Christine Olga Smith - Compositions in the Greek Landscape, II

Following, Compositions in the Greek Landscape, 2014 (exhibited in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain) the subject of Greek nature has continued to inspire me to pursue painting with the same purpose. I hope that my work will inspire you to see Greece the way I see it:

One thing I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple. Psalm 27:4

Most works from this series were exhibited in at ArtExpo NY, 2016. All paintings are painted on site.

The Little Church on the Hill, Antiparos, Greece, 12.7 x 17.8 cm or 5 in x 7 in, oil on wood panel, 2015 painted on site

The little church nestled in between two golden hills and blue sky inspired me to make this painting.

"In the Vineyards," Eletheres, Kavala, Greece, 5 in x 7 in, oil on wood panel, 2015

"Η Θέα από Ψηλά", Ελεύθερες, Καβάλα, λάδι σε μουσαμά, 18 εκ x 24 εκ, 2015Εδω δείχνω τη θέα απο τη μέση του χωριου μας στην Βορειά Ελλαδα. "A View from Above," Eleftheres, Kavala, 18 cm x 24 cm, oil on canvas

Here I have painted a view from the middle of our village in Northern Greece.

"Το Χωράφι" Πορτο Χελι, 24.5 x 32 εκ, λάδι σε μουσαμά 2015

"The Fields" Porto Heli, 24.5 x 32 cm, oil on canvas

This is a painting done at the beginning of summer in Greece, where the fields are dry and golden yellow.

"Lemon Tree," Glyfada, Athens, 2017, oil on canvas, 40.46 cm x 50.8 cm or 16 x 20 in

Bright lemons decorate thegarden in the middle of winter.

"Marina Glyfada 2,1," Glyfada, 24.5 x 32 cm, oil on canvas, 2015 Painted on site

This is a painting done at the end of summer in Greece, where fishing boats and sailboats are at ease after summer.

"Fishing Boats," Antiparos, Greece, 23 x 30.5 cm, oil on natural wood panel, 2015 These little fishing boats rest on the quiet port of Antiparos Island in the southern Aegean Sea.

Marina Glyfada 2 (Christina)," 2, Athens, Greece 30 x 40 cm, oil on canvas, 2015 This painting shows a sunset over the little fishing boats on the marina in the southern suburb of Athens.

This painting is entitled, "A View of Pireaus from Glyfada," 30 x 40 cm, oil on canvas, painted from nature/on site. Pireaus is the main port of Greece and Glyfada is where I swim and live.

View of Piraeus 2, 70 x 100 cm, oil on canvas, 2015 Here sailboats are in full sail on their way back from their Piraeus- Glyfada route.

Detail of the painting, View of Piraeus 2, 70 x 100 cm, oil on canvas, 2015

PIKPA Glyfada, 19.5 x 30.5 cm, oil on linen, 2015 This view shows the pretty beach that belongs to an organization that helps children with special needs in our area and our community beach that is protected by volunteers.

View of Glyfada Beach (PIKPA) 2, 40 x 60 cm, oil on canvas, 2015 / painted from nature

Sunset 1, Glyfada, Greece
20 x 50 cm, oil on canvas, 2015
painted on site

The little peninsula points out into the gulf and the sun sets over the mountains behind it creating the daily composition of elements and color.
This painting has been painted at the time of the sun setting over the course of a week.

Ηλιοβασίλεμα 1, Γλυφάδα, 20 x 50 εκ, λάδι σε μουσαμά, 2015 Εδώ η μικρή χερσόνησος που βγαίνει στο νερό και ο ήλιος που πέφτει πίσω από τα βουνά δημιουργούν την καθημερινή απογευματινή σύνθεση υλών και χρωμάτων.

Seascape, Glyfada, 30 x 60 cm, oil on canvas, 2015 This paintings depicts a typical weekend view as sailboats on the Glyfada sea front of the Mediterranean Sea coast make their way back to the main port of Piraeus.

MIRACLE- Walt Whitman

WHY! who makes much of a miracle?

As to me, I know of nothing else but miracles,

Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,

Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,

Or wade with naked feet along the beach, just in the edge of the

water,

Or stand under trees in the woods,

Or talk by day with any one I love--or sleep in the bed at night with

any one I love,

Or sit at table at dinner with my mother,

Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,

Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive, of a summer forenoon, 10

Or animals feeding in the fields,

Or birds--or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,

Or the wonderfulness of the sun-down--or of stars shining so quiet

and bright,

Or the exquisite, delicate, thin curve of the new moon in spring;

Or whether I go among those I like best, and that like me best--

mechanics, boatmen, farmers,

Or among the savans--or to the soiree--or to the opera,

Or stand a long while looking at the movements of machinery,

Or behold children at their sports,

Or the admirable sight of the perfect old man, or the perfect old

woman,

Or the sick in hospitals, or the dead carried to burial, 20

Or my own eyes and figure in the glass;

These, with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles,

The whole referring--yet each distinct, and in its place.

To me, every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,

Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,

Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the

same,

Every foot of the interior swarms with the same;

Every spear of grass--the frames, limbs, organs, of men and women,

and all that concerns them,

All these to me are unspeakably perfect miracles.

To me the sea is a continual miracle; 30

The fishes that swim--the rocks--the motion of the waves--the ships,

with men in them,

What stranger miracles are there? - Walt Whitman