By Popi Iatrou
For most of my life I believed the title artist belonged to other people — but looking back now, I can see that art had been waiting patiently for me to claim it.
If you’ve connected with my art or followed my journey, I wanted to share the real story of how I arrived here, brush in hand. My path wasn’t linear or obvious; it unfolded slowly over decades, through many different forms of creativity that didn’t yet call themselves “art.”
I grew up in Melbourne, the daughter of Greek immigrant parents who gave me a deep love for the sea, the land, and the quiet beauty in ordinary things. From a young age, I was always sketching — mostly horses, birds, and feminine figures. Drawing helped me make escape to my own fantasy world, though I never imagined it would become part of my identity. In my teens, doodling was something I did when I didn’t want to study. In my twenties, I repurposed old furniture and painted swirling, colourful patterns across stools and other wooden objects, simply because it made me happy. In my thirties, I brought creativity into my counselling work with children and adolescents, using drawing and art-making to help them express what words couldn’t reach.
The photo above is my typical daydreamer face. I was often in trouble at school for staring out the window, mesmerised by nature, the sky, and the birds.
During those years, my main form of artistic expression wasn’t painting — it was dance. From 2006 to 2018, I ran a Middle Eastern dance school. This was one of the most meaningful and healing periods of my life after a dark separation and the grief of losing contact with my beautiful children for a long period of time. Through choreography, music, and embodied movement, I watched women soften, open, and rediscover their confidence. I rediscovered by intuition and reclaimed my power. My spiritual growth was amplified by yoga. Week after week, the studio became a space for healing and expression. I didn’t know it then, but everything I learned in those years would eventually find its way into my art.
Above are some small paintings I made for a stall at the Sydney Middle eastern Dance Festival in 2012 with my dance student and art mentor Jenny.
Art, meanwhile, continued to weave itself into my life quietly. I illustrated a children’s book about anxiety (How to Calm Your Lizard, written by Suzanne Johnson). I created all the artwork for my own book, The Art of Wellness Toolkit, blending psychology, spirituality, and creativity. I took local and online classes whenever I could. I kept sketching, painting, experimenting — always pulled toward something but never fully naming it.
In my 40s, the inner pull began to grow stronger. I’d show the resident artists at my workplace little pieces I was creating and joke, “When I grow up, I want to be an artist.” They would smile and say, “Popi, you already are.” It took me a long time to believe them.
Then, at the end of 2023, something inside me shifted. I felt a clear, quiet knowing:
I want to paint every day.
Not one day in the future — now.
Not long after, I discovered the Milan Art Mastery Program. When they said professional artists should be painting at least 20 hours per week, I felt a full-body yes. I took a year of long service leave, built my private practice in Sylvania, and leapt into the program wholeheartedly. It was one of the bravest and best decisions I’ve ever made.
The Mastery Program gave me structure, confidence, and a community. It confirmed what had been true all along — that art wasn’t a side interest; it was my path. Today, I’m a proud graduate, a member of the Society of Professional Artists, and part of two local art societies. I am continually learning and expanding as an artist, and I love the creative life I’ve finally allowed myself to live.
My art now holds every chapter that brought me here:
movement, psychology, spirituality, the dance of colour, the softness of healing, the courage of transformation. Every piece I create is infused with loving and healing energy. When someone connects with my art, I feel as though our stories recognise each other — and that connection is one of the greatest gifts of being an artist.
Thank you for being part of this journey and for supporting my creative work. If you’d like to explore more or feel the paintings in person, I’d love to welcome you into my world:
🌸 Originals & prints: www.popiart.com
🌿 Visit my home studio in Sylvania (by appointment): email me at popifineart@gmail.com
With love and light,
Popi Iatrou
Dream Wild, Radiate Passion
