Leanne Prussing is a fine artist from Australia, now sailing around the world with her husband, Greg. After anchoring their boat on Mylopotas beach, the opportunity to bring the walls of Harmony to life with her art presented itself as if by fate.
‘It has now been a year and a half since my husband and I sold up everything to sail off into the sunset. This led me to often wonder how I would continue practising my passion of painting on our boat, so I put it out to the universe to be able to continue working while afloat. Simultaneously, the owner of Harmony, Kat, wished for the perfect artist to bring her vision to life. One day we were walking up the hill to Harmony and it all fell into place, as if guided by manifestation.
I’ve now completed three weeks as “Artist in Residence” at the magnificent Harmony Mexican Restaurant, Ios. I never dreamed I would have the opportunity of such a stunning clear white canvas, four walls in total, on the cliff face overlooking Mylopotas Beach, where we anchored our boat. I had a fabulous perspective of my work in progress each day.
Recently I visited my son in Mexico to see him perform in Cirque du Soleil’s Luzia: a Mexican dream, so the ideas flowed for this Mexican restaurant on a beautiful Greek Island. The art is designed to be interactive with customers: photo opportunities inspired by the famous Instagram pose between butterfly wings which can be found allover the world, as well as bringing life and colour to the kids activities corner, with the opportunity for them to colour in their own butterfly.
Kat is one amazing woman, very creative and great to work with; we connected on many levels instantly. It’s been 3 weeks of hard but rewarding work. The process of setting up the restaurant is intense. Everything is packed away for the winter so consideration for the longevity of the art led to painting on a combination of marine ply board and directly on to the walls. Everything came together like magic, reminding me of Mamma Mia.
I feel very blessed to have gotten this gig, in a place with such a special vibe. We have made lots of new life long friends from all over the world, it feels like home at Harmony.’
Leanne Prussing
@prussingart