A House Portrait from Athens, Greece

by Jennifer Skopp

While visiting Plaka, the oldest neighborhood in Athens, Greece, Jennifer Skopp came across this interesting looking residential building.

This building had four floors, including the basement. The fourth floor did not go across the whole building. It occupied about half the area.

The outside of the building was colored with different gradients of red. The double doors on the front of the building were gray. The shutters and iron work were light bluish gray. The moldings were tan. The iron work on the balcony and window gates, which were on the side of the building, had beautiful swirly designs. Jennifer couldn’t tell if this was a large home for one family or an apartment building.

Outside of the building were several large, terra cotta planters with green plants. There were two small trees on either side of the front door. The right tree, with a skinny, swirling trunk and small, cool colored leaves, was growing out of a cracked, stone step. There were four uneven stone steps leading up to the front door.

Jennifer was interested in creating a Watercolor House Portrait of this home, because it is unlike anything you would see in the U.S. It looked very old, imperfect and authentic.