Rallou Malliarakis

For the most part, I work directly from life experience. I strive to create bold and graphic compositions, be it a figure in a landscape setting, a portrait, an animal, or aspects of the landscape itself. Color and how it characterizes mood and atmosphere, as well as form, is of paramount importance in my work. I use it not only as a descriptive element in painting, but with the intention of evoking strong emotional response from the viewer. When working with landscape themes I will often focus on fragments of nature rather than whole vistas. A section of a single tree, close up, can tell us more about summer heat and atmosphere or winter's bleak presence than a panoramic view.

My drawings are formal, finished works which convey a wide range of tonalities as well as pictorial drama; they are not usually intended to serve as sketches or quick studies for future paintings.

In recent years, I have been working with the theme of "the birch tree." In many instances, this startling element from nature is presented as "larger than life," aesthetically compelling and dynamic. In my very latest work, I have entered into a delicate and private interchange with this luminous pillar or stately column, pressing well beyond the prism of realism, no longer immersing myself primarily in the visual impact of these hauntingly beautiful trees.