Welcome to Sophie's Nature Art!

Today's post is about a small picture, 20x30cm, painted on cardboard. The original idea was just to make a birthday card. The “card” turned out to be a bit bigger than expected. 🙂

The picture was painted for the same friend for whom the picture in the last post was painted. This dear friend only received the painting for her last birthday, which was in October, at the end of April this year. She didn't have to wait quite as long for this year's birthday. After all, it arrived “only” five days after her birthday.  

I actually wanted to choose a simple motif that could be painted quickly. I knew that my friend loves old churches and castles. I rejected such motifs for the first painting because they seemed too complex. But this year I thought I would give it a try. 

No sooner said than done. But what kind of castle should it be? As a well-integrated Bavarian, I immediately thought of THE motif. It wasn't a castle, but THE fairytale castle par excellence! The castle that Disney used as the model for his trademark - Neuschwanstein Castle. 

The painting process was easier than expected. The work was completed in two evenings. Of course, I kept the picture quite simple and left out a lot of details. That wasn't easy for me because I like to get lost in the details. But of course it was a good exercise for me to learn to concentrate on the essential things.  

As the picture was painted for a female pastor, an encouraging Bible verse should not be missing. Therefore, a verse from David was chosen:

“LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer; my God, my refuge in whom I trust, my shield and horn of my salvation and my protection!” 

This verse comes from the 18th Psalm, which King David once wrote. I love this psalm because it depicts the greatness and omnipotence of God. David was on the run from King Saul. The latter wanted to kill David because he knew that he should take his place as king. King Saul did not like this at all. He therefore pursued David and wanted to kill him. But God protected the young shepherd and songwriter David. King Saul was finally killed in battle with the enemy Philistines. David was thus freed from Saul's persecution and was crowned king over the people of Israel. David wrote this psalm out of gratitude to God. He describes God's response to his cry for help in drastic terms: When God lets his voice be heard, the mountains tremble and hail and coals of fire descend on the earth. When God snorts with his nose, the beds of water and the foundations of the world are uncovered. So great was the God of David. 

He reached down from on high, took hold of me, pulled me out of great waters. He saved me from my strong enemy and from my haters, for they were mightier than me. 

This psalm also contains one of my favorite texts from the Bible: 

God girds me with strength and makes my path blameless. 

This verse has often given me strength, especially in the last few months when I felt weak. Every morning I was able to draw strength from this source of power. It has always been enough for each day. This God of David also takes care of the fine-tuning of my character. He makes sure that my paths are in line with his. Ten years ago, I made the decision to walk my path in life with this God. Not a single day has passed since then that I have regretted this decision. Even if the path is often rocky and you can only see so far ahead, I know that there is someone much more powerful than me who knows the path well and guides me safely. 

I wish this experience to everyone who reads these lines!  

A little side note: This is the view from the Auerberg. If you look very closely, you will recognize the castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau.