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ATHENS, July 14 (Reuters) - Tourism is not to blame for a surge of COVID-19 infections in Greece, the tourism minister said on Wednesday after the government reintroduced restrictions aimed at saving the summer season. Greece, which relies on tourism for a fifth of its economy, kicked off the season in May, hoping that revenue would reach about half of the record it saw in 2019 when more than 30 million people visited the country. "The opening of tourism was done very carefully, in the first 10 days of July just 74 out of 105,609 samples taken at the country's entry points were positive, just 0.07%," Haris Theoharis told a Greek hoteliers conference. "Our country does not have a problem with the opening of its borders," he said. "The rise in infections is not related to tourism." The government is betting on at least a partial revival of its tourism sector this summer, but is worried about the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. About 41% of Greeks are fully vaccinated so far. Tourists need to show they have been vaccinated or present a negative PCR test to enter the country. Greece reported 3,109 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, a level last seen in early April, bringing the total number of infections since the first case was detected in February last year to 444,783. COVID-19 related deaths have reached 12,806. The country will require customers at indoor restaurants, bars and cafes to prove they have been vaccinated against COVID-19, the government said on Tuesday, to combat a surge in infections. "We can not allow deniers of science to lead our country into adventures," Theoharis said in reference to people still refusing to get vaccinated. reuters.com

In the historic centre of Athens, only a handful of visitors wander around. The streets are normally flooded with tourists, but earlier expectations for a dynamic comeback of Greek tourism have not been met. “Things change on a daily basis,” says Evgenios Vassilikos, the president of the Athens Hoteliers association. “On the one hand, there is good news, for example, that Britain decided to scrap quarantine for amber countries. "On the other hand, we see cases rising in Greece and we fear another lockdown. This is not a good year. It will be hard for the hotels to reach last year's numbers.” A number of factors are keeping tourists away. The main one is the uncertainty of what might happen in the destination country. Restrictions return The Greek government wanted to start the tourist season with as few restrictions as possible. But the spread of the Delta variant has changed those plans. To prevent a further spread of the pandemic the government has decided on new measures, mainly for entertainment venues. Cafes and bars only serve seated customers. No one can come indoors if they are not fully vaccinated. " - Christos Batsoulis - Waiter From July 15, all indoor spaces will accept vaccinated people only. The measures apply to restaurants, nightclubs, bars and cafes. Waiter Christos Batsoulis explains how it works. “We have downloaded this app from the Ministry's web page,” explains waiter Christos Batsoulis. “By clicking on the QR scanner option, you can take a picture of the QR code of the customer and check it out. If they are vaccinated, it goes green. It’s a measure for everyone, Greek or tourist. No one can come indoors if they are not fully vaccinated.” Vaccination is the key to saving the season Tourism experts say vaccination is key for this season. Greece has made a good start, but numbers have stalled lately. “We are doing everything within our power,” says Michalis Vlatakis, President of Travel Agents of Crete . “All the tourism industry here in Crete, we’ve followed training courses on how to deal with the pandemic organized by the Crete University Medical School. We are trying to help increase vaccination rates for all our co-citizens” The Greek Ministry of Tourism dismisses claims that tourist arrivals have contributed to the past week's steady rise of new coronavirus cases in Greece. euronews.com

