Moby Dick 80x70cm

 

oil on wood panel

Moby Dick ... He embodies the character of the relentless sea so well described in the verses 10-18 of Lord Byron's "The sea" ...

"Roll on, thou deep and dark blue Ocean,—roll!
 Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain;
 Man marks the earth with ruin,—his control
 Stops with the shore;—upon the watery plain
 The wrecks are all thy deed, nor doth remain
 A shadow of man’s ravage, save his own,
 When, for a moment, like a drop of rain,
 He sinks into thy depths with bubbling groan,
 Without a grave, unknelled, uncoffined, and unknown."

[Lord Byron]

νόστιμον ἦμαρ (day of return) 40x40cm

Πάντα στον νου σου νάχεις την Ιθάκη.
Το φθάσιμον εκεί είν’ ο προορισμός σου.
Aλλά μη βιάζεις το ταξείδι διόλου.
Καλλίτερα χρόνια πολλά να διαρκέσει·
και γέρος πια ν’ αράξεις στο νησί,
πλούσιος με όσα κέρδισες στον δρόμο,
μη προσδοκώντας πλούτη να σε δώσει η Ιθάκη.

Η Ιθάκη σ’ έδωσε τ’ ωραίο ταξείδι.
Χωρίς αυτήν δεν θάβγαινες στον δρόμο.
Άλλα δεν έχει να σε δώσει πια.

Κι αν πτωχική την βρεις, η Ιθάκη δεν σε γέλασε.
Έτσι σοφός που έγινες, με τόση πείρα,
ήδη θα το κατάλαβες η Ιθάκες τι σημαίνουν.

(Από το ποίημα Ιθάκη του Κ.Π. Καβάφη)

At every stage bear Ithaca in mind.

nightview of Thessaloniki 40x40cm

Thessaloniki (Greek: Θεσσαλονίκη), also known as Thessalonica or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of Macedonia, the administrative region of Central Macedonia and the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace. Its honorific title is Συμπρωτεύουσα (Symprotévousa), literally "co-capital", and stands as a reference to its historical status as the Συμβασιλεύουσα (Symvasilévousa) or "co-reigning" city of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, alongside Constantinople. Thessaloniki is Greece's second major economic, industrial, commercial and political centre, and a major transportation hub for the rest of southeastern Europe; its commercial port is also of great importance for Greece and the southeastern European hinterland. The city is renowned for its festivals, events and vibrant cultural life in general, and is considered to be Greece's cultural capital. Events such as the Thessaloniki International Trade Fair and the Thessaloniki International Film Festival are held annually, while the city also hosts the largest bi-annual meeting of the Greek diaspora. Thessaloniki is the 2014 European Youth Capital.

shades of blue 60x50cm

shades of blue...

seas of blue disrupted by white foamy lines...

it is a flag hiding between the lines,

it is the livelihood of a nation,

it is the pride of a seafaring's son mother!

...

it is a story that started long, long ago in the mist of ancient times,

a story bold and beautiful but also sad and true...

a story - history that charges the hearts of men, of those men calling it their own,

filling them with energy... begging for the right medium to be released!

the time shall come...[I.R.S.]

marine boy 50x60cm

 

Imagination is a powerful thing, I often watch my little-one preparing to go to sleep and choosing one of his toys, a different one every evening, to keep him company. I guess he is sculpting his dreams that way; when he wakes in the morning he is still holding the toy and if not the first thing he does, still half asleep, is to retrieve it from the blankets.

Yesterday he went to sleep with a little whale on his pillow ... this is a capture thereof.[A.R.]

Marine girl 50x60cm

Sometimes Surrealism is needed in life, dreaming of things we like or live in our own world, helps you escape reality and all these stressful rules......sometimes taking a brake and live like a kid makes you feel alive [A.R.]

dawn of time 50x60cm

Some of the mammals that evolved themselves out of the water, obviously, didn't like the land enough and tried to return to the wet embrace of the seas. They actually succeeded and remained there till today almost unchanged... they are the majestic giants of the oceans singing to us about the dawn of time...[A.R.]

clouds of war 70x100cm

Clouds hanging heavy over a sky of lead, travelling over sea and land, over mountains and valleys. War is showing its ugly face and seeks admittance in our midst! Are the strong failing, is it time for a pole change or is it only a moment in time that will be soon forgotten, is it just a flicker or the first signs of a raving jungle-fire?

When choosing sides is everybody clear, I wonder, of their objectives and maybe as, if not more, importantly of the objectives of their potential ally?

Can't the struggle just take a break?[I.R.S.]

Nanny's day -off 50x40cm

Nanny's day off to the beach! It's a gift for the mother to spent a pleasant time with her kids when it happens once in a while... [A.R.]

on the beach, mother 40x30cm

Spring morning on the beach. Feeling the cool fresh breath of the sea touching your face, and the warmth of the sun hugging you like a lover.[A.R.]

