We were lucky to catch up with Christina Angelos recently and have shared our conversation below.

Christina , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful project I ever worked on, and the project that kickstarted my creative career was my senior thesis show in college. I was prompted by my advanced drawing professor to create a series of drawings inspired by the human experience. For the first time in my life I sat in silence and had to think of my favorite human experience. I went through the photos in my camera roll, and I looked back at all the memories I had created while traveling to Greece. Each moment I had captured was so vividly engrained in my heart. I remembered all the little moments, every meal, every interaction with my family members, every trip to the beach. As I looked back through those photos I was overwhelmed with the feeling of joy that I felt while I was there. It was like I was being transported back in time and re-experiencing each memory again for the first time. As I looked through the endless photos, my attention was taken by a simple photograph I snapped of the water while on the beautiful Elafonisi beach of Crete. The water was so crystal clear that you could see the details of each grain of sand beneath the water’s surface. In the bottom corner of the photo you could see the edge of my toes while standing in the water. I was mesmerized by the photo. I was transported back to that moment standing in the water. Feeling the crisp wind on my face while the sun beat down on my skin. Looking out into the grand horizon. Feeling so small compared to the vastness of the shoreline. Taking it all in, smelling the salt of the sea and the taste of freedom in my mouth. I was a part of nature for that moment. I zoomed into the photograph and drew what I was seeing. I looked at the water so delicately. Picking out the abstract lines and shapes that you wouldn’t catch at first glance. Only those who dare to look deeper into the soul of the sea could recognize the intricate beauty the water has.
It was this series of black and white drawings of this one photograph that inspired all of the artwork you see today.
Attempting to capture the hidden spirt of the sea that you can only see through the eyes of your soul when you truly feel the water.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hello! My name is Christina Angelos a granddaughter of Greek immigrates who loves to paint, teach, preach philosophies, garden and take long walks through the forrest with my GSP named Ty.

I received a bachelors of Fine Art and Education from North Park University in Chicago in 2020. I taught high school drawing and metalworking for a few years, and am now currently teaching students from all over the world how to generate their own unique style of art through drawing their own memories.
I am well versed in glass torch work, ceramics, metal working, sculpture, fibers, wood working, ink drawing, colored pencil, acrylic paint and watercolor paint. Give me any medium and I can make it into art!

Currently I am focusing on creating large scale acrylic paintings inspired by the memories of the seas surrounding the Greek Islands.

I create custom paintings for collectors by using their own personal photographs of the sea, hearing their personal stories and transforming their own memories into abstract paintings.

The art work I create transforms your living room into a peaceful oasis. Calming your mind, body and soul every time you lay eyes on the painting.

The visual representation of the water is unlike anything you have ever experienced before. Because my goal is to capture the water through the subconscious mind.

How did you build your audience on social media?

To any new artist wanting to post on social media, I have a lot of advice to share here. First off, don’t take yourself too seriously. Be the silly kid at school that inspires your classmates and brings your teachers joy.
The biggest setback I see new artist make is that they feel like they need to be perfect in order to post, and that stops them from posting all together. Take imperfect action every single day. When I first started I would just post silly watercolor paintings that I copied from Pinterest photos. I made my art account originally for a fun little hobby to share my artwork with friends and family. As I went through my years of art school, I just posted the projects I was working on with no specific strategy or aesthetic. I just started posting all the art I was making. I didn’t have a clear “Style” at the time, and I was just having fun! As my art evolved so did my Instagram page. My other biggest tip that helped to grow my page, was to prop up my camera and film time lapse videos every single time I painted. I got used to the camera being in the background and would forget it was even there. FILM EVERYTHING you possibly can, but the secret is to pretend the camera isn’t there. Just simple create from your heart, and make freely.
Then when you sit on the couch at night to watch TV, I want you to scroll on Instagram reels, and stop when you hear a sound that you resonate with. If the sound has under 1,000 uses and the videos all have over 10K views, use that sound, and plop in your time lapse videos. Adding text on screen helps too! Do this every day for 30 days and watch your account go crazy! And remember to have fun with the creative process!

The hardest part about Instagram is you sometime only see an artist after 30-40 years of being dedicated to their practice. You see their well currated feeds and feel like you could never get there. But like anything in life, you can’t compare your day one to someone else’s day 1000. Take it one day at a time, post your art, write meaningful captions from your heart and in a few years when you reach your day 1,000 you will be so grateful to your past self for just simply starting.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

In order to create a thriving ecosystem of artists it is important that as a society we prioritize our own spiritual well being above all else. How do we do this? It’s really quite simple, but the way our days are designed it makes this simple task very challenging. The key is for us all to slow down our lives. To sit in silence and boredom, listen to our own heart’s desires. Rest. Nourish our bodies with whole foods, spend quality time with our family every single day of the week. Tell each other stories about our day around the dining room table. Water our garden in the evening as we watch the sun set outside. And simply allow ourselves to be more human.

Today, the biggest reason why people don’t support the arts is not because they don’t want to, its because they don’t have the time to. The more time we spend taking care of our selves, the more we value creating an environment in our home that promotes peace, tranquility and well being.

When more humans start being more human, we can all make more room in our hearts and our home to welcome in more beauty, art and philosophy.

Contact Info:

• Website: ChristinaAngelosStudios.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christinaangelosstudios?igsh=ODJkbXlhd3Nrc2g5&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christinaangelosstudios?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@CreateEudaimonia?si=6vGUJC9fkA_cTH0l
• Other: Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@create.eudaimonia?_t=8k6E9Uk2Vp8&_r=1

Image Credits
Professional Archival Giclee Printing by Print Lab in Chicago