through quality content, valid point of view and great writing. The interview was posted today, so feel free to check it out here! Thanks Mike for including me!

DR

Secret ArtWorks 2009 - Revealed!

2009-11-24T13:42:00.012-05:00

Thanks to all that came out to the Secret ArtWorks event last Friday. It was a smashing success, with a record number of participating artists and attendees. Nice to see in this economy that people will still come out to support the arts. I was happy to run into some friends and fellow artists at the event and it's always cool to try to figure out who did what! Though with over 1000 pieces this year, that took some time. Here are a few pictures from the show and of the 3 pieces I submitted.

Me and artist Tom Lohre

"Back to the Future" - collage and acrylic on canvas board

"EWR" acrylic on wood panel

"SpaceBee 16" acrylic and spraypaint on canvas board

Secret ArtWorks 2009

2009-11-06T21:22:00.002-05:00

Every year Cincinnati's Artworks foundation does a cool charity event where they invite participating artists to create and anonymously donate small (5"x7") pieces to be sold to benefit Artworks. This year I have subitted 3 pieces, though I cant show you or else it wouldn't be much of a secret! The opening night is on Friday November 20th and the admission is $100 per person, but with each entry you get 1 piece of your choice to take home! I'll be there and hope to see you too! More details on the event can be found here.

New Piece 10/4/09

2009-10-04T21:24:00.003-04:00

I just finished a new piece that I thought I'd post. It's collage and painting (acrylic and spray) on a 48" x 52" wood panel I re-purposed from my office. Many of the artifacts I incorporated into this piece were from my trip to Berlin this summer, which inspired me more than I could have imagined. While you can get a decent impression on the overall appearance of this piece, much of the detail is only really appreciated in person.

Neolaia/Pathos: New.Youth.Passion - Opening Night

2009-09-12T23:15:00.007-04:00

I got back from Chicago the other night and thought I'd post some info and pics from the opening of my exhibit in Chicago.

First off, the Museum itself, though small by museum standards, is a wonderful space with an impressive permanent collection and a large amount of rotating gallery space for their many exhibitions. Over 200 people came to the opening in what turned out to be the biggest turnout for an opening night in museum history. There were also a slew of people from various national and international media outlets interviewing the artists and curators. Thanks to the friends that came and a special thanks to Allison Heller from the museum who coordinated an extremely well organized and beautifully displayed event. Thanks also to Mary Antonakos and Diane Kastiaficas for curating the show and of course for selecting me!

I have posted some pics here as well as on the Atelier | Romanos page on Facebook. The show will be up through the first week of January, so I encourage you to go through if you happen to be in Chicago.

DR

Neolaia / PATHOS: new.youth.passion - Opening Thursday, 09/10/09

2009-09-02T17:18:00.003-04:00

I have just returned from a 3 week trip in Greece and Berlin where aside from relaxing with friends and family, I have come back with all sorts of great ideas and ephemera to incorporate into my next round of pieces. That said, my opening at the National Hellenic Museum in Chicago is finally upon us, like next week! The show is quite an honor for me to be a part of and I hope as many of you can have a chance to go through the exhibition over the next few months to support the pool of artists. Details about the artists can be found here.

Neolaia/Pathos: new.youth.passion - 9/10/09

2009-04-27T22:23:00.007-04:00

Well, I made it in! I had 3 pieces accepted into Chicago's National Hellenic Museum's Neolaia/Pathos: new.youth.passion
show which features the works of emerging Greek-American artists between the ages of 20-40. The opening reception is Thursday, September 10th and the exhibition runs through January 10, 2010.

I am really honored to be included in this exhibit and I hope as many of you as are able to make it to Chicago for the opening can do so! For those wondering, the 3 pieces accepted are:

Spring Update

2009-04-01T23:25:00.005-04:00

I have not posted in quite some time so I thought I'd better update with what's been going on with me since the last show I did at Red Tree so you wouldn't think I was abducted by aliens or something.

Since mid-February I've been traveling almost weekly. New York, Chicago, Milan, Geneva, Boston, Bentonville, and a few I'm forgetting. While primarily business travel, I've spent as much time as possible trolling galleries and collecting ideas and ephemera for my new work. And catching up on sleep.

I've also recently submitted some work for admission into a really big show in Chicago and I'll find out in early May if I've been accepted. At this point all I can do is cross my fingers and wait. Aside from that, I have been rearranging my current studio and looking for a new space to possibly move to. I need space to work larger and store my inventory.

So, I will be working on new pieces this spring and summer and am also currently planning a private show with a couple of my fellow artists that we'll likely be doing in Cincinnati in late May. I'll post details on that opening when we get it sorted out.

DR

*BTW, the picture above is of an espresso I had in Geneva last month. Mmmm...fuel....

Red Tree Recap...

2009-02-15T18:33:00.005-05:00

This past Friday night I had my opening at the Red Tree Gallery in Oakley (Cincinnati) and it turned out to be a really great venue and a very enjoyable experience. Personally, I had a great turnout of friends, family and supporters of me and my work, so that's always nice, but on top of that, the show was well curated, nicely organized and well promoted.

The space and lighting at the Red Tree showed off the work well in an intimate yet complimentary way while allowing for plenty of space for people to mingle and enjoy the venue. With the exception of the much too loud guitarist, I would have to offer my compliments to Wendy Smith and her team in coordinating and promoting this show of 10+ artists. I hope more people have the time to go take a look at the work as it runs through the first week of March and I look forward to entering work into more of their shows as they move into their new space!

