The name  Meltemi sounds romantic and oddly soothing. It is derived from: the old name of Meltemia, or the Etesian Winds. From classic Greek mythology its controlled by Boreas, the god of the North Winds.

The reality is a dry wind blowing down from the north sweeping across Greece and heads south across her Islands roughing up the otherwise tranquil seas, swamping small craft, challenging ferries, and shutting down the hydrofoils. It also can churn the waters, making them dangerous for swimmers, and blows sand at sunbathers on north-facing beaches.

These winds come from out of the Balkans and last for days. The wind howls for hours on end, doors slam, windows rattle, people get edgy & dogs bark. The Meltemi usually cools down temperatures and can be a welcome relief in the hot days of July and August. The winds are  a problem for fire-fighters as they can drive forest-fires very quickly over a long distance.

Meltemi, more accurately The Meltemi's many years ago was the Ten-Pin bowling team-name for my wife and I. Yes we are committed Greckophiles. I started using the pseudonym of Meltemi some five years ago for writing in various on-line forums. It was the obvious choice for the name of my art studio. Surprisingly it was also available as a domain-name for this website.

Henri Matisse 1869 - 1954 Master of lines and pure colour who I admire for his fluid nature of painting  and the originality of his draughtsmanship. He was simply captivated by the world around him  particularly: music, dance & people. They all helped to shape his art. He should be remembered for making artists  think outside of the lines of formality and to follow their artistic-visions. He championed the use of pure colours & colour-contrasts enriched with decorative patterns to express his sensations. His use of colour was so seductive. He also should be remembered for cutting art down to its very essence to show the joy of living by simplifying both design & colour. He produced artworks that are the very essence of light, joy & hope.

Henri Rousseau [1844-1910] Is perhaps the greatest modern self-taught primitive painter. His artworks are a delightful fantasy of a naively charming character. He was 40 when he started painting by attempting to learn art by copying artworks hung in the Louvre. He discovered that he was not a portrait painter nor a landscape painter. Rousseau  had that great inner belief that I so admire, he believed himself to be great artist even though the 'art-establishment' at that time ridiculed him. Many of his contemporaries were very supportive to him and many were influenced by his art. Today many see him as a great artist while others simply dismiss his contribution to the world of art as an insignificant child-like offering rather than see it as the inspiration for vanguard artists like Picasso who followed.

The power of Rousseau's art for me is a remarkable combination of fantasy and actuality which he blended into a sophisticated art-style transforming them into a sort of quaint private world. His scenes are based on the reality of what was in front of him. He neither modelled nor used atmospheric perspective techniques. The background is as distinct and as detailed as the foreground, each element has its place and its detail, each area is as bold as any other in colour etc. He perhaps built his artworks from the background to the foreground by making very precise drawings detailing how all the elements would fit together and then he painted it. He should be remembered for his remarkable fantasy jungle scenes though it is quite probable that the only jungles he experienced were the botanic gardens of Paris. He amalgamated  memories of places visited, animals seen in a zoo, with images from postcards & photographs. In other words he built his unique art-style based on multiple reference materials more than just the classic artists' sketchbook.

Paul Gauguin 1848-1903 is another artist with no formal art training. His style was at odds with the art of the mainstream and clearly was not on the route to popularity at that time. What he may have lacked in refinement was compensated by his imagination and the versatility of his art by expressing himself in colour. Just like any artist going against the status quo of the art-world his early works were the subject of scorn & derision. He was an artist of persistent self-belief & just like many he built on his own shortcomings.

 Gauguin's quest was to express the very essence of objects in his art. He developed a personal distinct style of impressionism. One that was not rooted in faithful observation but in subjects that allowed his mind to invent and at the same time tell a story.

His art evolved towards Cloisonnism, a style given its name due to the method of painting using large blocks of colour with bold outlines. If he wanted to use red he simply used a red without agonising over its shade or tonal value.

These areas of pure colour lack the subtle gradation of colour that usually features in any painting. Though the blocks of pure colour often tend to a paler border .These islands of colour are often separated by heavy black outlines. little attention to is paid to classical perspective found in most artworks. He thereby dispensed with the two most characteristic principles of ordinary paintings: perspective and subtle colour blending. The effect is reminiscent of the cloisonné enamelling technique.

 His paintings later evolved towards Synthetism in which neither form nor colour predominate but each has an equal role. His works of this period are full of quasi-religious symbolism and exotic icons of his travels.

He was quite instinctive in his art: a colour is just a colour, just paint it, yet at the same time the artwork must remain a vehicle for the imagination without being too out of this world. The centre of his art was his imagination. He was never put off his stroke by others he simply painted what was in him.

