Despina Georgiadis

Today is Flag Day in Curacao and it’s also Salvation Army Founders Day.

I thought it would be cool to combine the two for today’s sketch. And so…a new flag that shows the act of giving and receiving:

So, again, I look to my earth calendar and see that today, amongst many holidays observed around the globe by various countries, Somalia celebrates its indepedence. Somalia is in great contrast with the country I mentioned in my last post -Denmark. We don’t ever really get good news coming out of this country on the northeastern coast of Africa .

That being said, I thought I would go ahead and post about this important day for the Somalians. And I wanted to find something positive and/or interesting to talk about. So I read a little about this war-torn country, and managed to find a “positive needle” in the gigantic stack of depressing facts:

Laas Geel is a complex of caves where the earliest known cave paintings of Africa decorate the walls and remind us of the LONG trek our civilization has made. These paintings are said to have been made between 9000BC and 3000BC.! And they are in Somalia.

The paintings are mainly depictions of animals, and of the people who worshiped them. You really can’t look at them without awe. They are beautiful.

So, to commemerate the caves, and the country, I am posting a drawing of animals I made a while back. They weren’t done on a wall (which would’ve been pretty cool now that I think of it!), but they ARE animals found in Africa.

-Despina

I have been having a great time these last few days, going out and drawing in the city with my husband and my baby James. We’ve been picking a place to go each morning and, after breakfast, we are on our way!

Here are a couple of drawings I made as I people watched in the park and in a great coffee shop we found in the Wall Street area.

This woman and her children were perfectly calm and content sitting on the park bench while I was beginning to panic because of the dark clouds that were approaching. Turns out those clouds were a severe thunderstorm…again, so my rush to finish this drawing was not for nothing! I wonder if they ever got the hint to get out off the bench and head for cover.

Next up is James’s actual FIRST drawing, or attempt at a drawing. I regret that I didn’t take a picture of him as he sat next to his dad, who was also drawing, at the South Street Seaport, (this was an incredibly cute sight) BUT I am posting the page on which he made his first marks. You can see the areas of the paper where I tried to demonstrate what to do with the strange stick of color in his hand. He was so intrigued! And he didn’t try to eat the crayon once!!

According to my “earth” calendar, today is Midsummer Party day in Denmark. Many northern European countries celebrate Midsummer by building bonfires and having lots of fun. It’s origins go waaay back.

Recently, I read how Denmark has been deemed the happiest country in the world. I remember being very intrigued by this and wondered how this could even be calculated. I read that because of their type of economy and welfare program, they have a good level of income equality. Could this be the reason they are so happy?

So, today, when I checked my calendar and saw that Denmark will be holding these celebrations, I couldn’t help but picture all the happy people laughing and clapping and hopping around the fire. It was a strange vision for sure! haha!

A few years back, I had the opportunity to get up close and personal with a couple of (very large) horses. I mainly did a lot of shooting that day as their handler had them trotting, galloping and doing all kinds of things. But as I was looking through the photos recently, I found a few drawings that I did that day. Here are a couple.

despinageorgiadis©2009

We first got together to build an illustration promotional piece, and we ended up working on a project that is very dear to us. Fellow Studio 1482 members Michele Bedigian, Greg Betza, Dominick Santise and I created what we call Seasons of 1482. It is the beginning of something great!

Here is what the actual promo looks like. We each illustrated a season for our part, and I was responsible for Winter.

Working with three other artists on one idea/project was so interesting. As we progressed in our planning and during our discussions, it was fun to see how the four of us communicated about what was important to us. The ideas were flying around (and never wanted to land!), and the twists and turns we took were exciting. Our meetings at the museum were especially productive and inspiring. I think what we came up with is pretty exciting too!

Seasons of 1482 is ongoing and we have great plans for the future! We’ll keep you posted on any developments.

…so little time.

We visited a great little park with a most beautiful and interesting carousel sitting in the middle of it. VanSaun Park in Paramus, NJ. We didn’t sit for ten minutes before they started to close up shop. The people in charge were very sweet. They pulled down the gate closest to us last, so that we could draw a little longer. Too bad, really, because it is really some carousel! The animals are gorgeous.

So, once again, I have to say the words: “I have to go back there!”

Van Saun Park also has a zoo. The animals were enjoying the beautiful day.

Here I am with my husband and my little boy in Washington, DC. The Cherry Blossom Festival is absolutely beautiful. The weather is perfectly warm and EVERYONE is here. We set up a little picnic area and James crawls around as we do a little drawing and shooting. I can’t wait for him to get old enough, then we’ll all three be sitting on the picnic blanket and drawing!

Here are a couple of the drawings.

Click on them to get a better look

Japan gave the trees to the US as a gift in 1912.

This city is inspired by so many cultures. It’s wonderful. From the Greek buildings, to the Egyptian Washington Monument to these Japanese trees. It’s a real testament to what our country is about. The Native American Museum is one of the most beautiful buildings. And of course the good ole American rowhouses in the outskirts are so charming.

so james is officially crawling.

there he goes reaching for his toys, stopping to study the most interesting bit of lint.

see how he waves as he passes by. hi james!!

I went back to the NYBG yesterday. It felt like Spring. It finally felt like spring. It was a great time. I breathed the sweet air and did some drawing.

It was so nice to see people out and about, and in no hurry to be indoors!

They were just sitting there on the benches, chatting on their cells, fussing with their digital cameras, soaking in the sun. Brilliant.

Little tree is showing some bud action. I always love seeing exposed bird’s nests in the bare trees. I don’t know…something about that makes me smile.

But I didn’t go in to see the Orchid Show. I just couldn’t stand the thought of being indoors on such a day. Even the lure of the beautiful orchid couldn’t drag me in. Oh, well. Guess I’ll have to go back!