PAVLAKIS MICHALIS

 I was born in Heraklion, Crete, into a poor family, at the age of 10. Not having the financial means to buy toys, I was forced to invent improvised games. With the neighborhood children, we made tiny objects (animals, marbles, etc.) from the compacted soil of the carts that were around at the time. As a child, when I wanted to draw on paper, my mother would scold me not to draw large pictures so as not to use up too much paper. So I got used to drawing tiny ethnographic pictures.

I worked as an officer in the Merchant Navy until I was 26. This gave me the opportunity to come into contact with different cultures and visit numerous museums around the world, which influenced me and helped me develop my artistic sensibility.

On every trip I took, I carried a suitcase filled with art books, brushes, and paints. Not a day went by without studying and practicing miniature painting. My continuous education through studying art-related writings has never stopped to this day. I have over 1,000 rare art books in foreign languages and Greek in my library.

After completing my career in the Navy, I engaged in pottery and iconography. I have been immersed in miniature painting on various materials such as enamel, porcelain, silver, and gold. I am now specialized in miniature painting with themes such as Minoan civilization, Greek mythology, and contemporary history.

In May 2018, I took part in a painting exhibition in which I was the only participant to present miniature exhibits on the theme of “The Bee in Cretan-Mycenaean Culture” at the Basilica of St. Mark. In November 2018, I took part in a group exhibition of hagiography at the municipal art gallery of Botis Thalassinos, where I was the only participating painter of micro-hagiographies.

In December 2018, I volunteered to create Minoan murals (8 in total) at the port of Heraklion, specifically on the pier. The project was completed in October 2023 and was handed over in the presence of Archbishop Eugenios, Regional Governor Mr. Arnaoutakis, Dr. Gareth Owens, linguist, and the entire leadership of the Municipality of Heraklion, Crete.

Alongside my artistic pursuits, I have been active for many years in business, running a jewelry store and workshop at 22 Daidalou Street in the center of Heraklion, which I moved and still run until today at 42 1866 Street.