THE IMAGE TRANSFORMED

From Observation to Personal Visual Language

An Interactive Fine - Art Programme Taught Live via Zoom and Entirely in English

12 tutor-led Zoom sessions · Tuesdays, 20 October 2026–26 January 2027 · 22:00–23:30 Athens time

Small international group · 3–8 participants

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Transform What You See into Art That Is Distinctly Your Own
 

How does an artist move beyond reproducing what is visible and begin to create images with a genuinely personal voice?

The Image Transformed is a focused, practice-led programme exploring how observation, identity, light, place and memory can become the foundations of original visual work.

Across twelve live sessions, participants will select, simplify, disrupt and reconstruct imagery through presentations, demonstrations, practical exercises and constructive critique. The programme does not impose one style or force every artwork into complete abstraction. It encourages each participant to move from observation towards a clearer, more confident and personal visual language.
 

Free Introductory Workshop

A Portrait Without a Face

Tuesday, 13 October 2026 · 22:00–23:30 Athens time · Live on Zoom
 

This free ninety-minute workshop introduces the ideas and teaching approach of The Image Transformed. Through objects, colour, personal associations and space, participants will begin a non-literal portrait that suggests identity without relying on facial likeness.

The workshop includes a short presentation, visual examples, a guided artistic exercise and voluntary sharing and discussion.

Advance registration is required. The workshop will be presented live only and will not be recorded.

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Email borgias-@otenet.gr with the subject:
FREE WORKSHOP REGISTRATION – A PORTRAIT WITHOUT A FACE
 

What Participants Will Gain

By the end of the programme, participants will have:

• a clearer sense of their personal artistic direction;

• a varied portfolio of experiments and developed visual responses;

• stronger practical and visual skills in composition, colour, form, space, tone and materials;

• new methods for transforming observed or found source material;

• greater confidence in making, discussing and developing artistic work.

Each theme unfolds across two connected sessions: the first introduces and explores the concept; the second allows the initial experiment to be reconsidered, developed and strengthened.
 

The Six Modules

1. From Reality to Abstraction

20 and 27 October

Transform a recognisable subject through cropping, simplification, fragmentation and changes of scale. Explore how much can be removed while the image retains energy and meaning.
 

2. A Portrait Without a Face

3 and 10 November

Express identity through objects, colour, symbols, absence and space, moving beyond physical likeness to suggest character, memory and presence.
 

3. Light, Shadow and Revelation

17 and 24 November

Use tonal contrast and restricted visibility to conceal, reveal and transform, allowing light to shape atmosphere and meaning.

4. Place Reimagined: Landscape, Interior and Atmosphere

1 and 8 December

Reconstruct a landscape, interior or remembered place through altered viewpoints, colour and layering, communicating how a place feels rather than simply how it looks.

5. Memory, Trace and Erasure

15 December and 12 January

Work with layering, partial erasure, fragmentation and traces of change. An independent project developed during the holiday interval will be revisited in January.

6. Towards a Personal Visual Language

19 and 26 January

Identify recurring interests and visual choices, then develop the strongest material into a resolved artwork or small connected sequence, with guidance for continuing independently.
 

Who Is It For?

The programme is designed for adults aged 18 and over: emerging and practising artists, art students and graduates, people returning to art, and anyone with some image-making experience who wishes to move beyond copying.

Formal qualifications are not required, although some practical experience will be helpful.

Participants must be able to understand and participate in English, but perfect fluency is not required.

Participants may work with drawing, painting, collage or mixed media. No specialist or unnecessarily expensive materials are required. Materials are not included in the fee.
 

Dates and International Times

Complete Programme

Tuesdays, 20 October 2026–26 January 2027
22:00–23:30 Athens time
12 live sessions · 18 hours of live tuition

October: 20 and 27
November: 3, 10, 17 and 24
December: 1, 8 and 15
January: 12, 19 and 26

There will be no sessions on 22 or 29 December, or on 5 January.

