- Johaan Vertig
In my journeys around the South of our Empire, I have found many, many wondrous sights in our Empire's towns. The town that caught my imagination the most however was the humble river port of Sonnefurt. I stayed here for an entire year and endeavored to capture every angle of the wonderful town. On the next few pages, I will present my compiled paintings, and briefly describe them.
The Baroness' Mansion
A beautiful building which the Baroness herself does not actually tend to spend much time in, despite its splendour. It is protected and cut off from the centre of the town by a small moat, making it very private. I was lucky to get close enough to the mansion to paint it, as the Baroness' guard are very protective of their lady, even when she is not there. Fortunately they did not seem to mind a humble painter and I could paint this magnificent building.
The Von Heisenberg Theatre
Sadly, seeing as this building is an exquisite piece of architecture, I have only so far managed to sketch this magnificent structure. This is truly the Von Heisenberg family's greatest donation to this town, and the building dominates the small square in which it resides. It is adorned with carvings of the Rose and Briars of the von Heisenbergs, which looks excellent, and is a testament to its Dwarfen masons.
The Upper/Lower Riverside Docks
These docks see little commercial business, which is centred around the Dockyards, and is instead where the rich have their marina. As such it is a much nicer location and brilliant to paint. I do believe this painting shows the commotion of the area, but the pleasant nature of it at the same time.
The Ertingen Ferry
The nicest part of the riverside area is definitely the area surrounding the ferry to neighbouring Ertingen. There are many large townhouses here which are splendid to paint. This painting looks down the Soll, eventually going towards Kreutzhofen at its source. To the right I managed to capture the closest part of Ertingen. It is at these points the two towns are the closest, making many, like I did at first, think they were one and the same.
The Sonnefurt Lighthouse
Jutting out into the fork between the Soll and Sonne rivers, this centuries old lighthouse is an imposing sight. It was built by the Pfeifraucher family many aeons ago, and has outlasted much of the architecture in Sonnefurt. At night, its four fires provide a welcome sight for the trade ships of the Soll.
The Dockyards
Definitely not a nice place to be, and especially not after dark. The Dockyards are the commercial powerhouse and slum of the town and the buildings there are dilapidated and decrepit. However, they are interesting to paint due to their quirky nature and I did enjoy trying to capture the despair of this neighbourhood.
The Upper River Side
In stark contrast to the Dockyards, the Upper River Side is a much nicer place to be as it houses the richer, more extravagant residents of the town. As such, their houses are wonderful townhouses, full of luxury and grand in every way. They were a joy to paint.
The Lower River Side
As this district houses the most of the residents of the town, it is crowded, but not to the extent of the Dockyards, and houses everything the people might need. There are many merchants living here, and thus shops and houses mix in an incredible interlocking nature, making use of all available space. It was hugely enjoyable to paint the people in their unusual surroundings and having lived in the area, I think it became my favourite district.
The Sanctuary of Sigmar
I have painted many churches of Sigmar in my time as an artist but I can safely say that Sonnefurt's Sanctuary is by far one of the most amazing ones I have seen and had the pleasure of painting. The tower is visible from all around the town, reminding its populace of their god, and its bells can be heard every hour echoing around the streets. The attached alms house is one of the nicest buildings in the town, it seems to make being destitute in this town a good thing!
The Dwarfen Quarter
The Dwarf Quarter, in appearance is much like the Upper and Lower River Sides, but a predominance for stone is more evident, as is the size of the doors. Most of the Dwarfs own a workshop, and the entire district is one for manafacture. I managed to convince one Lowland Dwarf to let me draw him as he worked. Being an Empire born Dwarf, he does not share the waistline of his mountain cousins, and actually looks fairly skinny, perhaps because the Dwarfs compete so much for business, many are very poor.
Sonnefurt Market
he town's Market District is where many of the merchants and trading companies have their offices, and is actually very boring. For an artist however, the Market Square, in the very centre of Sonnefurt is a hive of activity almost every day and is the best place to capture Sonnefurters from all walks of life. In this painting you can rich nobles perusing the wares of poorer townsfolk, whilst the Sonnefurt military patrol in the background. I loved watching the activity of all these townsfolk as I sat and painted.
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