Welcome to Sophie's Nature Art!

Ahoy to all!

It's been a long time since I wrote a blog post!

Today I want to talk about my latest picture and my last summer vacation.

I wanted to spend more than a week on a sailing boat and also experience the Atlantic, in the hope that I would get to see a bit of a higher wave. 

Unfortunately, 2022 was a coronavirus year with many restrictions for those who did not want to follow the political course. So it was unfortunately not possible for me to sail on a German sailing ship. Fortunately, the Dutch were not so strict with their corona measures and I eventually found a suitable trip. 

I traveled with the Tallship Company from Cascais, Portugal to Olibia, Italy. The ten-day trip took place at the height of summer - and in the Mediterranean. As a rather Nordic type, I didn't find this ideal, but at the time it was my only real chance of a sailing trip that year.  
Nevertheless, I thought long and hard and also prayed about whether I should really invest the money. Times were very volatile, you never knew what political decision would be made next.

I finally decided to embark on the journey on the „Atlantis“. 
My luggage only consisted of a Cabinmax backpack. I actually got everything away with it. 

I bought an iPad with an Apple Pencil for my trip. I was able to read, do Sudoku puzzles and draw digitally on the go. That was very practical. An Apple Pencil isn't that cheap. And of course I had to lose it as soon as I checked in in Porto. That really annoyed me. I also had a few other losses on the trip. While climbing in the jib, my camera battery somehow came loose and disappeared into the sea. I had bought a new one especially for the trip.
However, the third loss was the hardest. My aunt had given me a beautiful cloth bag some time ago. I left it on the bus on the way back from the ship to the airport in Olibia. Among other things, it contained a warm and cozy sweater from the „Roald Amundsen“. The loss of the bag and the sweater was the hardest part for me.

Nevertheless, I was able to take away a lot of good memories from the trip, even if it went differently than expected overall.
I thought we were divided into watches, like on the Roald, and had to help with the work on board. However, there was a permanent crew here who took care of everything. Setting sail and taking part in a watch was voluntary. Overall, we didn't sail much either. As we often had unfavorable winds, we sailed under engine almost all the time. That was very noisy. It also meant that I couldn't sleep well most nights. 

But when a sail was set, we women often had little chance of helping out. Men would immediately come and take the lines out of our hands.

But now to the nice moments! My hope was that we would see dolphins. This hope was more than fulfilled. The dolphins enjoyed playing in our bow wave almost every day. 

We were even lucky enough to see orcas. Unfortunately not me - I was already in bed. 

But I was able to see tuna, a sea turtle and some other whale family during the trip.

The best event was on Friday evening. I was enjoying the sunset with a fellow traveler in the jib net when the command was given to haul in the headsails. This time there were no men at the front to do the work for us. So I was able to pack up the sail at the very front of the net. I said to my friend: „Watch out, the dolphins are coming just as we're packing up the sails!“ That's exactly what happened! As I was busy folding up a large pile of sails, I heard the call: „Dolphins!“ „Dolphins!“. But because of all the sails, I couldn't see the dolphins and they quickly disappeared again. I was very sad about that. After the work was done, we still enjoyed the beautiful sunset and I quietly celebrated the start of the Sabbath for myself. I thanked God for these beautiful colors in the sky and the sea and this trip.

Suddenly we had another visitor. We were lying in the jib net, with the deep blue sea below us. Suddenly the dolphins appeared directly below us. Not even two meters below me, a couple of dolphins were playing in our bow wave! What a moment! The sun set in the most beautiful colors and then the dolphins delighted us with their presence. 
That was the second most beautiful Sabbath beginning I can remember. (If you're wondering which one was the most beautiful, you can find out in this blog post read more).

Another highlight was the Strait of Gibraltar. I've always wanted to see it because it's a place steeped in history. Many naval battles were fought there. Even today, many people try to flee from Africa to Europe there. It was an exciting experience to drive between two continents.

Unfortunately, we couldn't sail because we had the wind against us. The waves were all the more fun. Our bow regularly dipped into the water and soaked the front third of our boat. 

Unfortunately, the journey ended negatively for me, but positively for the test.
I caught corona somewhere. I spent the last few days of the trip in my bunk with chills. Luckily, the test requirement was lifted during my trip. Otherwise I would definitely have ended up in some quarantine hotel. So I was able to travel home and recover from the trip and the illness.

When the picture was taken, I was already ill, but I didn't know it was Corona. I enjoyed my time at Klüver almost every day despite being ill.

I wanted to capture this special trip in a picture I painted myself. It should not only show the ship, but also the two highlights of the trip: Gibraltar and the dolphins.

As I have a lot to do with two jobs, I unfortunately don't get to paint that much anymore. But at some point I was able to start the painting. However, I found it very difficult to paint the rock. I must have painted over it three or four times and started all over again.

I also had a hard time with the position of the ship and the water. So at some point the picture was left standing for a few months. It wasn't until this spring that the muse took hold of me again and within two months I had created my new masterpiece.

As I have since discovered the world of hand lettering (more on this in a later post), I have also refined my technique for painting the ship. I used to paint the rigging and the details of the ship with a fine brush. But that was never as clean as I would have liked.

Now I used the fineliners I bought for lettering. That worked really well. I was able to add lots of details neatly. 

The dolphins were added at the end. This was done quickly and, in my opinion, breathes a little more life into the picture.

The final result shines on a 50x70cm canvas. Painted with acrylic.
This picture is now waiting for its new owner. It is available for Sale on etsy.
If you would like to have the picture, but the price is too expensive, please contact me.

Finally, I would like to express my thanks to the person who made this wonderful vacation possible and also gave me the joy of painting. All my work should be to God's glory. That is why the abbreviation „SDG“ can be found on the picture, which means „To God alone the glory“. He alone is worthy of praise and worship. May this picture and all my work honor and glorify his name!