Welcome to Sophie's Nature Art!

(Note: This post also interrupts my explanation once again - hopefully for the last time this time from the wide and narrow path)

A wide view over the turquoise sea, gently framed by the rocks of the island. Land can be glimpsed in the distance on the horizon. The sky shines in the most beautiful blue. The sun warms the skin pleasantly while you enjoy this wonderful sight with your loved one. It's your first vacation together. The butterflies in your stomach are still very active. You don't yet know each other's habits and quirks very well. It's exciting to spend such an intense time together with the person you love. There is still so much to discover about each other. Every minute together is a piece of heaven on earth. Everything is new and unencumbered.

Can you remember the first time you met your partner? Can you remember the first time you heard those words that make your heart beat faster and trigger a surge of happiness? Those magical words: "I love you"? Or do you remember the first time you touched? What was it like the first time you went for a walk hand in hand? Each of these moments and many more afterwards are precious. Being newly in love and being with the person you love in a beautiful place and having time just for each other is something beautiful. I was asked to capture this unique memory in a picture.

The creation of the picture

This summer, some friends of mine got married. They wanted me to paint a picture for them as a gift. It was to capture their first vacation together on Corfu, as mentioned above. I was delighted to fulfill this wish. I'm always happy when someone expresses such a wish, then the question of the gift has already been settled. 😉 I was even sent a reference picture that I could use as a basis.

To be honest, I found the picture a bit boring. It's probably the same with all photos: they can never fully capture the brilliant mood and atmosphere of the place. All the emotions that make this moment something extraordinary cannot be captured in such a simple photo. But it can keep the memory alive.

The photo at least provided a nice basis for the painting. The only thing missing was a little contrast.

So I set to work fresh. I had recently moved house. After more than two years, I swapped my small children's room in my parents' house for a nice apartment again. (How it all came about was a huge miracle and a story in itself). In any case, this picture was the first thing I was able to paint in my beautiful, bright new living room. As my living room is on the east side, I have the wonderful advantage of having only the morning sun. Now in the fall and winter, I regularly enjoy the beautiful sunrises. As I mainly paint in the afternoon, another advantage is that the sun no longer shines into the living room in the afternoon. The indirect light therefore creates a great atmosphere for painting. The lighting conditions are supported by a great, but also expensive daylight lamp, which has now unfortunately stopped working after a year of use.

In acrylic painting, I always start at the top. So I work from top to bottom. So I started with the sky. There were veil clouds in the reference picture. But I'm a bit lazy, so I left the clouds out and only added a few clouds in the distance on the horizon. Next came the water. I also tried to keep this quite simple. I can get lost in the details very quickly. But the picture shows a large panoramic perspective. There's no room for detailed water movements. So far so good. Then it got a bit trickier. Apart from clouds and waves, I find stones and rocks the most difficult to paint. But as not so much detail was needed here because of the distance, this problem was also solvable.

But the reference image didn't show much flora. Now it was up to my imagination. I'd never been to Corfu before. So I had no idea what beautiful things were growing there. So I did a little research on the internet for pictures of the island. I kept coming across the same plant again and again. However, I know almost nothing about botany and I didn't know what kind of plant it was that bloomed so beautifully and colorfully. I only knew that it would provide the necessary color contrast for my picture.

One day I was sitting comfortably in my grandparents' garden. They had a large bush in a pot. I was amazed at the splendor of the flowers on this plant. When I looked at it more closely, I realized from the shape of the flowers that it was exactly the same plant that I was trying to draw. I asked my grandfather what this plant was called. He revealed the secret and filled the gap in my knowledge: It was an oleander! )A little side note: My grandfather would like to get rid of this wonderful oleander because it has grown too big for him and would be delighted to have someone to buy it. If you are interested, please contact me Contact us record! 🙂 )

Back to the picture: Now that I knew what kind of plant it was, I was able to research and study it more specifically on the internet. This helped me a lot to make the red bush on the right look a bit more like an oleander. When all the greenery was finished and I looked at the picture, I still felt something was missing. The vast sea looked empty and somehow deserted. Anyone who knows me knows what comes next.

Of course, there had to be something with sails in the picture. Originally, a sailing boat was planned. But that wouldn't have fitted in terms of the proportions. The boat would have been just a small line. So a tall ship had to be used again. The ship I know best is, of course, the beautiful Brig "Roald Amundsen". So she found a place in the picture again. I had a bit of a problem with the perspective when I was painting, but I managed to save the worst of it.

In-depth thoughts

The ship put the finishing touches to the picture. It has anchored off Corfu and is now on its way to the open sea to embark on new adventures. In a way, this is also a symbol of marriage. When you get married, you embark on an adventure. You don't know how the marriage will turn out and what difficulties you will have to overcome together. Many marriages fail because the partners do not know how to steer this ship of marriage together. One wants to sail in one direction, but the other wants to sail in a different direction. One wants to set sail, the other thinks it's better not to set sail. But you never reach your destination that way. Worse still, the ship suffers damage because it is not handled properly.

I think a good marriage needs a captain. It's not the man and it's not the woman either. The captain is God. If both spouses submit to God and obey his commands, then the ship of marriage can reach its destination and weather any storm. God determines the destination of the marriage. He sets the course to be sailed and says which sails are to be set. If you let him and take the time to have fellowship with him, then a marriage can also succeed. It can be one of the most beautiful experiences in this life.

To all married people reading this, I would like to say: I am praying for you! Nothing is more under attack than marriage and the family. You need God's special protection and blessing! I pray for this very often. Having found a partner is a gift from heaven. Are you aware of that? Yes, your marriage may not be perfect and you may be struggling, but you have something very special that so many people long for. Never forget that!

For all those who have problems in their marriage, I can only urgently recommend the book by Jim Hohnberger "Life at the source of power" recommend it. But I also recommend it to all happily married people, all those preparing for marriage and all singles. I've been reading it for the last few months. So much has changed in my life since then. God has given me victories in habits that I have been fighting for many years. I have more strength and motivation to serve God again.

No matter where you are right now: whether you are in an unhappy marriage, newly in love, going through a break-up, thinking about marriage or have been single for far too long, always remember: the first love and the biggest place in our hearts is what God wants to occupy. He ALONE can heal our wounded hearts and give us true happiness and joy. No partner in this world can do that. This is my experience. I am single, but in a happy relationship with my God that has deepened greatly in the last few months. That is the greatest gift on earth, greater than having found THE "right one"! I hope that everyone will have this experience and experience this happiness! God bless you!

Finally, a short video of the creation of the cover design for the wedding card. Incidentally, this is my first attempt at capturing the process of creating a picture. Everything starts small 😉