The programme is open internationally. For most sessions, the corresponding starting times are:

• United Kingdom: Tuesday, 20:00

• Central Europe: Tuesday, 21:00

• Athens: Tuesday, 22:00

• South Africa: Tuesday, 22:00

• New York and Toronto: Tuesday, 15:00

• Chicago: Tuesday, 14:00

• Los Angeles and Vancouver: Tuesday, 12:00

• São Paulo and Buenos Aires: Tuesday, 17:00

• Sydney and Melbourne: Wednesday, 07:00

• Auckland: Wednesday, 09:00

Because countries change their clocks on different dates, the free workshop and first paid session will begin one hour earlier in South Africa, Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland. The North American session on 27 October will begin one hour later than the usual times listed above. Athens, United Kingdom and Central European times remain unchanged throughout.

Participants should confirm the time in their own location before registering.
 

About the Tutor

Dimitra Sofia Sofianou

Visual Artist · Fine-Art Educator · Graphic Designer · Former Creative Art Director

Johannesburg-born and based in Athens, Dimitra Sofia Sofianou is a visual artist and experienced fine-art educator. She completed four years of Fine Art study at BORGIAS Fine Art and holds a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from the University of Greater Manchester (formerly the University of Bolton).

Working primarily in oil and acrylics on canvas, Sofianou creates layered, gestural surfaces in which forms emerge and dissolve between visibility and concealment. Her work explores transformation, resilience, memory, vulnerability and renewal.

Her work has been presented in Greece and internationally. She held a solo exhibition at Gallery Kivotos, Athens, in 2003. In 2026, Epiphany of the Warrior was presented by 33 Contemporary Gallery through Artsy, and her work was selected for the 6th Barcelona Art Biennial at MEAM—the European Museum of Modern Art.

Her distinctions include First Prize in Greece for 736 Ideas for a Dream in 2010 and the Second International Leonardo da Vinci Prize – The Universal Artist in 2018.

Alongside her studio practice, Sofianou has extensive teaching and mentoring experience developed over many years at BORGIAS Fine Art, guiding students from foundational observation and technical development towards experimental, conceptual and personally directed practice.

She also studied Graphic Design, began her professional career as a graphic designer in Johannesburg and later worked in Greek advertising as a Creative Art Director. This experience contributes a strong understanding of visual communication, concept, composition, colour and the relationship between image and idea.
 

Live Participation and Recordings

This is an interactive programme rather than a passive webinar. Participants should join Zoom using the name under which they registered and are expected to have their camera available during introductions, discussions, artwork presentations and critique. Cameras may be switched off during practical work or when a genuine technical, accessibility or privacy need arises.

The free introductory workshop will not be recorded. During the paid programme, selected tutor-led presentations, demonstrations and exercise briefings may be recorded and shared privately with enrolled participants until 28 February 2027. Participant discussions, artwork presentations and critiques will not normally be recorded.
 

Programme Fee

Early-Booking Fee: €350

Payment in full by Sunday, 18 October 2026.

Standard Fee: €390

Payable in full or in two instalments of €195.

The programme is limited to a maximum of eight participants and will proceed with a minimum of three confirmed paid participants. If BORGIAS Fine Art cancels because the minimum group has not been reached, the full amount paid will be refunded.
 

Registration and Payment

Registration begins by email. Payment is then made by bank transfer; online card payment is not currently available.

To join the complete programme, email borgias-@otenet.gr with the subject:
THE IMAGE TRANSFORMED – PROGRAMME REGISTRATION

Please include your full name, country and time zone, a short note about your previous artistic experience, and whether you wish to pay in full or in two instalments.

BORGIAS Fine Art will confirm availability and send the bank-transfer details. Please do not make a transfer before receiving confirmation. A place is secured once payment has been received.

[BUTTON: JOIN THE COMPLETE PROGRAMME]
 

Begin the Journey from Observation to Personal Expression

Join a focused international group and discover how familiar subjects can become the starting points for more personal, expressive and meaningful work.

Free workshop: Tuesday, 13 October 2026
Complete programme begins: Tuesday, 20 October 2026
Email:borgias-@otenet.gr

[BUTTON: REGISTER FOR THE FREE WORKSHOP]
[BUTTON: JOIN THE COMPLETE PROGRAMME]