Costa's Open Studio, Part 1

Costa Vavagiakis is an amazing artist and teacher who I was lucky enough to be able to study with for nearly five years. An observational purist of sorts, he works only from life and memory to achieve an intense level of realism. It's hard to imagine what kind of dedication is needed to create his paintings (which sometimes take years to complete) but looking around his home/studio gives you a pretty good idea. This man lives and breathes his work. More than just passionate about his art, Costa lives completely immersed in it.

Unsigned Commissions

Every so often I'm approached with a commission that I'd rather not do, but am not in a position to turn down. Somebody's great grandmother or a wedding album photo, maybe even a photo of a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel sitting next to a boy in pumpkin costume. Taken with a flash. You do what you can with these, and try not to resent it too much--they do pay the bills. But NEVER, ever sign them. In fact, I'm not even going to show a picture of this one because I definitely don't want THAT showing up in my works catalogue.