Fionn Wilson

I love the Greek islands and feel especially drawn to Crete. So far, I’ve explored pretty much all of the north coast from Stalis going west as far as beyond Chania to Falasarna. I have a fantasy of living in Crete and spending all my days painting in the shade of olive groves, living in a beach hut near the sea and living on the sun, watermelon and wine.

One of the painters I admire greatly, along with Rembrandt, is El Greco, who was born in Crete (possibly at a place called Fodele, which I visited) and then eventually settled in Toledo, Spain. He’s very important to me. Whenever I see his paintings I cannot get over how modern they look — and he was painting in the 16th century! He was way ahead of his time and deemed incomprehensible by his peers. I saw this painting below, View of Mount Sinai and the Monastery of St Catherine (1570-72) in the Historical Museum in Heraklion. For some reason, it moved me to tears to see it.

I also saw my first kingfisher in Crete at Lake Agia, with the magnificent White Mountains in the background. I’d been longing to see kingfishers since my childhood, when I became fascinated by them. I thought they were like fairy birds from a magical kingdom. I’ve only recently become aware of the link with kingfishers and Jung (his Philemon).

I painted this self portrait after a visit to Crete in 2014. I remember being struck by the blue of the sky there — blue is a colour I really struggle with in painting — and realising that there were layers of different blues not just one overall colour. The blue of the sky in Crete is something that can’t be described accurately. I was also captivated by the scent of night-blooming jasmine which seemed to envelop the evenings and this is what I chose to paint when I returned home. It’s really a portrait about enchantment.

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