For the first time, I presented my original floral works alongside my portraits of women in the art gallery of the AIDAprima. Large blossoms, unusual colors, and metallic surfaces met my familiar female figures.
I was curious to see how the guests would react to this new combination.
The journey took us from Hamburg to Bergen, Flåm, Ålesund, Molde, and Stavanger. On board, I spoke about my art in the Theatrium, painted live on stage, and worked directly in the gallery. Together with my daughter Nina, I visited museums, Art Nouveau architecture, and gardens that inspired new motifs and thoughts.
The conversations with the guests were particularly impressive. Many talked about their own gardens, travels, and the desire to create a personal oasis at home in turbulent times. The floral works found their first buyers. Especially the smaller originals, measuring 40 × 40 centimeters, proved to be an accessible entry point into my new series of works.
This artist's journey combined several worlds for me: stage and retreat, nature and culture, portraits of women and flowers. At the same time, a new artistic direction began to emerge – with floral motifs, symbols, and archetypal pictorial ideas.
1. As a Guest Artist on AIDAprima – Between Travel and Work
As a guest artist on board, I move between two roles.
On the one hand, I am a traveler. I experience the landscape, visit museums, and enjoy the view of the sea from my cabin.
On the other hand, I am part of the program. On sea days, the program included an artist talk in the Theatrium, live painting on stage, working in the gallery, art auctions, and an exhibition opening in a bar lounge.
This public part forms a strong contrast to my everyday life. At home, I usually work alone and in seclusion in my studio. On board, art is created amidst the hustle and bustle. Guests stop by, observe the painting process, and share what they see in my pictures.
At the same time, I get a glimpse into the daily work routine behind such a journey. I experience how much organization, flexibility, and attention are necessary for a ship with thousands of guests to function seemingly effortlessly.
The friendliness and professionalism of many staff members impress me time and again.
As a guest artist, I am only temporarily part of this world. But I hope to contribute something with my art: a moment of mindfulness, a conversation about beauty, and the experience that behind every work stands an artist with passion, experience, and her own story.
2. Together for the First Time: Portraits of Women and Original Floral Art
In previous artist travels, my portraits of women were primarily the focus. Conversations revolved around femininity, elegance, sensuality, and inner strength.
On the AIDAprima, a new pictorial world was added for the first time.
I exhibited my original floral works together with the portraits of women. For me, this was an important test: Would both series of works function side by side and still be perceived as part of the same artistic signature?
I had already started the floral works at home. Certain steps involving metallic foils had to be done in the studio because the fine particles produced would have been unsuitable for working on board. On the ship, I further developed and completed the works.
The reactions were surprisingly personal.
Many guests liked the unusual color scheme, the metallic surfaces, and the deliberately open flower forms. The blossoms are not botanically precisely rendered. Some appear only hinted at, leaving room for personal memories.
One work featuring wisteria reminded several guests of Lake Como. Others spoke of hydrangea gardens or plants they associated with their own home and specific phases of life.
With the portraits of women, people often talk about demeanor and aura. The flower paintings opened other spaces of memory: gardens, travels, seasons, and childhood.
The journey confirmed for me that portraits of women and floral works are not separate worlds. Both speak of beauty, development, vulnerability, and inner strength.
In my art, the woman is a symbol of the soul.
The flower can also be.
3. Small Formats, True Originals
For this trip, I had prepared several floral original works in the format 40 × 40 centimeters for the first time.
The smaller format was a conscious decision.
Large paintings possess a special presence but also require a suitable space. A smaller original is easier to integrate above a chest of drawers, in a niche, or as part of a personal picture grouping.
The smaller format reduces the size.
Not the artistic ambition.
These works are also entirely hand-painted. They possess their own color layers, textures, and metallic surfaces. Each painting remains unique.
Several of the smaller floral works were sold on board. Presumably, the decision was easier because guests could quickly imagine where the work might fit in their homes. At the same time, the uniqueness of an original was preserved: its singular surface, its visible traces of work, and the certainty that no two identical pictures exist.
A small original does not need a grand space.
Only a place where it is truly seen.
4. Art in Public: Interview, Live Painting, and Vernissage
In my studio, I usually work quietly and in seclusion. On the AIDAprima, however, the painting process became public.
On the first sea day, I spoke in the Theatrium about my portraits of women, my artistic development, and the new floral series. Many guests only knew the finished works until then. In the conversation, it became clear how motifs are created, why some paintings require many layers, and what thoughts lie behind both series of works.
On the second sea day, I painted live on stage. Sensual, jazzy retro music gave the performance its own rhythm and was particularly well-suited to my portraits of women.
