No matter how innocent James Foote’s watercolors are – double doors entwined with plants, wooden boats in sunset colors, the beauty of the Greek summer, as if it were painted by Jacques Lacariere himself – so inside he is a British devil with unimaginable meaning. humor and an adventurous life worthy of writing an entire book. Perhaps I have always admired this contrast in his work, the way art brings out the angelic aspect of his character, as well as his immense love for Greece, which he chose as his second home. The place where he lives permanently with his husband Wallace – where I also met them – is Kyparissi Laconia, one of the most beautiful places in the Peloponnese, untouched by time and ugliness.

However, he often holds exhibitions in Spetses, Athens, and abroad, conveying the subdued charm of Kyparissia, which plays a major role in all his watercolors. He discovered this hideout in 1993, a village with amazing houses at the foot of the Parnon in the sea. He went to live alone in December and learned to speak Greek on the street: “I want a house with a fireplace and a garden for a year.” He rented an old house with no furniture at all, took out his clothes from a suitcase, arranged a makeshift mattress, listened to the mice crawling on the ceiling, and excitedly said to himself: “My God, they are beautiful.” I have no idea what will happen to me now! Before that, he hadn’t even sat on his balls. He left his native Cornwall for London, then went away for a while to Morocco and Gibraltar, and the first place where he tried to settle in our country was Spetses.

His English friend told him that since he wanted to play a British wanderer abroad, he should at least paint in watercolor, and she gave him a set to do so. James studied art in Cornwall and took the challenge seriously. Today he is one of the artists who continue the tradition of worshiping Greek nature through color. In watercolor, not a single mistake can be corrected, the unsuccessful ones end up in the trash, and therefore one can understand the dedication with which the Briton does his work. His next exhibition opens on August 23 at Spetses in Orlofa (old port) with amazing images of the little paradise where he lives. It is worth getting to know him, his work and, of course, Kyparissi.