Wassily Kandinsky [1866-1944] He was deeply influenced by the bright bold colours in the ethnic art-styles of his native Russia. His artistic development matured creating purely abstract artworks. He was a deeply theoretical & analytical artist in his approach to art Perhaps the greatest art theorist incorporating both colour theory with a psychology of colours. He was a prolific artist yet at the same time deeply engaged in a personal spiritual journey. This created his inner desire for necessity in his art. One where all artworks reach a level of spirituality. He went on to incorporate geometric elements particularly: points, lines, angles, planes, half-circles, triangles & curves into his artworks. The impact of shapes & colours is this artist's expression of his intense emotions attempting to make contact with the very soul of the viewer.

For both Matisse &Kandinsky,by freeing their art from the process of imitating appearances allowed  their art to revert to its essence of line and pure tone. Perhaps similar to the painters of both Greek & Russian icons?

These four artists are my personal art heroes, my inspiration to have a go at being an artist. They showed that art can be different. It can be colourful. It can be bold. That art can be cut-down to its very essence. It can break all the conventional art-rules. That you can have an art-vision. That its OK to be both representational and non-representational even in the same artwork. All of my artworks are only impressions of a contact made between my senses &  my emotions that finally get expressed on my canvas in front of me. That you can just get on with it and make art. You do not need to study it or learn it you just get right on and do it. That beauty in art has a place. Thank you for reading this.

'Transitions' A series of small artworks 40 x 30 cm. A Painting always demands a title but for me it must also tell a story : here I'm trying to combine ancient Greek Mythology with the non-representational abstractive process that I so much admire Kandinsky for. And to see how far acrylic colours can be made into colour blends. I started with a change in the representation of the previously circular monotone sky to one of early, or late, daylight rays showing more spectral colours. The moon emblem remains a constant, so too the triangles, the new elements are the three metallic circles associated with the iridescent triangles. With the exception of one green the series was a joy to paint. Please accept that I'm not an expert on Greek Mythology I'm simply using a simplified thesis for fitting three gods with three objects in a solar setting. Executed in: standard, metallic & iridescent acrylics.

[1]'Helios, Selene & Eos A Triangle' Helios The sun god. Selene the moon goddess & Eos the dawn. Eos from the edge of the oceans surrounding the world... In some solar myths the sun is paired with the moon. The two may be husband and wife or brother and sister. In the mythology of many Native Americans, the sun god and moon god are sister and brother who became forbidden lovers. In some accounts, the moon flees in shame when he learns that his lover is also his sister. This is why the moon leaves the sky when the sun comes near.

[2]'The Hesperides' Greek Gods & Goddesses are open to much speculation and alternative names & connections. As with any of my artworks suspend reason and come on a journey with me... The Hesperides were the guardians of the Golden Apples given by Gia [earth goddess] to Hera [love & marriage] when she married Zeus [king of the gods, ruler of Olympos]. The Hesperides are Aegel [sun, light, radiance]. Erethea [red]. Hesperos [evening, swift]. All three are the source of the golden light of sunset.

[3]'Selene, Artemis & Phoebe' Selene? Is an ancient deity the daughter of the Titans Hyperion & Theia and possibly pre-dating the Olympos deities of Artemis & Luna. She is described as being 'fair-winged' by Homer [a bird-reference?]. Selene is classically depicted as a beautiful pale-faced woman. Selene is possibly derived from Selas as in Boreion Selas meaning 'brightness' as in the modern Greek for the Aurora Borealis [the Northern Lights]. Then there is Selenolgy the study of our moon's geology and the chemical element Selenium..... Artemis? An ancient Greek deity [goddess] the daughter of Zeus & Leto also the twin of Apollo. Later as a Titaness she became a moon goddess along with Selene. Homer refers to her as 'The Mistress of the Animals', the goddess of the hunt........ Phoebe? The gold-wreathed one also one of the original Titans and along with Selene also associated with the moon. The mother of Leto..the grandmother of Apollo & Artemis....... Titans? A race of powerful deities, the descendants of Gaia, the Primal earth goddess & Uranus, the Sky Father. The Titans ruled during the Golden Age [one of some 5-6 or more?] a period of primordial peace, harmony, stability & prosperity...Further generations of Titans followed.

