Vangelis 'Superiority' Giclee on Canvas from his 2003 collection.

Roses, orchids, gardenias, poppies, zinnias, daisies and anemones have brought beauty to our lives, but Vangelis looks closely at what gives them life. By focusing on their purpose - to slowly reveal their secrets until they captivate in full bloom - Vangelis elevates the flower from decoration to a lesson of life.

Vangelis Andriotakis was born in 1953 in Greece, on the island of Crete. He was the first son in a family consisting of four siblings, forty cousins and a multitude of aunts and uncles. From his first encounter with oil paints at a very early age, his journey through art could fill many novels.

The first paintings by Vangelis were of the whitewashed buildings and azure blue seas of his native Greece that were sold to the island's tourists. As his skills advanced, Vangelis studied the old masters and developed his technique based on their timeless tradition of quality and attention to detail. Tired of painting to suit the commercial tourist trade, Vangelis turned to his love of the female form for inspiration. His wife and muse, Ioanna, is a familiar figure from this era.

After moving to the United States, Vangelis began to explore nature. What followed is destined to become the most prolific and exemplary collection of floral works on canvas the art world has ever seen.

Natural exposure expresses the intangible emotional concept of flowers. Brilliant displays of spiritual and symbolic significance create a dramatic testament to the surreal beauty of nature. Flowers are unfolded in heroic terms, oversized and isolated in the painting and explored for their design and structure, not strictly as botanical specimens.

"In the beginning, I was trying to convey energy and composition - to cast a different light on flowers and bring a new vision," says Vangelis of his work. "You can see flowers for a lifetime, but to truly realize their beauty, you must reveal their most intimate crevices, drink in the depth of their color and become seduced by their intoxicating scent and power."

Vangelis' paintings are included in the permanent exhibits of The American Orchid Society and The American Rose Society. He's been commissioned by The Kennedy Foundation and The White House. His works have been published in The American Rose Society Magazine (cover), Miami Design, Palm Beach Design, Delray Beach Magazine (cover), Florida International Magazine and American Orchid Society Magazine.