Drink, draw and unwind in Varnava Square

By 9 p.m. on Friday, the cafes and bars around Varnava Square were packed. The same was true of the sidewalks on the surrounding streets, where tables had spilled outdoors and ice-cold beers were already being served. Walking along Eftychidou Street and turning left onto Astydamantos Street, however, we found ourselves enjoying our drinks not at one of the neighborhood bars, but at the Art of Enea painting studio.

Artist and painting instructor Enea Guzja is one of the few people in central Athens who runs a studio and organizes “Drink and Draw” sessions.

“It was actually the idea of one of my students,” he recalled. “At the time, I was still working in my first studio, a tiny 16-square-meter space on a rooftop in Vyronas. While we were painting, she said, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if we could have a glass of wine while we paint?’ She had seen it abroad – it’s quite common in countries like the Netherlands.”

As we descended the stairs into the studio, one of the first things we noticed – besides the easels, portraits, and still-life composition waiting to be drawn – was a large wooden table covered in paints that had been turned into an improvised bar. Gradually, participants who had reserved a spot via Instagram began to arrive.

“It’s the perfect way to spend a relaxed Friday evening,” said Spyridoula Kallianezou, who was attending a Drink and Draw session for the second time. “After the chaos of everyday life, it’s the best way for me to unwind.”

A skull and a book

We eyed the composition Guzja had chosen for the evening’s lesson with some apprehension: a clay skull placed in front of a blue jug, resting on a red book – a clear challenge for beginners.

His first instruction was simple: Help yourselves to a drink.

Some filled their glasses with Aperol Spritz, others with wine, before taking their seats.

“Just be careful not to dip your brushes into your gin and tonic instead of the water – it happens all the time,” he joked moments before the lesson began.

The first exercise was equally straightforward: “Draw it like a child would. Don’t get stuck on the details.”

Speaking calmly and opening a bottle of sparkling wine, Guzja demonstrated a basic, accessible approach to building the composition. Everyone was free to paint whatever they liked – nothing was mandatory – so we initially decided to leave the skull out entirely and focus on the simpler elements of the arrangement.

“I try to make painting more approachable,” he explained. “Many people tell me, ‘I can’t draw,’ or, ‘I have nothing to do with art.’ But you don’t need to be an expert to feel something through this process. It’s like saying that if you can’t read sheet music, you can’t enjoy listening to music. We come here first to have a good time, and only then to create and learn – not to prove how skilled we are.”

He continued: “Many people who sign up believe they can’t even draw a straight line. But I’ve never seen anyone come to a Drink and Draw session and leave without having created something they genuinely liked.”

Athina Metsoviti was the only participant who created something entirely different from the proposed still life.

“For me, Drink and Draw isn’t just an activity – it’s a moment of total relaxation,” she said as she finished a portrait of a couple. “When I’m painting, with music playing in the background and this atmospheric lighting, I don’t think about anything else.”

She was so absorbed in her work that she had forgotten about her drink altogether, as had most of the other participants.

“A lot of people come at first because the concept sounds fun,” Guzja observed. “But soon they get carried away by the process and find themselves fully focused, painting for hours without putting down the brush.”

Early inspirations

At 30 years old, the artist is entirely self-taught. His earliest creative influences came from his parents, even though neither had any direct connection to the arts.

“My father was a blacksmith and my mother a seamstress. I watched them work with their hands and create things. It wasn’t art in the conventional sense, but for me those were my first images of creativity,” he said.

Despite their different background, his parents were highly supportive of his decision to become a painter.

“In Albania, society was – and to some extent still is – quite conservative when it comes to artistic professions. I was born here in Greece, and my parents supported me from the very beginning in pursuing this path.”

Although his talent was evident, he was not admitted to any of the country’s fine arts schools, as his style did not conform to their admission criteria.

“So I decided to figure it out on my own,” he said.

Looking around his studio, filled with highly detailed and professionally executed paintings, it is difficult to believe he never received formal training.

Rather than becoming discouraged, he took the initiative several years ago to organize a solo exhibition at a cafe in Vyronas.

“It went surprisi…