22nd August 2022 Elly and Zoe
Hi, I am Elly. I hope you like this artwork. My granddaughter Zoe, seven years of age, was inspired by sailboats and painted this with some help from grandma😉.
We have a summer house in Friesland. Every year, there are sailboats on the lake called Sneekermeer for a whole week with lots of festivities. We stayed there with Zoe and her little brother Vik. Zoe loved watching those sailboats of different colours. So I decided that we paint together as she was excited by those boats that pass by our home.
The most exciting event is the Skutsjesilen. It is a boat race of skutsjes, a Dutch barge or cargo ship, but now they are heavily prized. From the 18th century till 1930, such boats were popular for cargo. They are 12 to 20 metres long and 4 metres wide and fitted with sails. After WWII, these boats were transformed into houseboats. I think it is exciting living in such boats😂😂, what do you think?
Every year, the race takes place in Friesland, and each skutsje represents a village. The whole area comes alive with lots of festivities organised by the local bars and hotels. We spent a lovely morning together painting this picture, and we hope the readers can feel the festive joy from our painting😊😊😍. We hope local events will inspire you to paint and share them here😊😊.
3 thoughts on “Skutsjesilen”
Dear Elly
Thank you for sharing this painting and that lovely story. I learned something new today about sailboats and the race. Many places have boat races. We too have a yearly boat race, maybe I should read up about it and share that event here.
Cheers to you and lovely Zoe:)
I love your simple but evocative painting. It’s a still image but somehow I could feel the energy in the sailboats and the currents that carry them. I can imagine all that you described so vividly. Thanks for sharing with us.
Elly,
So nice to see you contributing your grand-daughter’s painting and your story. As I looked at the painting and read the story, I could picture in my mind’s eye you and your grand-daughter Zoe enjoying each other while painting the boat scene. The relationship between a grandparent and a grandchild is such a special one, and that came through in the painting. I imagine that one day, Zoe, all grown up, will have a child of her own and that she will name her Elly :-).
Allan