Heinke Böhnert was already fascinated by playing with colours as a child. Then came her passion for sailing. The Hamburg native has long since successfully combined the two. As an artist, she combines original sails with the expressionist application of acrylic colours to create collages in a new genre of traditional marine painting. The artist is inspired by the structure of the fabric, the sail seams or fragments of sail numbers.
Works of art made from old square sails for a new windjammer legend
Heinke Böhnert is currently working on a piece that appears to be particularly strong and heavy, an original sail from the SEA CLOUD. The artist is decorating half of the 69 cabins on the new SEA CLOUD SPIRIT with her artwork. ‘That's quite a challenge; each cabin should have an individual picture, but at the same time the artworks should have a common line.’
The basic motif is a fleet of so-called ‘12s’. These elegant yachts characterised the events on the regatta courses in the 1930s and are part of the sailing culture to which SEA CLOUD belongs. ‘Their style is reflected in the new build, which is why it bears the nickname Spirit,’ says Heinke Böhnert, ’so it makes sense to incorporate this into the art on board.’
Works of art made from old square sails for a new windjammer legend
The commission is not her first work for special clients. Last year, she designed the gifts of honour for the 125th anniversary of Kieler Woche, which she presented to Federal Minister for Family Affairs Franziska Giffey and Schleswig-Holstein's Minister President Daniel Günther: ‘Ms Giffey was so enthusiastic that she bought the picture, as politicians are not allowed to accept gifts.’ And Daniel Günther had the picture hung above his desk. In 2014, the Hamburg native made a picture that the then German President Joachim Gauck gave to the Norwegian King Harald V.
