I discovered the work of Vancouver-based Anna Maria Potamiti on etsy and recently stumbled upon Small Blessings, her wonderful and very affordable watercolor series. Potamiti is inspired by the everyday, mundane occurrences in her life or as she calls them, “small blessings,” such as the view of her neighbor’s fig tree. Based on the memory of these experiences she paints landscapes with strong, quasi-abstract visual elements. It’s a lovely series with a lovely perspective on the world around us!
These pieces are all for sale on etsy for $40-48. Please check them out!
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“No 3 (above left) was inspired by a mountain I drive by very often. The shape of the mountain (which always changes depending on the weather), its colors, and moods have mystified me for some time now.”
“No 6 (above right) was painted after a rather wet weekend outing, involving long hours of driving on the highway. I take the landscape in and then I try to paint the essence of the mood of the landscape that day. It also reminded me, while I was working, of the shadow theatre of ‘karagiozis’ that I sometimes watched as a child in Greece.”
“No 7 (above left) was painted after a Sunday outing with my family where we had to spend quite a long time in the car on the highway. I enjoy long car rides, always have done since I was a little girl. I love staring out the window at the changing landscape, I get lost in the colors, the shapes and patterns.”
“No 10 (above right) is inspired by my daily walks to the seawall of our area, and the movement of the tides. I love to layer shapes of color and enjoy the play of transparencies.”
“No 20 (above left) went in a bit of a different path from the previous ones, with a lot more use of ink drawing to complement the watercolor transparencies. I did a small number of watercolors/drawings inspired by the myth of Icarus, so the feet sinking point to that myth.”
“No. 30 (above right) is inspired by my neighbors’ much cherished fig tree. So much of my work springs from the joy this tree gives me daily. In the winter the complexity of its stark skeleton is a thrill to draw. This is it here, abstracted to basics.”