ANNITA A. – A JOURNEY THROUGH ART AND SOUL

From the moment I could hold a pencil, art became my language. My world. My breath.

I was five when I “borrowed” a pencil from my grandmother and turned the walls of our home into a fairy tale. I still remember my mother’s stunned expression — a mix of horror and wonder. That moment etched itself into memory, and soon after, I found myself inside the studio of the painter Dimitris Kantopoulos. Among towering easels and awestruck art students, I stood small but certain — the youngest presence in the School of Fine Arts. I was offered not just lessons, but magic. I never looked back.

At eight years old, I painted in a sea of older students. The smell of paint, the palette of infinite color, the quiet rhythm of brush against canvas — it became my haven. My mentor once told me, “Even if not everyone understands your work, they will remember your colors — your true magic.” That promise became a thread I have followed ever since.

When allergies took me away from oil paints and turpentine, my path twisted — but never broke. I turned toward Fashion Design, chasing the fire in my soul instead of the “sensible” path of Business Studies. At Veloudakis Fashion School in Athens, I found new textures for my creativity — cloth instead of canvas, thread instead of brushstroke. Fashion and history danced together, and I danced with them.

Every new creation was a breath. I soaked up knowledge like sunlight — in long nights, hands busy, heart open. This was more than a skill. It was a calling.

But my heart still craved more. I studied Jewelry Design at YWCA School of Arts in Athens, and that spark sent me to Paris — to the runways, the ateliers, the quiet hum of Montmartre. Art lived in every window, every shadow, every glance. I felt it inside me — stirring again.

Italy called me next — not just as a destination, but as a resonance. Its palette of moody greys and golden frescoes felt like home. Milan became my home, as I immersed myself in the Instituto Artistico dell’Abbigliamento Marangoni. I graduated with an Advanced Diploma in Fashion, a Master’s in Jewelry Design & Accessories, and Interior Design courses that shaped the aesthetic backbone of my visual language.

Versace offered me a future. I had the diplomas, the letters of recommendation, the spark. But my life took me back to Greece — with determination instead of regret.

And there, in Athens, I walked into the atelier of Haris Hourmouzis in March 1994. It was the day before the Fall/Winter Fashion Show. The atelier was electric — threads flying, heels clacking, silence charged with vision. Haris asked me, “Do you have a strong stomach?” My yes was quiet, but it was absolute. Our collaboration would become a golden chapter in my life.

As a designer at Harris & Aggelos, I lived in creativity. We traveled for shows. We worked under pressure. We laughed. We triumphed. We created. And through it all, I discovered not just fashion — but myself.

In 1998, sculptor Nikos Giorgos Papoutsidis entrusted me with his exhibition narration. This collaboration gifted me not just recognition, but friendship. In 1999, I dove into the Volkswagen “Beetle Art” Contest, where my work “Millennium” was exhibited at the Glyfada Golf Club — and embraced by the public.

I was reaching artistic peaks. And yet, I chose something rarer: stillness. I stepped away from fashion in 2000, seeking my own rhythm. A different joy.

I founded Annita Platis Collections in 2001 — a blend of decor, art, and design from Florence and Venice. In 2007, I created All My Life, a wedding & event company full of handmade details, emotions, and beauty. But in 2010, life whispered, “Pause.”

And I listened.

Until one voice — beloved and honest — reminded me in 2016:
“You cannot deny your nature. You are born for art. You are Art.”

That moment ignited the fire once more.

I created my first painting collection, “Faces & Characters” — 18 works blending acrylic, charcoal, aging techniques, and digital media. Before I even had the chance to present them in Greece, an Italian collector acquired the entire series for villas in Portofino.

And from that first breath, the journey continued.

“My Soul Kingdom” followed — 10 dark-canvas paintings echoing my inner world, each paired with poetry.

Then came “Eternal Lover” in 2019 — surreal, tender, feminine, rooted in nature and emotion. Each piece told a secret, each poem lit a path.

In 2020, amidst a quiet world, my imagination flourished. I wrote my first fairy tale, “The Princess and the Red Goldfish,” and placed it among my art in “Fairytales & Paintings.”

Later that year, “Camouflage” emerged — surreal, layered, honest. Ten portraits exploring how we hide, how we reveal, how we transform.

In 2022, I gave voice to silence through “Words” — seven abstract pieces rooted in myth, shaped by story.

In 2023, I created “Links”, a 20-piece mixed media series, a tribute to memory and connection through digital collage and female form — a collection that still expands like a living journal. That December, I painted “Lady Hope”, a festive dream that gave birth to a second fairy tale.

In 2024, I walk further into the myth.

“Legends: The Code” weaves together digital collage and ancient strength — ten mythological women reborn in light, ink, and verse. The past speaks through them. And I listen.

Then my inner compass led me to a hybrid form: combining painting, poetry, and visual narrative. This gave birth to The Seasons – Special Edition, a poetic reflection of time’s turning and the soul’s rebirth across Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.

In 2025, I unveiled The Era Clockmakers, a metaphysical tale of time and cosmic memory. This was followed by The Luminous Abyss, where illuminated female figures emerge from darkness — fragile, powerful, divine.

Currently, I am immersed in my most intimate and evolving project: “When Color Knows the Script.”
This upcoming collection has been two years in the making — a choreography of hues, symbols, and layered meaning still unfolding. I hold it close, waiting for the right moment to share it.

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P.S. I extend my heartfelt thanks to Dimitris Athanasiou, whose evocative music has accompanied my artistic world. His melodies offer breath to my brushstrokes, sound to my silence.

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I invite you into my world — a realm of color, poetry, transformation, and soul. Here, art is not an object, but a voice.

This is my life:
Color and Word.
Passion and Pause.
Feminine and Fierce.
Memory and Myth.
And always — Art.

With gratitude,
Annita Apostolidou Platis