The Tourism Minister of Spain Reyes Maroto has said that Spain remains a safe country for tourists to visit regardless of the restrictions that have been imposed in popular parts of the country to halt the further increase in COVID-19 infection cases. Through a conference held after the cabinet’s weekly meeting, the Minister said that “Spain at this time can be considered a safe destination,” SchengenVisaInfo.com reports. Such a statement was given not long after the Spanish officials announced that they plan to impose a limit of ten persons at social gatherings as well as temporarily terminate all non-essential activity right after midnight, at 12:30 am. As the Delta variant continues to spread rapidly and mainly affecting young unvaccinated persons, Barcelona, as well as northeastern parts of the country, are shutting down once again in order to halt the further spread of the variant. As such, Catalonia has been reported to be one of the most hard-hit areas by the COVID-19, and its variants after the region identified more than 1000 infection cases per 100,000 inhabitants only during a 14-day period. Not long ago, former Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Arancha González Laya spoke against the concerns of French diplomats regarding vacations in Spanish tourist destinations, as France’s Secretary of State or European Affairs, Clément Beaune, warned citizens to avoid travelling to Spain and Portugal. With other regions also imposing local restrictions to keep the spread of the Delta variant under control, several European Union Member States have suggested that Spain is not a safe destination for holidaymakers. Previously, SchengenVisaInfo.com reported that several EU countries had imposed strict entry rules against arrivals from Spain as the latter has reported high Coronavirus infection numbers and is keeping borders open for arrivals from the UK. As a result, unvaccinated Spanish travellers can only enter Denmark for essential purposes. Similarly, the German authorities have announced that all persons entering the country from Spain are required to present proof of vaccination, a negative test result, or recent proof of recovery from the virus. Estonia has also imposed a quarantine requirement against all arrivals from Spain. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) figures, until now, the country has identified 4,015,084 infection cases and has registered 81,033 deaths. As of July 15, Spain has administered more than 48,911,460 vaccine doses against the COVID-19, meaning that around 60.5 per cent of the population have received at least one dose of the vaccine, whereas 47.8 per cent have been fully immunised. schengenvisainfo.com

Authorities in Slovakia expect that this summer season will be better than last year’s, which due to Coronavirus was greatly affected in 2020. However, besides being optimistic, the assumed volumes would remain below the pre-pandemic levels, as the President of the Slovak Association of Travel Agencies (SACKA), Roman Berkes, noted. Most of the holidays booked on Slovak travel agencies last summer were delayed for this season due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Even though most of them focus on European destinations, they include in their offers non-European destinations as well, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports. “Of course, travel agencies are already controlling the flow of finances more closely, so that they can respond easier to changes and, if necessary, return money to the client immediately,” Berkes said. Berkes has noted that the pandemic situation in Slovakia and at holiday destinations, as well as Coronavirus protective measures are important for a successful summer season. However, unexpected and fundamental changes in anti-pandemic measures could lead to confusion and uncertainty to already planned holiday trips. In general, European countries’ tourism has been significantly affected by the virus, as the European Statistics provider, EUROSTAT, has revealed. The number of EU tourists accommodated nights number had dropped by 61 per cent from April 2020 to March 2021, marking a record of 1.1 billion tourists, whereas 12 months before the pandemic started (April 2019 to March 2020), there were 2.8 billion tourists accommodated for overnight stays in Europe. Slovakia’s number of nights spent by the international guests has declined to -80 per cent, and the number of nights spent by the domestic guests has dropped to -23 per cent, marking a total of -59 per cent decrease. As SchengenVisaInfo.com previously reported, the country recently opened the borders to fully vaccinated travellers and started issuing the EU Digital COVID-19 Vaccination Passport to its citizens, which document aims to ease travelling across the EU amid the pandemic. All passengers who have been fully vaccinated with the European Medicines Agency authorised vaccines (Moderna, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Janssen), recovered from Coronavirus recently or havetested negative for the virus are eligible to enter Slovakia without being subject to restrictions imposed to halt the spread of the disease. Previously, the country’s authorities announced that they are also reinforcing the border crossing with Austria, Czechia, Poland, and Hungary by deploying over 500 Financial Administration and Prison and Judicial Guard Corps, intending to ensure public order related to Coronavirus. schengenvisainfo.com