 

mother's mother 40x30cm

This is the 3rd derivative of "Demeter - mother earth 35x35cm", although closer to "mother 35x35cm". It depicts my mother's mother Eleni Kiamili in front of her elevated house at the seafront gazing at the sky; seeking the signs that she finds that tell her what the weather is going to be like in the seasons to come... [A.R.]

storm is approaching 35x35cm

Riders on the storm 

Into this house we're born 

Into this world we're thrown 

Like a dog without a bone 

An actor out alone 

Riders on the storm  [DOORS, Riders On The Storm]

always the sea 35x35cm

See... onward she comes

Onward she nears out of the sun

See, she has no crew

She has no life, wait but here's two.

Death and she life in death,

They throw their dice for the crew

She wins the mariner and he belongs to her now.

Then... crew one by one

They drop down dead, two hundred men

She... she, life in death.

She lets him live, her chosen one. [IRON MAIDEN, The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner]

silent before the storm 60x60cm

Ο πατέρας μου –μύρο το κύμα που τον τύλιξε– δεν είχε σκοπό να με κάμη ναυτικό.

— Μακριά, έλεγε, μακριά, παιδί μου, από τ’ άτιμο στοιχειό! Δεν έχει πίστη, δεν έχει έλεος. Λάτρεψέ την όσο θες, δόξασέ την· εκείνη το σκοπό της. Μην κοιτάς που χαμογελά, που σου τάζει θησαυρούς. Αργά-γρήγορα θα σου σκάψη το λάκκο ή θα σε ρίξη πετσί και κόκκαλο, άχρηστο στον κόσμο. Είπες θάλασσα, είπες γυναίκα, το ίδιο κάνει.

Και τα έλεγε αυτά άνθρωπος που έφαγε τη ζωή του στο καράβι· που ο πατέρας, ο πάππος, ο πρόπαππος, όλοι ώς τη ρίζα της γενιάς ξεψύχησαν στο παλαμάρι. [Λόγια της πλώρης, Ανδρέας Καρκαβίτσας]

Balos, Crete 90x60cm

Όσα ρούχα και να αγοράσεις, εγώ θα σε σκέφτομαι πάντα γυμνή (γραμμένο σε τοίχο στην Αθήνα) - Αυτή είναι η σχέση του Έλληνα με τον κόσμο, ωραίο και αληθινό είναι το απλό και απέριττο. Όσο και να προσπαθούν κάποιοι κατά καιρούς να ντύσουν την αλήθεια με διάφορους μανδύες, μόνο η γυμνή αλήθεια χαίρει της αποδοχής του. Το political correct δεν ανακαλύφθηκε στην Ελλάδα. [Ι.Ρ.Σ.]

No matter how many clothes you buy, I will always think of you naked (written on a wall in Athens) - This is the relationship between the Greek and the world, good and true is the simple and unadorned. As much as some are trying at times to dress the truth various cloaks, only the naked truth enjoys his acceptance. Political correctness was one of the things that were not discovered by the greeks. [I.R.S.]

port of Piraeus 24x18cm

The Port of Piraeus, as the largest Greek seaport, is one of the largest seaports in the Mediterranean Sea basin and one of the top ten container ports in Europe. The port is also a major employer in the area, with more than 1,500 employees who provide services to more than 24,000 ships every year. Port of Piraeus has been the port of Athens since Archaic times. [Wikipedia]

low tide in Westerhever 24x18cm

walking barefoot on the wet sand during low tide, on a autumn day... [A.R.]

Sunday afternoon on the beach 50x40cm

as the weekend fades away, the beach seems to be yearning for the sparse company to stay... [A.R.]

"Nobody of any real culture, for instance, ever talks nowadays about the beauty of sunset. Sunsets are quite old fashioned. To admire them is a distinct sign of provincialism of temperament. Upon the other hand they go on." [Oscar Wilde]

after the battle (Salamis 480 B.C.) 50x50cm

Dusk after the battle, the channel is empty, a deserted bow remains, leaning on Cynosure; the light of the all-destructive flame pierces the sky and the sea, to illuminate the souls who offered themselves to the pages of history. Light, perpetual, unstoppable, either creative or destructive force. [I.R.S.]

Απόβραδο της μάχης, ο δίαυλος άδειος, απομένει μία έρημη πρώρη ακουμπισμένη στη Κυνοσούρα με το φως της πανδαμάτωρος φλόγας να διαπερνά ουρανό και θάλασσα, να φωτίζει τις ψυχές που προσέφεραν εαυτόν στις σελίδες της ιστορίας. Φως, έννοια αέναη ασταμάτητη είτε δημιουργική είτε καταστροφική. [Ι.Ρ.Σ.]

the sea 30x15cm

"Now small fowls flew screaming over the yet yawning gulf; a sullen white surf beat against its steep sides; then all collapsed, and the great shroud of the sea rolled on as it rolled five thousand years ago." [Herman Melville]