My heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Alisa Golden,
whose teachings on making handmade books have made
this section of my website possible.

I've never met her in person but her books on the subject are my guides
and sources of inspiration. A handmade book is a painting,
a drawing, a collage sheet, a text book and a piece of sculpture.
It can't get better than that!

This is my latest handmade book. It all started as a painting experiment
with acrylic gesso. I wasn't even sure I would use the painted
sheet for anything in particular. The final result appealed to me very
much though. I had a 44.5 x 60.5 cms (18 x 24 inches)
Stonehenge paper blotted with white gesso (I used a coarse sponge
to apply it) and painted over with lively yellow, red and magenta
acrylic inks. I had to do something with it!

The chaotic gesso strains and the vibrant, random paintstrokes
suggested a cheerful, colourful site swept by a strong wind.
'A fare', I thought and the idea stuck.
So, in a way, I didn't consciously lead the bookmaking process here
but was instead led by it. Fun!

Probably influenced by the theme, the only graphic content that came to mind
strongly resembled children's illustration. I decided to
respect the book's demands even though I am not an illustrator,
and this is the final result.

White acrylic gesso, acrylic inks and graphite on
250 gsm, 100% cotton, velum finish Stonehenge paper.
A 2.5 cms (1 inch) wide red silk ribbon to tie down the storm.

Accordion book, 8 interior pages 13 x 18 cms (5.2 x 7.2 inches)
When completely open, the book measures
104 cms (41.6 inches) wide.

You can view a larger slideshow on my Flickr

This book is on sale in my Etsy shop: paintafeeling

At long last I can show you the finished book, covers included.
I made some minor -and yet important- changes in a
couple of pages and I used a lovely, 100% cotton fabric to
coat the cardboard covers. I bought this and several
other pieces of fabric from FabricFascination on Etsy.

The red 'stepping stones' on the front and back covers
were hand-stamped with a handmade stamp,
using an archival pigment that will not fade with time.

My third Artist's Book is in Spanish. You may have read in the 'about'
page that I live in Spain, so my choice of language here
is not that bizarre. I will eventually produce at least one in
Greek too, since I was born and grew up in Greece.

I had this idea of creating a series of autobiographic books,
in the wider sense of the term. They don't need to be thorough and
they don't need to be precise. In a free, artistic way, they
will be true. They will reflect my feelings (paint a feeling, remember?)
experiences and recollections.

This book is more like an introductory note, a trial version,
an initial approximation to the subject. I have no idea how long it
will take me to create the series, it's not really important either.
But the idea of 'painting my memoires' is extremely appealing to me
and I know I won't give up on it. Stay tuned!

Once entirely open (flat) this accordion book is
162 cms (64.8 inches) long.
Each one of its 12 pages is 13.5 x 14.7 cms (5.4 x 5.9 inches).
Painted with watercolours and acrylic inks on fine-grain,
heavyweight watercolour paper. I used a dip pen
for the handwritten block letters and graphite for the drawings.

You can view a larger slideshow on my Flickr

This book is on sale in my Etsy shop: paintafeeling

This book was born from an actual memory. A late afternoon spent
in a wetland area in Greece, very near the sea shore. The sun was so low on the horizon that its last rays barely touched the tip of the feathery grasses
and made them glow like gold. Thence the golden brush strokes here and there.
The rest was a twilight world of subdued greens and blues.

It is really an atmospheric abstract painting on 100% cotton, 250 gsm Stonehenge paper. I used acrylic inks and acrylic golden paint.
I used artist's linen masking tape to reserve the white spaces where the words appear. The words themselves were initially printed and afterwards transferred onto the painting using soft pastels for their reproduction. An acid-free fixing spray guarantees permanence.

The words are simply a repetition of the word 'wetlands' in Spanish, Portuguese,
Greek, French and Italian. I made the case with 100% cotton,
heavyweight handmade paper and cut out those little 'windows' to the contents.
It all ties nicely together with a delicate muslin ribbon.

When completely open (flat) this books is 120 cms (48 inches) long.
Each of the pages measures 15 x 22.7 cms (6 x 9 inches).

This is my first ever Artist's Book. When I decided to delve into the
fascinating world of handmade books I found a new love.
An object that integrates two things that are essential to me:
books and art, writing and painting.
Of course I could use -and in fact have used- both expressions on a piece of
paper or on canvas but this particular form of art actually allows me
to create a real book!

The title is part of a short poem that is printed on the last page:
'words like sand, where the kingdom of the moist blues begins'.
I jotted that down on my notebook while walking
along the beach at sundown a couple of years ago.
You never know when a thought or a doodle may finally
give life to a larger creation.

The options and possibilities are endless. Before I go on to describe my
'words like sand' I would like to give credit to Alisa Golden,
whose books on the subject opened the doors of a new world to me.
Her handmade books are beautiful, imaginative and fun!
And I love the way she goes from the naïve to the conceptual and back.
She is a master of this art and I consider myself lucky to have found her.

Each page of my little book measures 11.5 x 11 cms (4.6 x 4.4 inches)
and it folds up as an accordion. This is perfectly clear if you watch
the slideshow. When completely open, the book measures
103 cms (41.2 inches) long and, once folded, it closes with a delicate
ivory muslin ribbon. The book is entirely handpainted using
pastel sticks (for the handwritten 'sand' word)
watercolours and acrylic inks, and the poem on the last page is
stamped with pigment-based, permanent ink. The back is coated with
a finely textured, ivory-coloured handmade paper.