[4]'Heracles, Atlas & King Eurystheus' Heracles, the hero, finally returned to the court of king Eurystheus having completed his penultimate task. The capture of the three golden apples guarded by the Hesperides. In order to do this he had to dupe Atlas into helping him. Heracles presented the three golden apples to king Eurystheus, while he appreciated their beauty he was bewildered by them and did not know what to do with them, and handed them back to Heracles. Unsure of himself as what he should do, Heracles asked for guidance from his constant supporter, Athena. She took them back to the garden of the Hesperides, as the law of the gods commanded that they should remain in the garden far to the west but close to Mount Atlas.

[5]'Atlanta, Hippomenes & Aphrodite' Atlanta was a very beautiful goddess who could run as fast as a deer. She had been told by an oracle that marriage would bring her bad-luck. Her father, none the less wanted her married off. It was agreed between them that if a suitor could out-run her then she would marry...many tried & failed. Hippomenese [aka Melanion] knew that in a fair foot-race he would never win. The Cypriot Greek goddess Aphrodite aware of his plight, gave him three golden apples...sort of drop them along the way...hope she stops & picks them up...it worked...he won the hand of Atlanta in marriage...but he forgot to say thank you to Aphrodite. She turned the happy couple into lions...The oracle was correct.

[6]'Golden Apples'? The ' Golden Apple' a mystical forbidden fruit that figures widely in many ethnic folk legends. In some it is the divine food of the gods. Perhaps even the source of mortality. These mystic golden apples are in fabled, distant orchards and fiercely protected by a variety of monsters. Being golden these apples are the object of both desire and theft. Perhaps even in the distant biblical tracts the apple of Adams temptation? The Golden apples are also the genesis of the Trojan War. In most of the European ethnic folk legends the golden apples in addition to the Greek Myths are stolen from various kings [Russia, Germany, Serbia, Bulgaria & Romania]. These golden apples figure in art, poetry & operas.

The golden apple of Greece was perhaps the Golden Quince originating in the middle east. It could also be the magical Cathay Golden Orange [oranges uniquely] fruit & flower at the same time. From the land of the Inca's we have The Golden Apple [pommo d'oro] the love apple...the tomato.

The Three Golden Balls? The symbol of Lombardy and the Lombard financial family adopted by the money lending pawnbrokers...a leap of faith is required here.

The story would require two more parts between [5] & [6] I have the inspiration but not yet the design concept. Always leave an opening, never the final closure

My technique Is direct painting, also known as alla prima or premier coup painting, a brush-stroke of paint is applied to the canvas with the intention of it becoming part of the finished artwork without planning to paint over it again when it is dry to make it: darker or lighter, or warmer or cooler. Retouching or over-painting after that layer of paint has dried seldom happens. There is nothing new or revolutionary here, the ancient cave painters started this method. The flat well-loaded paintbrush is always dragged down/across the canvas squeezing a thick brush-trail at the border of the stroke.

 I try to complete the artwork in just one attempt. So much thought & planning is put into the preparation stage. Each brush-stroke of colour must be put on the canvas so that it states simultaneously the location, size, and shape of the area. As the artwork progresses, each brush-stroke must relate accurately to every other colour that has already been put on to the artwork. Ideally when the last bit of bare canvas is covered, the picture is finished & no retouching is needed.

In my 'Abstract Artworks' bold blocks of metallic and iridescent paints are a strong feature. The area they are to cover requires a lot more effort. The white gesso finish to the canvas is changed to a black gesso before any other painting is done. The colours of the background are brought just over the border into the black. The first coat of metallic or iridescent is applied with uniform brush-strokes. Much of the black will still show through at this stage. A second or third coat is applied. Each coat is heavier that the preceding one but the brush strokes in the dragged paint become more uniform and more prominent. If you look at "Green-man, Amphibian & Moon" [sort of the odd one out] in the abstract gallery you will see the rather eerie effect that can be generated with iridescent paints on a white background.

As an artist you hear many times. "paint what you know." But I would expand it to "paint what you know and love." This second definition is more easy for me to follow. We can all gravitate towards the "know and love", if you're a writer, you know that no one else can write the way you do, if you are a photographer no one else can take pictures like you do &  if you are a an artist no one else can paint like you do. In the end how is my art really all that different? How did I create a niche for myself & that unique style that's all my own? For me it goes something like: Niche + Style = Being an Artist.

My Niche: Physically I live on the edge of a City & The Fens. So should I paint: Landscapes? Floral Artworks? Portraits? Animal Portraits? Still Life's? All of these are done by other artists in a way that I never will be able to do in the time that I may have still available. There are master's in each field of artistic endeavour, I would never be in that category in the time available [the down-side of returning to art late in life]. I travel a lot. I take lots of photographs  mainly of city-scenes & buildings [I'm city to the core] I paint some of them in acrylics on canvas. This is my 'Traditional Art' niche. Finding my niche took some time but with every  painting I made it became clearer to me what being an artist is about, its just doing what I enjoy. Its the memories captured in my photos converted to works of art.

