Well hello, sailor!

Savvy old school sailors

‘The fame of heroes owes little to the extent of their conquests and all to the success of the tributes paid to them.’

– Jean Genet (1910-1986)

Portrait of Jean Genet by Richard Avedon

I have a bit of a soft spot for sailors.

Rona Green, Rusty Steel, 2009, linocut, ink & watercolour, 38 x 28 cm, edition 13

Several of my pictures salute the sailor man including Greasy Rhys, as well as his mates Rusty Steel and Topsy Turner.

Rona Green, Topsy Turner, 2009, linocut, ink & watercolour, 38 x 28 cm, edition 13

Part of the inspiration for these works is the flash of master tattoo artist, Norman ‘Sailor Jerry’ Collins.

Norman 'Sailor Jerry' Collins (1911-1973)

An example of Sailor Jerry tattoo flash

I am certainly not alone in my admiration of the sailor – other fans include:

Herman Melville, author.

Friedrick Ledebur as Queequeg in the 1956 movie adaptation of the 1851 novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Jean Genet, novelist, playwright, poet, essayist and political activist.

Querelle of Brest by Jean Genet

Otto Griebel, artist.

Otto Griebel, Ship Boilerman, 1920, oil on canvas

Paul Klee, artist and musician.

Paul Klee, Sinbad the Sailor, 1928, watercolour on paper

David Bowie, renaissance man.

Aye aye, David Bowie!

Tom of Finland, artist.

Tom of Finland, Sailors, 1985, pencil on paper

Jean Paul Gaultier, fashion designer.

Advertisement for Jean Paul Gaultier's 'Le Male'

One of the things that particularly tickles my fancy about Navy culture is sailors nicknames.

Crew mates are given monikers such as ‘Chalky’ White, ‘Nosey’ Parker and ‘Smokey’ Cole.

John 'Dusty' Rhodes and Bindie

The following print is a tribute to my great uncle, John ‘Dusty’ Rhodes (and it’s a tip of the hat to Bindie as well!).

Rona Green, Dusty Rhodes, 2011, linocut, ink & watercolour, 76 x 56 cm, edition 23

You may have noticed the 8 balls on Dusty’s hands – these are a reference to the character Bean, in the movie Cadence.

Charlie 'Bean' Sheen (pictured left) in Cadence

It’s time for me to sail away so i’ll leave you in the capable hands of Turbonegro, performing their song Sailor Man…

And here’s a bonus sailor:

A hirsute seafarer

Hold fast!