DREYK The Pirate: A Unique Graffiti Artist from Athens

Dreyk started painting the streets of Athens 13 years ago in his early teens. A few years later, he started forming his ever recognizable sea-themed style. Influenced by his studies in design, amongst other things, he evolved to a more clean cut-thick stroke style as years went by. Why the sea? Well, almost all greeks have a deep love for the sea and travel, and Dreyk is no exception. In his case though, as it usually happens, it all started by accident. Painting his first pirate on a wall many years ago, people started calling him “pirate”, a fact that helped him find his own identity in street art.

Often using only blue and white paint, Dreyk creates a beautiful intersection of greek tradition and contemporary creativity, inviting athenians passing by to his dream world, directly evoking emotions of innocence and restlessness – ultimately stating that life, love, Athens – it’s all beautiful, it’s all simple. These virtues are thriving not only in Dreyk’s graffiti work, but in his work as an illustrator / visual designer as well. Indeed, even though he has managed to become well known from a very early age (working as a graffiti artist for athenian clubs and hotels), he prefers to remain a “pirate” as far as graffiti is concerned. It’s a part of him that will always be his hobby and not his profession – he makes his living working successfully in the publishing field.

Nevertheless, Dreyk is a restless artist that is interested in exploring the wide spectrum of art forms. He is happy to undertake any material and use it as a means to express himself – from canvases to polymer clay, from vector to pencil sketches. Having already conquered all of the above, he looks forward to the next direction for his work.

Source: Dreykthepirate