Maria-Ras Kapsalaki was born in Moires, Heraklion, Crete. She studied at the Medical School of the National Kapodistrian University of Athens, which she completed with a scholarship.

At the First Pediatric Clinic of “Agia Sofia,” she obtained her specialization in Pediatrics. Subsequently, she completed her doctoral dissertation on hemostasis disorders, graduating with “excellent” honors. She practiced as a pediatrician for over thirty years, primarily as a hospital doctor in both public and private sectors, in major hospitals in Athens and Crete. Throughout these years, she participated in numerous medical conferences with papers and presentations.

Later, she furthered her education with a three-year postgraduate degree in Counseling Psychology following the “Rogers” Person-Centered approach, from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.

Concurrently, she obtained a degree as a spiritual teacher through specialized training in Greece and the United States. This enables her to offer alternative therapies and advice to individuals on personal and health-related matters.

She began painting in 2000 with iconography. Her motivation stemmed from her desire to have her beloved saints close to her.

Subsequently, seeking to express herself more freely, she studied under various teachers in Sitia, Athens, Heraklion, and Chania, where she now resides. From each, she learned different techniques.

In her painting, she expresses herself using various materials such as pastels, watercolor paints, ink, pencil, charcoal, acrylic, and oil. Recently, she has been focusing in painting with a spatula and brush, which gives a distinctive feel to her paintings. Her painting themes are varied, and most focused on nature in relation to plants, to animals, and to humans, and she particularly loves vibrant colors and the colors that gives joy to life.

She also paints stones of various shapes and sizes, following the inspiration each stone provides. Thus, every stone is unique and tells its own story.

She has participated in several group painting exhibitions in various cities, depending on where she was at the time.

In 2022, she presented her work in a solo exhibition in Heraklion, Crete, and in Tympaki, Heraklion.

In 2023, she presented her work in a solo exhibition at the Giali Tzami in the Venetian Harbor of Chania, Crete.