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It is an overcast day. Thick clouds drift across the sky. The wind carries a fresh sea breeze inland. Waves crash foaming against the beach, only to retreat slurping afterwards. Spray is whirled into the air on the rocks. Seagulls screech their song in the distance. But her gaze is fixed on a brigantine, a sailing ship that has just set sail and is heading out to sea. Her heart sets sail with this ship. When will she see him again? What if the journey takes longer than the planned five months? What if they didn't see each other again for two years? The thought of distress at sea or even the threat of an enemy ship sends a cold shiver down her spine. She sends a short prayer to the one who created the sea for the success of the journey. Then she takes a deep breath and thinks back to this morning when they had both knelt down and entrusted their lives to the God with whom they had already experienced many miracles. Peace and tranquillity return to her heart. She watches the ship until it disappears behind the horizon and all she can see is the vast empty sea. When another wave breaks on the rocks and the spray drenches her, she gets up and goes home. But her heart remains at sea... 

This or something similar is how I imagine the story behind today's picture. The picture was intended as a practice picture as I am currently practising painting people. After a long search, I came across this photomontage on Pinterest and immediately fell in love with it. I quickly got to work. The picture was created on a 24x30cm canvas.  

I had great respect for the lady's skin and the dress. I was struck by the last picture with the Woman in the poppy field difficult to mix a realistic skin color. But I managed better here. Red, ochre and white in the right proportions actually resulted in a skin-like color. The dress was indeed challenging. It was a constantly repeating process of light and dark - light and shadow. At first I was worried that it would be a disaster. But when I saw the end result, I was pleasantly surprised. I really liked the dress. However, the water on the stand caused me more problems. The spray and the waves didn't want to do what I wanted. The sailing ship also has upside potential. But as it was only supposed to be a practice picture, I'm quite happy with it.  

To be honest, I have lost my heart to this motif. It is my second favorite of all my paintings so far. In 1st place is and remains my absolute dream of sailing “Sailing”. But I also really like this picture here because it expresses longing. In this case, the longing for the loved one who is sailing away. In my case, I would rather sail away myself, but most women 200 years ago were not allowed to do that. 

But on my short vacation to the Baltic Sea this year, I also sat on the beach for hours and watched the sailors. This was a real treat for me, and I'm still enjoying it to this day.  

Sailing has something of freedom for me, but also something imposing, even majestic. When sailing, you are completely at the mercy of the forces of nature and yet a well-managed ship can overcome the worst storms. Gliding along on the water with the white sails against the blue sky shows the majesty of this type of ship. In the end, there is also something romantic about it. Although, of course, appearances are deceptive. The life of a sailor was hard and rough. Nevertheless, the very best stories were told by the old sea dogs. So sailing on a historic tall ship is and remains my fascination and my dream. 

The picture below shows the J.R. Tolkien, which I was allowed to sail with for a whole day this year. It was my first tall ship and an unforgettable experience.