DR

Art Opening - Red Tree Gallery in Oakley

2009-02-10T21:20:00.002-05:00

I had 3 paintings accepted into a group show at the Red Tree Gallery in Oakley, the opening of which is this Friday 2/13/09 from 6-9. This is sort of short notice, but the artists were just notified today, so not much I can do about that! I'll be there from 6-8 and will be happy to see whoever is able to make it out.

DR

Back on the ball

2009-02-03T20:35:00.003-05:00

With the economy being what it is, most of the freetime that I previously used for creating artwork, is now being consumed with work activities and/or drinking. While productive activities in their own way, they are not helping me progress my painting.

I did take a bit of a hiatus after the crazy wave of shows from late 2007 to summer of 2008 where I completed almost 40 pieces in the span of 9 months. I have however resumed sketching, writing and collecting ephemera and thoughts and am ready to get back at it. I am currently submitting work into some upcoming gallery shows and I am looking forward to having the deadlines to keep me focused.

Thanks to all that provided me with so much support through 2008 and I look forward to showing you what inspiration 2009 will bring to my work.

Atelier | Romanos on Facebook

2009-01-19T22:26:00.003-05:00

I've recently created a group on Facebook to keep everyone updated on happenings without having to periodically spam people. I dont want to be that guy. If you're on the wonderful world of Facebook, I invite you to visit the group here and join.

Thanks also to everybody that got calendars!

2009 Calendars are finally in!

2009-01-05T18:44:00.002-05:00

Well, these are a bit later than I was hoping, but my 2009 calendars are in. These calendars are 8.5" x 5.5" and feature 12 months worth of my artwork from shows in 2008 in Cincinnati, Covington and New York.

I had originally planned to have these ready by early December for sale for $20, but with 2009 under way, I will take orders at $12 each. Email me at atelier.romanos@gmail.com and I will send you one.

DR

Art Leasing

2009-01-03T00:10:00.004-05:00

With the new year come new endeavors. Besides new pieces and shows, this year I will also be starting an art leasing business. There have been a number of occasions when restaurant owners have inquired about my interest in hanging my artwork in their respective establishments, which has led me to coming up with a business model that makes sense for the restaurateur and the artist. Let me explain.

I'm sort of torn on restaurants as art venues to begin with which is why I have thought of this in the first place. The way I see it, artists do their artwork for 2 reasons - 1. Love and 2. Money. Anytime I've shown work at coffee shops, art fairs and galleries I have sold artwork. I have sold the artwork because of 2 reasons - 1. Desirability and 2. Venue. Galleries and art fairs are expected venues yes, but coffee shops also have become to artists what blogs are to aspiring writers, a convenient and easily accessible way to show your work. Great.

Now, on the restaurant front, here's my philosophy. When I go to restaurants, which is like every day pretty much, I am going there to eat. I may be going to socialize and eat. I may be going to enjoy the ambiance and eat. Bottom line, at restaurants, I'm there for the food, not to look at or buy artwork. In fact, when I even notice artwork at a restaurant, I assume it's part of that restaurant's permanent collection. Which then brings me to my philosophy on art sales there and in general.

Ok, when you sell artwork through a gallery, your work is the product they sell. Their business is built on your work, and your art career is largely dependent on their business. They also advertise and display your work. They earn their sales percentage because they offer a service and venue to the artist and in my opinion, galleries should be the only venues that take a premium from your sales.

Now coffee shops are sort of a grey area because a good shop will curate, advertise and invest in doing openings for the artists they accept. Popular coffee shops that gain a reputation among local artists like Sidewinder or Brutopia here in Cincinnati, can be a pretty desirable alternative to a gallery in many ways.

Anyhoo, back to the leasing idea. Since restaurants are not venues where patrons are looking to buy art, there's not much draw for any artist to show there. Especially if the restaurant takes a cut on top of that. In my opinion, the restaurant should be paying the artist to show their work there. The restaurant needs decor, which is the service that the artists provide them. If a restaurateur wishes to display artwork, they should either purchase pieces specifically to cater to their brand image or they could do as they do with linens and plants and use a service. The benefit is that for a flat monthly fee a restaurant can have a defined number of pieces that can be rotated out on a customized schedule. This is easy for the restaurateur to budget and also gives a recurring revenue stream to the artists.

Right now I am creating my pricing strategy and am filling out the portfolio of available work (both mine and that of other artists that I will represent). As I finalize my plan I will post a link to the website which will have details for anyone interested.

The Gift of Art!

2008-12-19T16:16:00.004-05:00

Economic times like these are not exactly the best to be thinking about buying stuff, but it is that time of year I suppose. Instead of just buying more plastic junk that will overstay it's welcome before 2009 is even up, why not look for gifts that last, like artwork? I know that it may cost more than a dvd or a sweater, but art will last lifetimes, not unlike say a redwood tree or a big rock but doesn't take up much space.

With that in mind, I have some inventory of paintings from the shows this year and am offering them at a 20% discounted price. Click on the right under the "paintings" tab and have a look at available pieces. Anything that doesn't say "sold" is still available. Email me with questions at atelier.romanos@gmail.com.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!

Artist Reviewing Artists

2008-11-21T10:05:00.005-05:00

Several months back I stumbled across an art blog called Thinking About Art, written by an artist and art enthusiast. I liked his posts and also liked his approach to the art world. One day when I was checking in on his blog he had a post about art reviews and their bullshitty and incestuous nature. The point was that most artists reviews are either written by artists that weren't successful or by people who were not really qualified to review art at all. With that, he decided to do an open call to artists to review other artists. This would be a good way for artists as peers to review one another. Great idea!

So, I submitted a piece that was pretty indicative of the style and theme I was working with at the time and in return I was given a piece to critique, all to be done anonymously and then would be posted on the blog to be shared with the community. Well, as the posts began to go up and I was able to see others work and their associated reviews I was even more excited to do my part.

It seemed that the tone of the majority of the reviews was fairly friendly that was more to be encouraging to the fragile artist ego that the typical reviews which would be deifying or completely dehumanizing. With that I thought I would at least try to review the piece that I received as objectively and positively as I could. Then the piece that I was to review arrived in my inbox and to my dismay it was a painting of a reclining nude. How many paintings of reclining nudes does the world really need to see at this point in time? Doesn't matter, I want to be fair and judge the piece independently for it's quality, composition, etc, which I did in my review.

Anyway, the piece did nothing for me personally but I sent in my review and eagerly awaited mine. Several weeks passed and I was finally sent the review that the other artist did of my painting. I was really interested to see how it went over and to my disappointment, Mr. Reclining Nude guy's review was less than favorable. Now having been an artist and designer for the better part of 20 years I have quite thick skin at this point in my life and I truly believe that art is more for the artist that created it than any viewer. What bugged me though was that the bitterness of this artist came out in his review of my work, which went counter to the objective of the peer review project. Especially when even the crappiest of napkin drawings had been reviewed by other artists glowingly!

Yesterday the review of my work was posted on the blog and I thought I'd share that. Each artist had the opportunity to offer some sort of a response and add another piece if it helped give some context, which I did.

Overall and bad review aside, I still like the concept of the initiative, but the inconsistency of the reviews in relation to the quality of work was in reality no different that if they had been done by so called professional art critics. In the end art is just too subjective, which makes artists own confidence and personal network that much more necessary. If you like your own work, keep doing it. If you value the opinion of someone in particular,in my case my harshest critic (other than myself) my dad, bounce the work off of them. Either way, always push, push, push. Like your work, but never rest.

Upcoming Opening 12/05/2008

2008-11-18T19:32:00.002-05:00

On Friday December 5th I will be exhibiting 4 paintings as part of a group show at the Passionate Arts Center in Covington, KY. The opening will be from 6-10pm and while I wont be there since I'll be lounging my days away on a Thai beach, you will at least be able to see a few of my pieces and also some from my coworker Mike Roller, who I've posted about here before. The PAC is located at 31/33 Pike Street in historic Covington's arts district. I hope you'll have a chance to go and support the local artists.

Art Off-Pike 2008 - Part 2

2008-10-21T20:57:00.007-04:00

So, last weekend Marcus and I participated in the Art Off-Pike arts and music festival in Covington, KY - which is right across the river from Cincinnati. Covington is sort of our Brooklyn (sort of) and they are really trying to build an arts district, which I give them credit for doing. The potential is high for the area, as it still has tons of historical character, cheap real estate and a growing community of dangerous liberals. This was actually the 4th annual Off-Pike festival, though I'd never heard of it.

There's a place locally called Building Value that sells used building materials. Basically when a house is getting gutted or someone is doing a remodel, you can donate your cabinets, sinks, etc to Building Value for resale and proceeds go to a charity. I wasn't being charitable on the occasion of my visit, but I was on the lookout for some blank, white doors to show our work on. I ended up buying 9 doors and hinged them together in pairs to create some mobile screens to hang up the work.

So, Saturday we met down at our spots and began set-up, which didn't take too long, though those pop-up tents dont exactly just pop up. The doors worked out ok but the uneven pavement required shims to stay marginally stable.

The show only lasted from 11-5 and had about 50 "artists" displaying and selling their work, but after seeing much of it, my conclusion is that the jurying criteria was likely just whether or not submission checks cleared or not.

Although the weather was great, and sitting outside enjoying art and the weather on a Saturday was quite a treat, I was turned off enough by the outdoor show, that I doubted that I would do this fest again next year. Once the wind picked up and blew our work over, I was certain, never again. Not long after though, I actually sold a piece. Granted it was the smallest and cheapest, but a sale is a sale. Not long after that, around 4:30, the committee announced it's award winners, of which I won 2nd place and was handed a check by a guy who looked an awful lot like the Monopoly man.

This now has me reconsidering my 2009 participation as I have learned a few things about outdoor art shows.

1. Even if you sell nothing, it's more fun to sit outside drinking and showing off your artwork than doing house chores.
2. The streets of Covington do not lend themselves to panels that need level flooring to stand securely.
3. The sweet spot price-point for street fair art is under $100 (though I sold mine for $185).
4. The standards for a show like this and their stringent jurying process made victory that much easier.
5. The range of folk that a fest like this can attract is mesmerizing. Seriously.

In closing, thanks to those that came and thanks to those who were genuinely into my work. I know it doesn't appeal to all audiences - which is how I like it.

Art Off-Pike 2008

2008-10-06T17:13:00.003-04:00

I will be exhibiting at the 4th annual Art Off-Pike arts and music festival this weekend, Saturday October the 11th. The work I'll be showing will be a selection of the work that I showed at my last 3 shows in New York. Hope to see you!

GalleryFCB Opening - my paintings

2008-07-01T11:08:00.000-04:00

The collection of 10 pieces I painted for this show have been accumulating over the last 6 months with few people having seen them until show night. Now that they are public, I have posted them here for all to see.

Runway 1 - acrylic on canvas - 15x30

Runway 2 - acrylic on canvas - 30x40

Runway 3 - acrylic on wood panel - 16x26

Subway - acrylic on canvas - 18x24 sold

Marais Reflection - acrylic on canvas - 16x20

Asphalt Interruption - acrylic on canvas - 18x36

Eclipse 1 - acrylic on canvas - 11x14 sold

Eclipse 2 - acrylic on canvas - 11x14 sold

Eclipse 3 - acrylic on canvas - 18x24

Limnos - acrylic on canvas - 30x40 sold

GalleryFCB Opening - pics

2008-06-30T18:30:00.014-04:00

I'm still in the afterglow from the reception on Saturday night. Even torrential downpours and the pride parade blocking 23rd couldn't dampen the spirits. It was awesome to have so many people come out to see the work and support us! There were old friends, new friends, family, colleagues, some surprise out-of-towners and just random art lovers.

So, with that, here are some pics from the opening. My next post will have my work from the show.

Set-up on Saturday morning

Lots of people enjoying the show and awesome sangria.

Marcus and I in front of our interpretations of Kim Nickoson's photograph.

Gallery director Oliver Werner and photographer Kim Nickoson.

Artist Marcus Fletcher and photographer Kim Nickoson.

Good friends, John Devanney (left) and Clint Bottoni.

Me in front of my painting entitled asphalt interruption.

GalleryFCB Opening Reception

2008-06-29T11:28:00.002-04:00

Last night's show opening was just awesome! We had an incredible turnout, the space looked fantastic, the work was strong and the support from everyone was overwhelming. Thanks to everyone that was able to make it last night and extra special thanks to: Oliver Werner for giving us the opportunity, Marcus Fletcher for being a great partner in our artistic endeavors and my amazing wife Erin, who has been unbelievably supportive and patient as I've been preparing my work for the last several months.

I'm still in NYC right now, but will upload more photos of the show (as well as finally showing the work) next week, so check back!

DR

GALLERYFCB Opening - Saturday 6/28/08 6-10pm

2008-06-17T20:43:00.006-04:00

The long awaited paintings show at GalleryFCB is finally upon us. Everyone is invited to the opening reception on Saturday 6/28/08 from 6-10pm. The work we've prepared for this show is all new and personally speaking, worth coming to see.

Opening Night - Grounded 6/7/08 - Collage Pieces

2008-06-08T10:23:00.021-04:00

Thanks to everyone that was able to make it out to our opening last night. We hope you enjoyed the work and I know Marcus and I enjoyed having you there!

For the many friends and family that were unable to attend the opening and/or haven't seen the collage pieces I exhibited, here they are. If you will be in the New York area during the month of June, please stop by Grounded and have a look in person. Enjoy!

Rocket to Pluto - acrylic & collage on wood panel - 12.5" x 23"

Bonne Annee 08 - acrylic & collage on canvas - 12" x 12" sold

Ce Matin, Hier Soir - acrylic & collage on canvas - 18" x 36"

Parisienne - acrylic & collage on wood panel - 8" x 24" sold

33 - acrylic & collage on canvas - 5" x 5"

Hellas - acrylic & collage on canvas - 5" x 5" sold

10 Quid - acrylic & collage on canvas - 5" x 5" sold

Detroit - acrylic & collage on wood panel - 14" x 24"

Grande Mere - acrylic & collage on wood panel - 8" x 33.5" sold

9Sigma - acrylic & collage on wood panel - 9.5" x 48"

Mike Roller - Schematic @ Brutopia - 6/6/08

2008-06-04T21:41:00.004-04:00

This month Brutopia will be featuring a series of new works by Industrial Designer and Artist Mike Roller. His collection entitled Schematic, is a series of paintings done with spray paint on masonite. I really like Mike's use of color, texture and negative space, all of which come together in dynamic pieces that work well individually, yet feed off of one another as sets. I would highly encourage you to go to his opening reception this Friday, 6/6/08 from 8-10pm and see his work in person!

PartnerUp Interview

2008-06-04T17:54:00.003-04:00

I was interviewed recently by Megan Dorn at PartnerUp and they wanted to know my take on product development. Might not be the most interesting thing for many people, but if you want to read it, you can check it out here.

NYC Show - Opening Reception

2008-05-19T20:01:00.005-04:00

Please join us for our opening reception on Saturday June 7th from 8-10pm at Grounded , West Village - NYC. This show features all new collage pieces by Demetrius Romanos and Marcus Fletcher. We hope to see you there!

Bombay Sapphire Competition

2008-04-29T15:07:00.002-04:00

One of my coworkers has been named as a finalist in Bombay Sapphire's world famous martini glass competition. Check out all the concepts here and make sure to vote for Mike Roller's Vapour concept! Vote early and often! Drinks are on him if he wins ;)

NYC Show Dates

2008-03-30T17:37:00.002-04:00

Well, the 2 New York shows are official, with opening dates and everything! The collage show at Grounded will run the month of June with the opening on Saturday, June 7th. The paintings show at GalleryFCB will run the month of July, with that opening Thursday July 3rd. Now we just have to get our work done!

See you there!

Newspaper Article

2008-03-27T10:53:00.003-04:00

I have been really busy with work and painting this month and have been noticeably negligent in new blog posts. However, our office was just featured in the local paper and I thought this might be of interest to some of you.

Read the article here.

On another note, I will have a bunch of paintings up at Brutopia in Cincinnati starting Monday for the full month of April, so feel free to check it out and have a fantastic cappuccino. This is select work from '07 and older. I need to clear some room in my studio since I'm madly producing for the 2 NYC shows in June!

Swiss Idol

2008-02-28T22:37:00.003-05:00

Some who know me well know that I have a not so secret love of American Idol. Now, I didn't like the show right away and in fact even ridiculed all the people I knew who were the early adopters during seasons 1 and 2. I'm not sure how I got turned onto to Idol during season 3, but I did and have been faithfully watching ever since.

Those who know me also know that I am ridiculously picky and tend to like things my way or only like certain things about certain things. Confusing, I know. So for example, most people like the first rounds of Idol with all the crappy singers. I dont. Most people hate Simon Cowell too. I dont. I think Simon is the one misunderstood soul (so is Ryan for that matter) who tells it like it is. When he says you are a crap singer, well, you probably are a crap singer.

One of the things in particular that I noticed when I first started watching Idol was Simon's watch. He wears a Chopard Mille Miglia 16/8407, which just happens to be the same watch I wear. I've always liked watches and figured when the time came to buy an expensive Swiss watch, I'd better be damned sure I'd be happy with it for a long time. I admire that about Simon too. His earnings during one season would probably eclipse what my net worth would be over a lifetime. But with that said, he still wears the same watch, episode after episode and season after season. Just one more example of his impeccable taste and discerning eye for quality.

What's the Deal With Parliament Cigarettes?

2008-02-05T14:32:00.000-05:00

I started blogging about a year ago after getting turned onto it by my friend Matt (who is actually well on his way to making a name for himself in the blogosphere). As I've written before, blogging is kind of like Myspace for grown-ups. The longer I write, it seems more like Myspace for nerds, but I'm comfortable with that.

One thing that Matt got me turned onto was a little blog feature called sitemeter. Sitemeter tracks your daily blog visits and give the blogger a way of seeing how much traffic you get and essentially a numerical way of seeing that your time is well spent.

Ok, let me cut to the chase here. I check my sitemeter a few times a week to get a feel for who's looking me up, where from and what did they use to find my blog. Well, I've notice a trend that I dont get. Parliament cigarettes. Why you ask? Me too! I wrote a blog post about Parliament cigarettes back in October basically talking about how I hate smoking but I like the design of Parliament cigarette pakaging, and that seems to be getting me those hits. But the question remains, why are people searching the internet for Parliament cigarettes to begin with? None of the people ever leave comments, so apparently they're not as enamored with the graphic design as I am, but there must be something. Please educate me oh global Parliament searchers!

Collage

2008-01-29T12:31:00.000-05:00

I've been focusing my artistic efforts lately towards 2 upcoming shows each with a different media, painting and collage. I just finished the second collage piece (of 10 that I need to do by June) and I thought I'd write about it.

The setting is the bank of the Seine on New Year's eve. The picture above sets the tone and provided some of the physical inspiration. My collage pices are always mixed media, so some sections are painted with justapozed or intgrated collage elements to help round out the story. This piece sums up the obvious, New Year's night, but what I was trying to capture more than anything was the underlying mood. As amazing as the Paris trip was by: a) just being in Paris and b) seeing our best friends, there was an undertone of tension. Both couples were having some serious issues and yet as close as we all are, we kept those to ourselves. That's the essence of what I tried to communicate and I am excited about showing it. It'll just have to wait until June. No sneak previews!

Inspiration

2008-01-18T15:30:00.000-05:00

I talk about travel an awful lot. Whether for work or for pleasure, it still shapes and inspires me. Maybe it's because just weeks old I was road tripping from Florida to NY? Maybe it's because my first passport was issued when I was 11 months old. I have inherited my dad's wanderlust (and am eternally grateful for that), so in reality it's probably just genetics.

What I have continually marveled at over my years of flying all over the place is the amazing contrast of colors, textures, patterns and surfaces. Whether its dark, rainy runways with light getting refracted every which way, the blocks of color created by the water treatment facilities in San Francisco bay, or the way that in Arizona the mountains end and give way to these massive round fields (I still dont know what they are). I've got a mental diary of years worth of these images and I've been waiting for them to manifest themselves in my work. That's exactly what's happening now. I just wrapped up 1 more painting last night and am completing the first series of 3.

Current Projects

2008-01-16T08:59:00.000-05:00

I mentioned a couple of posts ago, that Marcus and I have 2 upcoming shows in NYC, one on May and one in June. The May show at GalleryFCB will be all paintings and the June show at Grounded will be all collage. Normally I like to have a mixture of new and old pieces at my shows, but these 2 shows will be of all new stuff. In order to build some level of anticipation as to what it is that we're working on, I wont be posting any new work here until May. If I do some work that is new, but not for the shows specifically, then I wont mind posting those. Although I wont likely be posting images for a while, I will be writing about what it is that I'm working on.

With that said, much of my painting work right now is still fairly dark in palette and also very atmospheric, with geometry to help bring things together. The themes are building on my constant fascination and inspiration of light, dark, space and flight. I have taken so many photographs lately that I am breaking down and drawing inspiration from, that I have more ideas than time to execute them. Good probelm to have I suppose.

On the collage side, when just in Paris I may have spent more time looking down at the ground than looking at the sites, all in search of great ephemera to incorporate into my work. I'm always in search of artifacts to either build stories around or to add context with. Marcus and I have also been spending time at the Poverty Barn looking for interesting things to incorporate into our work.

Overall, I would have to say that we're both on a good pace to generate about 25 total pieces (per person) and we continually push and inspire one another.

Paris...encore

2008-01-10T14:25:00.000-05:00

It has been difficult being back in the US after being in Paris. It always is, but for some reason this time it's hitting me a bit harder than usual. Besides the fun and reconnecting with friends, I'm trying to creatively focus on all the great stuff that I found that I'll be incorporating into a series of collages that will be a part of my show in June. Marcus and I also made a trip to the thrift store on Sunday and found tons more great artifacts to work into our pieces.

The last several months I've been into incorporating my organic backgrounds with graphic elements (namely orchids) juxtapozed against them. Before we left for Paris I did a small painting as a gift to our dear friends Guillaume and Celine (this one).

I am getting really into adding more geometric shapes and textures for contrast.

I have 3 new paintings that I'm working on right now that are again inspired by flight and flowers, and I'm working all these elements together. None of them are complete, but I'll post them as they wrap up.

Paris

2007-12-29T05:13:00.000-05:00

I just returned from a week in Paris where my wife and I were visiting friends. Being my favorite city in the world, it's not hard to get inspired to do more work when I return home. A couple of nights ago I toured through a local art exhibit which happens to be right across the street from where my friends live and there were a couple of artists who were really good and was glad I spent a bit of time speaking with them. I got a chance to speak with a gallery rep as well which was great as I look to both expand my network and maybe have a showing in Paris somtime in the future.

For now, I am back to preparing for the two shows that Marcus and I will be doing in New York in May and June. I'll be posting some of this new work as I get things completed, so keep checking back!

Opening Night

2007-12-10T20:43:00.000-05:00

Thanks to all of our dear friends that came out to support us at our opening on Saturday. Marcus and I both had an absolutely amazing time and everything came off perfectly. Special thanks to Mark, Oliver and Jenny for making this an extra awesome night for us. You guys are the best!

Sadly my pictures came out kind of blurry (really blurry, actually). It was a blast though, so who cares how the pictures turned out! With that said, here's one shot that turned out alright.

Stay tuned for our next show coming up in the spring at GALLERYFCB in Chelsea!

NYC Opening

2007-12-06T23:17:00.000-05:00

New paintings by Demetrius Romanos and Marcus Fletcher - This Saturday, December 8th from 8-10pm at Grounded in New York. This will be the first NYC opening for the Cincinnati based artists.

"These pieces are the fusion of my work as a designer and as an artist. I feel a deep need to explore and capture the chaos and instability of nature while bringing a certain order to all of it, satisfying my need for balance."

-Demetrius Romanos

"Within my work, I try to create movement and balance with a feeling of complex simplicity. The line is important and color aids the line or curve in its motion throughout the canvas. There are far too many academic influences to mention in this limited space but I believe that without trust and belief none of this would have been possible."

-Marcus Fletcher

(m)orchids

2007-12-05T13:55:00.000-05:00

I seem to have gotten in a groove with the orchid paintings lately. I've begun to evolve them and I'm also beginning to incorporate some of the more graphic and geometric elements from some of my other work. I just finished this one last night and it's earmarked for a friend. I'll be moving on from this groove soon before it becomes a rut!

One More...

2007-11-27T21:46:00.000-05:00

I did a painting earlier this year that I liked, but always thought it looked incomplete. Well, this past long weekend while painting like 10 hours a day, I had a flash of inspiration and did some additional work on this one. Now it's done.

"Factory Girl" - 24"x36"

More New W(Y)ork

2007-11-23T23:42:00.000-05:00

I just finished some more pieces that I may include in my upcoming show. I did 3 small 10"x10" Space Bee paintings and a mixed media piece called "Runway 5-A" that I really like. Hope you like them.

"Runway 5-A" - 16"x20"

Upcoming Show in New York

2007-11-18T20:57:00.001-05:00

My good friend Marcus Fletcher and I are doing a joint show at Grounded in New York which opens on Saturday, December 8th and runs through the end of the year. I'll post more details about the actual opening night as things come together, but in the meantime here's some of my latest work that I'll likely be including. Tell me what you think!

"Orchids 2" - 24"x30"

"Cosmonaut" - 16"x20" sold

Space Bee 11/07" - 16"x20" sold

Simplify Man!

2007-10-15T17:11:00.000-04:00

In honor of "blog action day"'s global blog topic around the environment, I will prosethletize my personal feelings on the matter of sustainability, conservation, green-ness or whatever the kids are calling it these days.

As a consultant, I design tons of packaging for some of the largest consumer products companies in the world. I actually really enjoy the work as I have all the product and packaging design I've done over my 15 career. The part I have always felt sort of guilty about though is the fact that (at least moreso in the USA) everything we design is predestined to be ladfill fodder anywhere from 30 seconds to 30 months after purchase. I used to find it odd when I worked on technology focused products that I'd often be designing a product to replace the one that had yet to come to market. Planned obsolescence in action.

It seems that only in the last couple of years have the words "green" and "sustainability" gone from meaning color and consistency respectively to environmentally friendly and ethically conscious. It's sad that taking care of our planet has gone from a hippie craze to a niche market to a business trend rather than a true way of life. When Wal-mart is now pushing sustainability to its suppliers, a la P&G, Sony, etc, you know it's become both pervasive and marginalized. Just think about a fashion item being pitched in place of sustainability and you'll see how lame this sounds. And not their green push isn't valid or valuable, just that it's depressing that mankind could give a shit about the planet that we all share without a marketing message to prod them.

My inspiration on the topic of sustainability actually comes from a hippie character on the Simpson's who once eloquently told Homer to "Simplify man!" I tend to follow a more European mindset which is based on simplicity in the sense that I'd rather buy products that were made to last longer, less often. I'd rather pay more for better clothes, electronics, cars or whatever and get longer use out of them rather than to be constantly replacing shit with more but newer shit. Granted, globalization (which should really be called Americanization as long as we're renaming movements) is steadily creeping into more traditional European purchasing habits and way of life, but the point is this, sustainability, green or whatever you want to call it, should begin with simplicity - and by simplicity I mean quality over quantity.

To me, that's as good a place to start as any and simply put, I'd rather have 1 Prada jacket for 10 years than 1 Old Navy jacket every year for 10 years.

Parliament Cigarettes

2007-10-06T16:00:00.000-04:00

I dont smoke. Never have. I hate how exposure to a smoky venue makes my clothes and skin stink and my eyes and throat burn. I dont quite understand why people do it or how someone even ever invented it, but funny enough, I think it looks cool; as do certain brands.

The classic cigarette box that tends to be recognized as a design icon is without a doubt, Lucky Strike. This was designed by Raymond Loewy back in something like 1940 or so and truly has withstood the test of time. With logos like Shell, Exxon and Coca-Cola to his name, Lowey's genius was easily applied to the cigarette box.

My wife used to smoke, which I hated. I hated more that she tried to hide it for so long, but that's another story. When she did smoke though, she was a fan of Parliaments, which I referred to as "janitor cigarettes" (I first was exposed to Parliaments by our janitor when I was in design school, hence my name for them). I didn't like that my wife smoked and I'm glad she quit, but I at least was ok with the brand because I really like the graphic look. The chevron is sophisticated, the wordmark is bold and the palette is regal - and it all comes together in a package that's approachable and affordable. I also like that the look is vaguely reminiscent of the old transistor radios from the 60s - lending a retro-futuristic appearance as well as appearing technologically advanced. See the influence?

Not being a smoker, I cant judge cigarettes by anything else than brand statement and graphic treatment. I actually dont have a clue how anyone can differentiate between any of them on anything other than that. I will say though, that if I did smoke, I would likely just pick the ones that looked the best and had a brand image that befits a handsome, stylish lad like me : )

Pharmacy

2007-10-04T16:09:00.000-04:00

I travel alot and when I do I spend much of my time walking around and soaking in all the culture I can. Having grown up around Pharmacies all my life and being a product designer (and semi-hypochondriac), I have retained a fascination with the Apothecary. I particularly like Pharmacies or Chemists in Europe. They're more like Doctors who work at a store and can prescribe not only heart meds and axiety pills, but help you pick out a great foundation color or that right pair of sunglasses. It's great!

One thing I had not really thought about much until recently however is why do European Pharmacies use a green Greek cross as their symbol? The cross has become so synonymous with the Pharmacy, that I never really thought about why. To the internet I thought! I'm going to solve this inquiry right quick.

Well, things didn't quite turn out that way. I have searched for every possible reason and have come across everything from Taiwanese neon green cross manufacturers (surprisingly, more than 1) to Wikipedia entries on crosses and pharmacies and even symbology. But no one reason as to why. A specific Wikipedia entry about Pharmacies was particularly educational from several aspects and even provides a chart of various signs and symbols used in conjunction with the Pharmacy, but I was still left with no clear reason as to why. Now sure, I could come up with something clever or sacriledgious on my own, but I sure would like to know the real reason.

Limnos Montage

2007-10-04T15:55:00.000-04:00

I recently returned from Greece where my wife and I were vacationing and visiting all my family. We spent most of our time in Limnos which is pretty much my favorite place on earth. I made a photo-montage of what I call My Limnos to summarize in images what Limnos is to me. Enjoy!

Counterfeit Design

2007-09-27T16:50:00.000-04:00

During my recent vacation in Italy and Greece, I naturally spent A LOT of time shopping. I am kind of a clothing junkie and really like stores like Zara, Pull & Bear, Fred Perry, Prada and Diesel. I'm also absolutely fascinated by the (seemingly always) Senegalese guys that sell all the counterfeit products out on the street. It's really the cat and mouse game played between them and the cops that I most enjoy, but sometimes their wares are pretty amazing too.

In Venice I found it really amusing (and I should have photographed it) that these guys would set out their blankets with neatly lined up Prada and Louis Vuitton bags on the pedestrian street right in front of the real Prada and Louis Vuitton stores. They're ridiculousy fake looking to the trained eye, but they still had quite a steady clientele.

In Athens, the cat and mouse game was in full force. First off, there were tons more vendors with lots more product. Anything from the normal purses and wallets, to sunglasses and belts. Funny enough, as homogenous as Greece is, the conterfeit pushers had a fairly broad range of ethnicities. Oh sure, the main purse salesmen were still recent decendents from Senegal, but then you'd have these Sri Lankan guys selling lighted lighters, sunglasses, some not quite as fancy purses and well, flowers. There were some China-men too selling headmounted LED flashlights and dvds. Surprisingly, they were not selling fake purses or glasses even though China is where most of that stuff is actually made. Hmm.

