As I Can: My Creed of Painting

As I Can: My Creed of Painting is a deeply personal reflection by renowned Orthodox iconographer and painter Fr. Stamatis Skliris on a lifetime devoted to the mystery of artistic creation. Blending memoir, aesthetic meditation, theological insight, and practical reflections on painting, the book explores the relationship between beauty, light, freedom, authenticity, and the human person. Enriched by essays from leading artists, theologians, and critics, and illustrated with a rich selection of the author's paintings and icons, it offers a unique window into the creative vision of one of the most influential Orthodox artists of our time. More than an artistic manifesto, As I Can is a spiritual and philosophical journey into the vocation of seeing, creating, and revealing life through color and form.

Prelude

Yannis Tsarouchis once said to Alekos Fassianos, “I paint as I can.” At the time, Tsarouchis faced a particular challenge: abstraction was sweeping across the Western art world. Compared with many European painters of that period, he appeared almost “classical.” At one point he even tried painting abstractly himself, but it simply was not true to his nature. So he said, quite simply, “I paint as I can.”

Fassianos himself told me this story, adding something profoundly important: “Paint as you can. In the as you can lies your authenticity.”

In other words: this is how you are able to paint; this is how you create. That is where the truth lies. If you try to do what you are not called to do—as Tsarouchis did when he attempted abstraction—authenticity disappears. From there one steps onto a slippery path, creating merely to resemble the Frenchman, the abstractionist, or the cubist. In the end, you become none of these. You are neither cubist nor abstract. You become simply an imitator—and eventually you lose everything.

Fassianos said this with remarkable simplicity. I still remember the moment. I was driving us home after dinner at a small tavern, and he spoke these words almost in passing. Yet for me they carried immense significance.

Years later, while a filmmaker in Belgrade was making a documentary about my work, we returned to that conversation. He chose As I Can as the title of the film. Once again, I found myself reflecting deeply on the question of authenticity.

Some time afterward, George Papageorgiou gave me a copy of Picasso’s Thoughts on Art. For me, it was a stunning book—almost as though one were adding a fifth Gospel, not to Christianity but to art. Just as Christianity has its four Gospels, this seemed like a fifth: a visual gospel of artistic creation.

From that point on, the question of authenticity became an even deeper concern, especially after Fassianos's passing. With his departure, the beautiful evenings we had shared also came to an end. Every day he painted from eight in the morning until eight in the evening. By nightfall he was exhausted and wanted to relax. He would invite a small circle of friends—never quite the same group twice—and together we would go to a modest, picturesque tavern to eat, drink, and talk.

Many reflections were born during those evenings. Fassianos himself, however, rarely analyzed such matters at length. He was a man of few words—a man of action and of painting.

It was then that my own reflections on authenticity in painting began to take shape. Many years later, in 2025, I attempted to distill them into a brief, emblematic text entitled The Creed of Painting, which you will find later in this book.

Athens
March 11, 2026

Fr. Stamatis Skliris was born in Piraeus, the port of Athens, in 1946. At his baptism he was given the name of the Holy New Martyr Stamatios of Hydra. From early childhood he displayed remarkable artistic gifts, and during his school years he began painting and composing ecclesiastical poetry. He first studied medicine at the University of Athens, receiving his medical degree in 1971, and subsequently completed his theological studies there in 1976. He continued his education in Belgrade, attending courses at the Faculties of Theology and Philosophy, where he further pursued studies in theology and the history of art. His lifelong devotion to both theology and art established him as one of the foremost Orthodox iconologists, iconographers, and theorists of sacred art, with a profound knowledge of ancient, medieval, and modern artistic traditions. Together with his wife, Marina, he spent two years in Serbia, living primarily at the Monastery of Ćelije in close spiritual proximity to Fr. Justin Popović (now St. Justin of Ćelije). During this period he painted the chapel dedicated to St. Stephen of Dečani. Ordained to the holy priesthood in 1979, Fr. Stamatis has since served the Church in Athens. Fr. Stamatis is the author of numerous books, essays, and scholarly articles on theology, iconography, and aesthetics. His writings have been translated into several languages, including Serbian and English, and *Art Space in Byzantine Iconography, In the Mirror*, has been published in English. His paintings and icons have been presented in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including those of the Zygos Gallery (Athens, 1991, 1994, 2004), the *Salon d’Automne* (Paris, 1992, 1993), the *Salon des Artistes Français* (Paris, 1993), Brussels (2004), the Titanium Gallery in Athens (2007), the Sheen Center in New York (2021), etc. His works have also been exhibited in Serbia on several occasions, including at the Residence of Princess Ljubica in Belgrade, the Progress Gallery, and other prominent cultural venues. Today, Fr. Stamatis Skliris is internationally recognized as one of the leading contemporary Orthodox iconographers and painters. Through his art, writings, and lectures, he continues to shape the dialogue between Byzantine tradition and contemporary artistic expression, inspiring generations of iconographers, artists, theologians, and students throughout the Orthodox world.