For me, however, live painting should not only entertain. It shows how many decisions lie behind a seemingly self-evident painting: colors are built up, contours are changed, and details are constantly re-evaluated.
I also worked directly in the art gallery several times. Spontaneous conversations arose there. Some guests observed only briefly, others returned later to follow the painting's development.
At a vernissage in a bar lounge, the atmosphere was even more personal. The stage created attention, the gallery intimacy, and the vernissage space for longer conversations.
This connection, in particular, makes an artist's journey special: art is not only exhibited but can be experienced as a living process. My sincere thanks go to Johanna Becker and Katrin Güther from the gallery team, who actively supported me at the events and accompanied the journey with great dedication, warmth, and a very pleasant collaboration.
5. Conversations about Beauty and the Home as an Oasis
Many guests told me how much the trip helped them escape from everyday life. At the same time, it became clear how important one's home has become in turbulent times.
A beautiful garden, good food, familiar spaces, and art can create a personal sanctuary.
A conversation with a couple from North Rhine-Westphalia particularly stuck with me. The man's father already owns one of my paintings of women. He himself runs a logistics company and spoke about how challenging rising costs, disrupted supply chains, and new requirements have become for entrepreneurs.
Precisely for this reason, home is a place where one can regenerate and experience beauty. The couple was particularly interested in my femme fatale series.
This conversation confirmed for me that while art does not solve external problems, it can change the atmosphere of a space. A painting can calm, invigorate, remind, and give a home personality.
The floral works also sparked many conversations about gardens, wisteria, hydrangeas, and roses. Nature and art apparently create similar counter-spaces to the loud, functional world.
Perhaps that is why the flower paintings were so immediately understood: they touched upon the need to create a small oasis in one's own home.
➤ To the article: "Floral Glamourism – The Poetry of Floral Forms between Art Déco and Eternity"
6. With my Daughter Nina through Norway
The fact that my daughter Nina accompanied me made this trip special.
She has been closely connected with my art since childhood. Already around the age of five, she photographed me for my catalogs and has since experienced many developments, successes, and difficult phases.
On the AIDAprima, she supported me with photo and video recordings. I could trust her completely because she not only recognized the grand stage moments but also captured quiet situations, details, and focused moments.
Together we visited museums, exhibitions, and cities along the route. We observed, compared, and discussed art, culture, and symbolic pictorial worlds.
Our visit to Ålesund was particularly impressive. The Art Nouveau architecture and the exhibition by Tyra Kleen touched both of us. We talked about why sensual, symbolic, and archetypal motifs still have such a powerful effect today.
Perhaps the most beautiful aspect of this trip was not a single place, but the opportunity to look, talk, laugh, and sometimes simply be silent together again.
7. Bergen: Melancholy and Craftsmanship
Bergen was one of the cultural highlights of the trip. We visited several buildings of the KODE complex, including the Rasmus Meyer Collection and exhibitions of modern and contemporary art.
The melancholic moods of Edvard Munch particularly touched me. His landscapes do not just show nature, but feelings: longing, loneliness, and inner turmoil. This is precisely what interests me in art – not just what something looks like, but how it feels.
The subdued colors and quiet spaces of Scandinavian painting formed an exciting contrast to my usually intense color world. They reminded me of how powerful reduction can be.
I was equally impressed by textile works, ceramics, and other material-based pieces. Surface, texture, and traces of craftsmanship played a central role there. This directly connects with my floral paintings, whose metallic surfaces and layers change depending on the light.
For me, Bergen brought together two important levels: emotional depth and visible craftsmanship.
8. Ålesund: Art Nouveau and the World of Tyra Kleen
Ålesund already fascinated me with its Art Nouveau architecture. Curved lines, plant forms, and decorative details characterize the cityscape and remain surprisingly vibrant to this day.
Together with Nina, I visited the Art Nouveau Museum and the special exhibition by Tyra Kleen.
Her works moved both of us. I was particularly fascinated by the combination of feminine mysticism, elegance, and stylized forms. The figures appear sensual and ethereal without becoming overly dramatic.
Nina and I discussed why symbolic and archetypal motifs can be so powerful, especially in uncertain times. More than a hundred years ago, art also sought beauty, spirituality, and a deeper order.
The exhibition reinforced my current engagement with symbols, female archetypes, and alchemical motifs. It showed me that mysticism does not have to be loud or esoterically overloaded.
It can be quiet, stylish, and yet profound.
9. Flåm and Stavanger: Gardens as Color Compositions
Norway is usually associated with fjords, mountains, and water. On this trip, however, it was also the gardens that particularly inspired me.
