Working from these stains, Defterios builds the surface through hundreds of layers of paint, gradually moving from the varied palette beneath toward a more concentrated, often monochromatic field. His choices of color and texture often reference the landscapes, seas, and stones of Greece. Layers are built, covered, removed, and returned to over time. Each is recorded with a tally mark on the reverse of the canvas, creating a record of the painting’s progression.
Defterios works with acrylics, oils, spray paint, raw pigment, and marble dust, with fire used in certain works. Materials are introduced at different stages to alter the density, texture, and reflection of the surface. An increasingly recognizable feature of his work is the horizon-like division between a heavily worked upper field and a quieter horizontal register below, establishing a distinction between accumulated material and uninterrupted color.
The finished surface retains this history. Color from the reverse continues to appear through areas of the painting, while accumulated layers create subtle changes in depth, texture, and light. What begins as a loose field of color is gradually reduced and refined, encouraging a slower, more considered viewing experience in which subtle variations become apparent through time.