Anthony Tartaglia uses art to dive into his own identity. Born and raised in Melbourne, his passion for Greek culture, history and mythology led him to discover his love for painting, in 2021.
Working as a construction worker by day, Anthony always enjoyed hanging up his artwork he had created in his spare time, around the house.
It wasn’t until his wife encouraged him to try sell one of his paintings online that he realised the potential of his work. Taking her advice, he headed to his Instagram page and decided to try his luck.
Anthony was surprised at how quickly customers had expressed interest, and it wasn’t long before he was successfully running a side-business selling Greek paintings via social media.
“I put my paintings online and I started receiving a lot of messages about them,” Anthony tells Neos Kosmos.
“The first painting I did was of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, and I received a lot of comments and feedback about it so that’s how I started painting more.”
Anthony’s creativity began to flow when he had an idea to try something a little different: he decided to paint Greek statues.
“I started off with a statue of Nike, just like my first painting, using the exact same colours” he explains. “So, I went online and ordered a marble statue from Crete and painted it, and I pretty much sold that the very next week.”
Realising there was a demand for this type of art, Anthony went back online and ordered more statues from the same store in Greece.
Each statue would have a different theme, but they were all reflective of his love for Greek mythology. Spending endless hours in his garage after work, his latest obsession had become spray painting statues of Athena, Artemis and Poseidon.
“It takes about two-three hours to complete a statue. I start off by painting a little bit, then I leave it and come back to it and I’ll keep playing around with it until I’m happy with how it looks,” Anthony explains. “Some people want their personal tags on them and that takes longer because I write their name by hand.”
His commissioned statue pieces have become increasingly popular, with people placing their orders from all over Australia.
Anthony hopes to one day become a full-time artist, and he is already drafting up ideas for his next project.
“The dream is to be running my business full-time,” he says. “I have a few ideas of what I want to paint, for example, I’m really interested in the Byzantine period and in the Greek Revolution. My next idea is to paint some Greek historical figures, like Theodoros Kolokotronis. I want to touch on all aspects of Greek history, if I can.”
Apart from Greek history, he also has a love for sports. When asked which celebrity he would love to create a statue for, Anthony’s answer was one many Greeks would approve of.
“I would love to be able to create a statue for ‘The Greek Freak’, Giannis Antetokounmpo. I’ve played basketball for the past 20 years and I really look up to him as an athlete.”
Anthony looks forward to a family holiday in Greece, where he will gain more inspiration and his passion for Greek art.
“Whenever I go to Greece I always like to visit historical sites and museums,” he says. “My kids are a little young at the moment, but when they grow older I would really love to take them exploring with me.”
The future looks bright for Anthony, like his colourful paintings. He hopes to one day exhibit his work in Greece, and to continue spreading his love for Greek culture through his art.