Flåm: Poppies like small fires
In Flåm, I discovered a garden with colorful beds, apple trees, and red poppies. In the rainy light, they glowed like small fires.
The sight reminded me of my childhood in Kamchatka. Summers there are short, and nature has little time to bloom and bear fruit.
That, for me, was precisely the special effect of these plants: a brief, concentrated vitality.
I don't intend to depict the poppies and apple trees botanically accurately later. I am more interested in their meaning – the luminosity in a subdued landscape and the strength to grow even under difficult conditions.
Stavanger: Roses on White Wooden Houses
Stavanger was a floral highlight of the trip.
Roses in red, white, and yellow grew on the white wooden facades. Their old, curving stems looked almost like drawn lines.
Architecture and nature together formed a composition of light wood, dark branches, and vibrant blossoms.
These roses gave me new ideas for floral works where blossoms and organic structures are more closely interconnected.
Flåm and Stavanger showcased two different forms of beauty: in Flåm, quiet and vulnerable; in Stavanger, opulent and self-assured.
Both are part of my vision of Floral Glamourism.
10. Fjords, Rain, and Changing Light
The journey was not an uninterrupted postcard idyll.
It rained frequently, clouds hung low over the mountains, and some landscapes almost disappeared in the fog. This made the fjords seem mysterious and constantly in motion.
The muted surroundings made individual colors stand out particularly strongly: the red of a poppy, the yellow of a facade, or the green of a garden.
This Nordic color palette showed me that a picture doesn't always need many intense colors. Sometimes a single tone, asserting itself against a calmer background, is enough.
The contrast between outside and inside also shaped the journey: silent fjords and changing light outside the windows, conversations, music, and events on board.
The landscape thus became an alternate space where the view expanded and thoughts grew quieter.
11. What I learned about the impact of my art
The journey showed me more clearly how differently people react to images of women and floral works.
Discussions about my women portraits often revolved around femininity, posture, and charisma. The flower paintings opened up other memory spaces: gardens, travels, seasons, and people associated with certain plants.
I was particularly surprised by how directly the floral motifs triggered personal stories. Wisteria reminded people of Lake Como, hydrangeas of lush gardens, and roses of familiar places.
The first sales confirmed that this new series of works opens up a unique access to my art. Especially the smaller formats were easier to integrate into homes while still remaining genuine, hand-painted unique pieces.
Images of women and floral works are therefore not competing worlds. They open different doors but lead to similar themes: beauty, memory, development, and the question of what we want to surround ourselves with in our lives.
Art cannot solve external problems.
But it can change the atmosphere of a room – and sometimes also the state in which we move within it.
12. What endures in the studio after the journey
After returning, many images and impressions remained: Art Nouveau facades, red poppies, apple trees, roses on white wooden houses, misty fjords, and Nina's photographs.
More important, however, were the thoughts that only slowly began to organize themselves.
Tyra Kleen's exhibition intensified my engagement with feminine mysticism, symbolism, and archetypal motifs. In a small glass manufactory, I also bought a glass bird. As an ancient symbol for the soul, it immediately connects with a central theme of my women portraits.
In initial sketches, I began to combine birds with female figures, flowers, and alchemical motifs. It is not yet clear how this new visual world will develop.
I don't want to force it.
The Norway trip did not result in a finished series. But it opened something up: a stronger connection between nature, femininity, and symbolism.
Now these impressions must detach themselves from the journey in the studio before something unique can emerge.
The journey ended in Hamburg.
However, some of its paintings have just begun.
13. Frequently asked questions about my artist journey with AIDAprima
Can you watch an artist paint on an AIDA artist journey?
Yes. During my trip with AIDAprima, guests could follow the creation of my works during live painting sessions in the Theatrium and while working in the art gallery. Additionally, there was an artist talk and a vernissage.
Are the original paintings displayed created entirely on board?
Not always. Some work steps are prepared in my studio beforehand. For the floral paintings, this was especially true for the metal foils. On board, I further developed and completed the works, while also gathering new ideas for later creations.
Which artworks are suitable for an introduction to original art?
Smaller original paintings are often easier to integrate into existing spaces and offer a more accessible entry point. They nonetheless remain hand-painted unique pieces with individual layers of color, textures, and surfaces.
You can find out more about how art presentations, auctions, and the acquisition of a work on board function in my article about the AIDA Art Gallery.
My original works on AIDA
My women portraits and floral original works are featured in the AIDA Art Galleries. Since not all works are permanently exhibited on every ship, you can specifically ask the gallery team about Ekaterina Moré.
Are you interested in a personal commissioned painting? I would be happy to advise you without obligation: info@ekaterina-more.com
