
And for my next trick, I have used the same Venetian Harbour in Chania photograph (Overlay mode in Photoshop) to show baking hot, sand-encrusted houses overlooking the sea. The underlay (Normal mode) is a texture from 2 Lil’ Owls (2LO Distressed 21).
And oh boy, does that red desert dust cover everything. The Libyan Desert may be closer to South Crete but those pesky winds sweep it up and over. Every morning our beaten-up car is caked in the stuff.
That’s not even taking the henna-red earth of our garden into consideration. In the early days, I considered how it could be pressed into service. Might we be able to sieve it and press it into jars with some magic ingredient that would serve as hair dye? Would it work as a tanning agent? Was I ever seriously going to do any such thing? A resounding no! But it was fun to think about.

Which reminds me of our Greek friend ‘Panioyotis’. He was born in mainland Greece but brought up in Germany. He works mainly in the tourist industry but is constantly dreaming up ideas to make money, none of which he ever follows through, though not before he has brought me on board as his website designer and general factotum.

There were the rape alarms that are illegal in Greece but that he planned to order and dispatch from Germany. There were the lighthouses he hoped Mr FND would make out of abandoned wooden palettes. There was the time he saw one of my images—
Been Fishin’ (US) Been Fishin’ (UK)
—and wanted to start an online business selling my Crete-based designs, whether straight photographs or digitally adapted.
Eventually, we realised these were pipe dreams that were never going to amount to anything. How much money he wasted on research—ordering the alarms and so forth—we’ll never know.
‘Panioyotis’ is now working back in Germany. He visits occasionally and although it’s lovely to see him, we have one problem: our dog, Pisch, has never liked him and barks constantly when he’s around. This activity is usually a good indicator of the decency of another human being but not in this case for ‘Panioyotis’ is a sweetheart!

Available at the following galleries:
Redbubble
Crated
Zazzle US
Zazzle UK
Fine Art America
Fine Art England
Saatchi Art
Take care and keep laughing!
This made me smile. I think we all know people like Panioyotis….filled with ideas and good intentions, but somehow never get to follow through. I do love the colours in this image….and have over the years used the colours a great deal in my paintings. Where you live sounds most interesting. Keep smiling:)xx
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Bless you, Janet. The locals are certainly interesting. The British ex-pats are not!
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I hear you loud and clear:):)x
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What Janet said (except for the painting. I don’t paint) 😉 x
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Much thanks, Juli!
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Lovely post Sarah and I like the ‘sunbaked’ version of your image!
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Thank you, Jane. 🙂
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This is an image that evokes photographs from the turn of the century (the 19th-20th that is) and really shows the heat and dust. First-rate, Sarah, very appealing.
Best wishes, Pete. x
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Blessings, my dear Pete.
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Thanks for sharing, both another wonderful image and the local flavour. He sounds great!
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Your support, Olga, is very much appreciated. x
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A delightful story and character, Sarah. It’s hard to contain the enthusiasm that lives within some artists. They may have the dream and the vision, but perhaps not the wherewithal to know what to do with it all.
And I love the name Scorched Earth Greeting Cards. There’s something rather rugged and winsome about it.
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You’re a doll, Shelley. Thanks so much.
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Reblogged this on ' Ace Friends News ' and commented:
Absolutely gorgeous Sarah love the colours. You are a real true artist 🌟
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