My Style: Finding my style was not hard. I have a simple direct approach. It has clear colourful shapes. This shape fits alongside that shape, there is a sharp boundary. In essence its a continuation of 25 years in a classroom with chalk in hand and a blackboard. The building is the subject, it fills most of the available space with a hint of sky, background & foreground. They are simply subordinate to the subject. I do not wish for them to detract the viewer of my colourful near technical-drawn subject. It is art cut-down to the essence of the subject. This is my art-style.

I also have an 'Abstract Art' niche but the style again is mine alone. Here its about: shapes, lines colour, brush marks, metallic & iridescent paint finishes.

For me lines are the clearly defined border between the known and  the unknown. Shapes, lines, angles & forms are all things to play with. Abstract art frees me from agonising about shadow, lighting, perspective and so on.

The bright acrylic colours that I have enable me to take a design concept of to a new level. I find the world to be an otherwise dreary, dull near colourless place. Mindful that I only paint in close-up each element is a cameo in the limit of my field of vision. Iridescent acrylics are in themselves another technical challenge as too are the metallic acrylics. Paint finishes and colours will always be a fascination for me.

Constructing & executing an idea using a geometric form is both fun, a challenge and a utilisation of my old hand-based technical drawing skills. I always start out with the intention of painting a triptych artwork. Some phrase, a word I have found in the dictionary, a poem, a song, a web-surf, even a conversation with The Memsahib [my wife] or something I have seen somewhere will be the trigger. I will think about it for a day or two...then it is that wonderful...what if? Moment. A quick sketch in my plan-book. Figure out the proportions & transfer the thoughts to a fine pencil-lined construction on a very white canvas. Many artists have a fear of a blank white canvas, but not me. 

My Admired artists would have to be: Henri Matisse who cut art down to its very essence, Henri Rousseau who painted in a unique colourful almost symbolic form and was well off the mainstream art of his day and perhaps opened up art to the 20th century and to modern art. Henri Rousseau [care not Theodore Rousseau the19Th century Barbizon School of artists] opened the door, as it were, to Vasily Kandinsky who was the artist who really started the abstract art movement. He I greatly admire.

Art is about making the viewer: pause, take a closer look & become immersed in the visual excitement of the artist's interpretation of the subject matter. Then perhaps to make them think and interpret what they are viewing. Usually it's the creative use of colour. Colour is what makes a painting stand out for me. I'm drawn to bold colours that vibrantly describe the elements in the composition. I try to make use of a unique, non-traditional approach to colour.

I have no formal training in colour. My art education beyond UK secondary school consists of only a handful of  classes that emphasized technique rather than colour harmonies. My approach to colour is that I play with colour. I like a vibrant palette because it creates drama. My colour choices are intuitive & my idea is always to push the boundary to see what might happen. The most important thing is not to fear any colour but to experiment and learn from it. I generally use the colour from the selected tube of acrylic closest to the colour I fancy using. This is also frequently the oldest stock of that colour that I own. Often it is from a manufacturer's range  of acrylics that for some reason I'm unhappy with e.g. a "Studio" acrylic rather than an "Artists'" acrylic. I only 'stock' the smallest size tube or bottle of acrylic paint and they seem to remain both stable and workable for many years. With internet purchasing it is easy to rapidly stock-up with larger volumes of acrylic paint to fill the needs of an urgent large-scale commissioned artwork.

I know enough about colour theory to be dangerous but keeping the brush clean helps avoid painter's mud. I am free to play with colour in the context of composition and often colour is the basis of my painting. The snobbery of only using a restricted palette and mixing every colour holds no attraction for me. I use every manufacturer's range of 'Artists' Acrylics and practically every bold permanent colour produced. I'm no great fan of the fugitive fluorescents or the interference formulations. I am however a great fan of metallic and iridescent acrylic.

The colours on my palettes? Here I will have one for each main colour say the blue-palette it will have the nearest blue to the one I want to use along with a darker blue and some titanium white [this is quicker than mixing white and more economical]. I  mix my blue colours before I begin my painting to make sure that the colours on my palette are tonally what I have in mind and a quick brush-full pained on a very white card will confirm it for me. I am very aware that the colours I use or mix are bright. I paint almost exclusively with a short-flat  brush previously dipped in flow-improver solution, then blotted. I usually rise & wipe the brush after every painted stroke, this ensures that my colours are always crisp and clear.