Alright, I had a point in all of this, it was about counterfeit design. Again, anyone at all familiar with high end purses can detect with ease how bogus the bags are - even when they really do say Prada and not Panda or something. The glasses are even worse. Aside from being poorly made, they are probably dangerouse for our eyes to look through. Where am I headed you ask? Well, I'll tell you. It was the belts! Some of the belts were awesome! There were Gucci and Louis and Diesel and Fendi. But you know what were the best? Dolce & Gabbana. They were amazing! Look for yourself, I ended up buying 2 of them!

Actually, the whole point of my post is that the 2 fake belts I bought are actually cooler than any real D&G belts I've ever seen and ironically at a 1oth the price. And why you ask? Design, that's why. Whoever designed these did a really nice job, and thanks to them, I look awsome!

Monocle Magazine

2007-09-26T15:02:00.000-04:00

I had some time to kill in Athens airport on my way back from Greece last week, so naturally I browsed its fabulous collection of stores, spending both time and my last Euros, like every good American should. Anyway, I'm a huge sucker for a good magazine, especially anything fashion, art, design or.....finance related. I know, these areas of interest of mine dont all quite go together, or so it would seem. However, as I was flipping through the racks of seemingly endless options, I happened upon a magazine called Monocle.

Calling it a mere magazine just doesn't give it enough credit. It's really more of a journal than anything, covering Affairs, Business, Culture and Design. Wow, finally a magazine for me! Historically I've been a GQ, Inc & Fast Company kind of guy, but this seems to fill some other needs and interests of mine and does so with a more global perspective. The articles are well written and really interesting and informative, as you'd expect from the folks that publish the Financial Times and Wallpaper.

Not sure how easy this magazine will be to come by outside of fancy airport newsstands, but if you come across it and have interests similar to mine, I highly recommend picking up a copy.

My Aunt Virginia Romanou

2007-09-21T14:23:00.000-04:00

I just returned from a short vacation to Greece to relax, re-energize and reconnect with my family. One relative I got to see and someone who I absoultely adore and admire as both a person and an artistwas my aunt Virginia, who I hadn't seen in too long (something like 5+ years). Virginia is an amazing artist and designer who has impeccable taste and endless energy! We feel more like siblings than aunt and nephew as it's so obvious we share the same blood.

I used to often wish that I could leave all I know behind and just move back to Greece to live with Virginia and her partner Yianni and just paint all day. As the years have passed and my design career has flourished, that need has faded, but having her and Yianni close by would really make for a more fulfilling life both personally and creatively. The 2 of them have been huge influences on me and my art (which neither of them know) and I long for the day that they can come see one of my shows or better yet, critique my work and give me some guidance with my own art and style.

I hope that it wont be 5 years before I see Virginia again, and I'm certain it wont. If all goes well, within a couple of years I'll be living and working in Europe, which would make things that much simpler. Anyway, I was so happy to see her, even if only for an evening and I'm glad that I can use my blog as a way to share some of my work with her, which could be the first time she's seen any of it! Thank you internet!

Quote...

2007-06-04T22:47:00.001-04:00

I've been a lover of Picasso's work since I was a child, being inspired by his painting, sculpture, crazy personality and his carefree life. I'm also quite fond of some of his many quotes. The consummate showman, much of what he's been quoted for sounds typically eccentric, but a couple in particular I really like, and 1 of which totally speaks to me. That would be:

"Painting is stronger than me, it makes me do its bidding."

I like that. And it's so true.

Show's Over

2007-05-27T23:48:00.000-04:00

Today was the last day of my show so I went to Sidewinder to take my remaining pieces home. It was kind of sad to take my work down, not because I didn't sell everything, but because almost all the paintings looked so great in that environment and that context. C'est la vie!

On the bright side, now my work isn't subject to the gallery premium, and the prices below have been updated to reflect that.

non sequitur

2007-03-31T12:36:00.000-04:00

Now Showing at Sidewinder in Cincinnati - March 26 - May 27, 2007

The series of work here is entitled non sequitur due to the fact that it’s not the typical series you’d expect, where all the work sort of matches. I suppose you can tell that one hand created all of these, but I like to try different things depending on how the mood strikes.

Enjoy.

CVG-2: acrylic on canvas - 48x60 - sold

Y-01: acrylic on canvas - 16x20 - sold

Mansfield 1: acrylic on canvas - 36x48

Mansfield 2: acrylic on canvas - 24x36 - sold

2002: acrylic on canvas - 20x24

E-07: acrylic on canvas - 24x26

1978: acrylic on canvas - 24x30 - sold

S-11: acrylic on canvas - 24x30

Space Bee: acrylic on canvas - 30x40 - sold

Orchid: acrylic on canvas - 11x14 - sold

Land2: acrylic on wood panel - 16x22 - sold

Mansfield 3: acrylic on canvas - 30x40 - sold

V-01: acrylic on canvas - 16x20

Ides of March +1: acrylic on canvas - 24x36

Still Life: acrylic on canvas - 11x14 - sold

T-N9: acrylic on canvas - 24x36

B1: acrylic on canvas - 8x10

January: acrylic on canvas - 8x10