We all need time to escape and, thanks to our local tourism businesses, we’ve got everything we need to do just that right on our doorstep. That's why the East of England Tourism Awards is the perfect opportunity to celebrate this resilient and imaginative sector – and entries are open now! The East of England Tourism Awards is an opportunity to recognise, celebrate and support those businesses and individuals from across the East of England that have shown resilience, imagination and growth within a sector which is close to all of our hearts and lives. This year’s re-invigorated awards are brought to you in association with Visit East of England, and have been made possible by a range of sponsors, led by our headline partner, Hoseasons. Tourism businesses operating across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire are invited to enter one of our 15 categories (see the list below), with entries closing at midnight on Sunday, October 3. Shortlisted finalists will go through a judging process, which may include a site visit, before being announced on Saturday, January 15, 2022. A glittering black-tie event will then take place at Imperial War Museum Duxford, Cambridgeshire, on Thursday, February 24, 2022, marking the celebration of those who have grappled with a year of change, challenge and new opportunities. The industry will come together to shine a light on those finalists and celebrate those who are crowned winners of their category. The East of England Tourism Awards is a gathering of the very communities, businesses and people that help to put our counties on the map, and we extend our thanks to all our sponsors who have made this award programme possible. Entries will be welcomed from businesses, and but we also urge you to nominate your favourite tourism businesses across the East of England, be that your favourite hotel, an amazing attraction, or incredible customer service – view our full list of categories and nominate now. Nominate your favourites or submit an entry for your business by midnight on Sunday, October 3 to ensure the very best of tourism businesses in the East of England are recognised. Andy Wood OBE, chairman of Visit East of England, explains why now is the time for the tourism industry to come together and celebrate at the East of England Tourism Awards, and how the winners will also have the chance to be recognised at the national VisitEngland Awards for Excellence: After the last year of a pandemic, lockdowns and a torrid time for the region’s largest industry and biggest employer, our visitor economy needs to be championed and celebrated again – and that’s what the East of England Tourism Awards are all about. With businesses closed or limiting numbers when they have been allowed to open, there’s not been a lot to smile about. 2019 was a record year in this region for staying visitors, day trippers, number of jobs and value of the sector. We’ll want to erase 2020 from the annals. Covid-19 struck and we were left in a fog of confusion and uncertainty. Government support was invaluable. But it is also down to the fortitude, innovation, ingenuity and the hard work of our tourism businesses that we are safely re-opening again. That was the biggest frustration: not being able to welcome customers to enjoy our fantastic tourism offering, our theme parks and zoos, accommodation, restaurants and pubs and, of course, our superb culture and heritage attractions. Working with Archant and sponsors Hoseasons, we want to recognise all these things in our brilliant sector. There are two very exciting changes to this year’s tourism awards. Firstly, they are bigger than ever – encompassing businesses across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire. And secondly, we are now fully-aligned with the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence, which means that all our winners will go forward to the national finals and potentially triumph as the best in the country. VisitEngland director Andrew Stokes said: “It is great news that the East of England Tourism Awards 2021 are aligned with the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2021/22. We wish all tourism businesses from across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire the best of luck and look forward to finding out who the winners are and seeing them seize the opportunity to compete nationally.” The 2021 East of England Tourism Awards are a fantastic opportunity to start putting the pandemic behind us, start looking forward again, and to celebrate all that is great about our exceptional industry. If ever we needed to come together, then now is the time. And these awards are the perfect chance to do that. East of England Tourism Awards categories Unsung Hero Award - sponsored by Hoseasons Customer Excellence Award – sponsored by Swiss Camplings Experience of the Year - sponsored by insight6 Large Hotel of the Year – sponsored by Ensors Large Visitor Attraction of the Year - sponsored by KNP Marketing Campaign of the Year - sponsored by Pear Communications New Tourism Business of the Year - sponsored by Larking Gowen Pub of the Year - sponsored by Everard Cole Resilience and Innovation Award - sponsored by Howes Percival Camping, Glamping, Holiday Park and Self Catering Accommodation of the Year - sponsored by cottages.com Small Hotel of the Year - sponsored by John Doe Small Visitor Attraction of the Year - sponsored by Norfolk & Suffolk Tourist Attractions Taste of East of England Award - sponsored by Adnams Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Award - sponsored by Biffa B&B and Guest House of the Year - sponsored by Tiptree elystandard.co.uk

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Bright, whimsical portraits; a girl riding a zebra: Painter Clay Crafton’s work has both an ethereal and pop-art feel to it. The pieces feel like something out of a vivid dream. And it’s because in a way they are. “I just have these odd images pop into my head and want to share them on canvas,” Crafton says. “My degree is in creative writing. When people look at my work my hope is that a curiosity rises in them and they wonder what the story is that’s unfolding in the painting. Or, said another way, I’m trying to capture a moment in time from a dreamlike place.” Crafton has been painting and drawing his whole life, and while teaching high school art classes in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley in 2010, he realized he wanted take his passion full-time. A year later, he and his wife relocated to Houston, where his dream became a reality. He had three personal exhibits and his pieces were picked up by a New Orleans gallery. Three years ago, the couple relocated to Novi, where his wife had grown up, and after finishing renovations on their property, his full focus returned to painting. Crafton says a “diversity of influences” played a big part in forming his style, including works by John Singer Sargent, J.W. Waterhouse, pop artist James Rosenquist and fantasy illustrator Frank Frazetta. “Beyond studying and learning from artists who came before me I try to evoke emotion above all else. If a piece is well-executed but fails to make the viewer feel something, to me, it is a failed effort.” Crafton does underpainting “in thinned acrylics just to speed up the process a bit,” but says that though he enjoys using both acrylics and oil, “everything the viewer will ultimately see is oils in the end.” An idea can come to Crafton at any time, so when inspiration strikes, he puts a note on his phone to return to when he’s back in his studio. The studio is a reworked woodshed in the front of the barn on his property, complete with “a large wooden easel, lots of table space, drafting table, and about 3 million art books and tons of light.” In his creative space, he turns the idea into a drawing, which he photographs to put on his computer so he can project it onto a canvas then sketch out a detailed reference for the painting. “I have found over time that this approach saves me a great deal of time versus doing the original drawing directly on the canvas,” Crafton says. “And I also enjoy having that sketch to look back at later, and comparing what I originally planned against how the final painting ended up as my ideas evolved during the creative process.” Crafton looks forward to sharing his pieces at Orchard Lake Fine Art Show in West Bloomfield. The fair was canceled last year due to COVID-19, but it’s back this year with 110 artists. The outdoor show, July 24-25, will be spaced for social distancing, and artists will be listed on the producer’s website for vulnerable populations who don’t feel comfortable around a crowd. “More than ever we have found out the importance of the actual events. Especially the patron/artist relationship that forms at the art shows,” says executive producer Patty Narozny. Professional awards will be given on Saturday and youth awards on Sunday. theoaklandpress.com

On that Saturday morning, David Charlie could hear the sirens from his backyard. As soon as he saw what happened, he knew what he needed to do. So, he started to sketch. The outline started as just a plain balloon but once he learned it was the Zia balloon that went down, he was able to personalize it. Charlie added colors, clouds to the painting and the basket turned into a heart with a five inside. The painting honors Pilot Nick Meleski and the four passengers; Martin and Mary Martinez along with Susan and John Montoya. “I cried sketching it out, it was really emotional doing it,” said David Charlie. Charlie says he didn’t personally know any of the riders or the pilot but he wanted to do something during a time where people felt helpless. Charlie says the painting took him about two and a half weeks to finish. He is hoping to donate the painting. Right now, he is working with officials at the Albuquerque International Balloon Museum to have it showcased there. www.krqe.com

The images are so crafted and "painterly" that you may not realise at first they have been dreamed up by a machine in just a few minutes. Maybe you've seen one already, but not realised what it was. It may have looked like something you'd seen before in an art book or a museum. These images are the product of a new AI-generated art scene that's exploded thanks to the development of free and easy-to-use tools that require (at the very least) short text prompts to create unique pictures. The image in the tweet above, for example, was created by giving the text prompt "a summer day" to an AI tool. Supplied with a short excerpt from T.S. Eliot's poem The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock. These images are hard to classify — they're part artwork, part a function of computer coding, part glimpse into some collective, online unconscious that maps the associations between images and words. Some have described them as "alien dreams" or "peering into the 'mind' of a neural network". Sounds interesting. So we had a go at making our own images, with the broad theme of "Australia". abc.net.au

Pastel painting or drawing can be a versatile art form. They can be easily used to blend together and create a painting, or pastels can be used to create solid lines that look more like a drawing. The great thing about pastels is that there are no solvents or brushes needed to use them and they don’t require a whole lot of cleaning up. They can also be very portable and give an artist the ability to create works anywhere. Maryann Mullett, an artist out of Fitzwilliam, has a love for pastel painting. She has been working with pastels for about 14 years. Art has always been a part of Mullett’s life. She did a lot of oil painting in her 20s and was also an illustrator for Yankee Magazine, but she was drawn to pastels after joining an art group that was using them. “Maybe fourteen years ago I joined a very small art group over in Antrim. They were all painting with pastels and that is all I have been painting with ever since,” she said. “I love it for its vibrancy and its pure pigments.” She explained that pastels have the same amount of pigments that are in oil paint or watercolors, but they have the least amount of binder in them. So, it is basically using its purest form of pigment. “The light refracts off of the little particles because there is not a lot of binder and that’s why you get the luminosity,” Mullett explained. Which is what makes pastel artworks so bold and beautiful. Mullett’s favorite subject matter for her paintings are still life, animals and nature. “I paint mostly close up views of objects and I think that kind of goes back to my graphic arts experience. It’s influenced by that,” she said. When it comes to finding new ideas for artwork, Mullett finds inspiration from light and shadows. “Dramatic light and shadow inspires me the most,” Mullett said. “Composition is really important to me.” She will take reference photos of subject matter that have what she is looking for and will crop them in different ways to get the best compositions. Then she will choose her next work based on what photos stand out to her the most. Mullett’s paintings have been in many different Pastel Society National Juried Shows across the country. She is also a member of the Society of Animal Artist and will be shipping her painting titled “Froggie Yoga,” out to them to be viewed in three different museums across the country. “It’s pretty exciting,” Mullett exclaimed. “Froggie Yoga” will be on exhibit at The Roger Tory Peterson Institute in Jamestown, N.Y., from August 22 through October 25; the Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum in Oradell, New Jersey, from November 20 through January 16, 2022; and Sternberg Museum of Natural History Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas, from February 5, 2022 through May 5, 2022. Though most of her artwork is displayed elsewhere, Mullett will be displaying some of her works this fall at the Monadnock Art Tour in October at The Link, located at 20 Grove Street in the old Sharon Arts Building in Peterborough. Mullett has received many awards throughout her years as an artist, but she said the one she was most proud of was a Master Pastel title. She had been working really hard to get it and it had been a big goal of hers. “I had been working to get my Master Pastel title with the Pastel Society of America and I was really fortunate to receive that in 2019.” She was able to go to New York City to Gramercy Park National Arts Club to receive this award in person. It all happened right at the start of Covid-19, and she was certainly grateful to be able to have had that opportunity before things closed down. She said the pandemic actually made it difficult for her to get her artwork out of New York City afterward because it was such a scary time and things were shutting down. Mullett also teaches pastel classes to the public at the Jaffrey Civic Center on Thursdays. Each month has a different topic. This month is focusing on florals and August will be still life. If you are interested in the class, you can contact the Jaffrey Civic Center or sign up online at www.jaffreyciviccenter.com sentinelsource.com

A 1938 oil on canvas by Amrita Sher-gil titled In the Ladies Enclosure, has become the second-most expensive work by an Indian artist after VS Gaitonde’s 1961 canvas, Untitled. The 21.5 x 31.5” canvas fetched ₹37.8 crore ($ 5.14 million) at the summer live sale of Mumbai auction house Saffronart held on Tuesday. The amount, which was a little less than the higher bid limit of ₹40 crore, includes buyer’s premium. The work broke multiple records; besides being the second-highest sum for any Indian artwork sold at an auction, it is also the highest sum fetched by the any of Sher-gil’s works at an auction till date. According to Saffronart’s website, the provenance of the canvas was traced back to the Majithia family collection. It was acquired by the present owner (unnamed, who put it up for auction) in 2005 from the Vadehra Art Gallery in New Delhi. A 1961 Gaitonde oil on canvas sold for ₹39.98 crore at a Saffronart auction held earlier this year in March; Arvind Vijaymohan, chief executive officer of art market intelligence and advisory firm Artery India confirmed that this record has not been challenged as yet in auction sales. Sher-gil’s work, which depicts women and a girl performing different chores, was made after the artist returned to India after studying and practising art in Paris. Her emphasis on domesticity and the quotidian, particularly of the women inhabitants of a home, revitalised Indian art. The modern Indian artist is deemed a national treasure, which implies that her artworks cannot be taken out of the country. “It is a rare work of the artist from that particular period to emerge in the art market and we are honoured to have played a part in creating a new benchmark with this auction,” Saffronart co-founder and chief executive officer Dinesh Vazirani said in a post-auction press release issued on Wednesday. hindustantimes.com

Numele tău: CouldnoT Numele jucătorului sancţionat: @.Andreii. Data şi ora sancţiunii: 15.07.2021 03:41 PM Sancţiune: avertisment verbal Motivul sancţiunii: Postare piesa care era deja pe pagina Link către topicul sancţiunii: aici Alte precizări: -

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