Castles and Romance: Fairy Tales Set in Stone

No, there are no castles InSide the Back Mountain. Nope. Nada. Not even one!

But there are a lot of castle dreams from our childhoods! Of the large numbers of students and friends I have queried, probably over 90%, both male and female, admit to dreaming at one time or another of living in a castle. My teen art students and I, in flights of creative fantasy, have enjoyed imagining living in castles with many, many large rooms, huge fireplaces, servants to wait upon every whim, winding staircases, hidden rooms, secret passageways, balconies, fantastic gardens with sculptures, fountains, and fields and meadows beyond—and perhaps a handsome prince galloping in on a white horse to slay the vicious, fire-breathing dragon and other evil encroachments outside! A few of my teen students even admitted to pretending, as children, to be that brave knight in armor with a sword! The teens and I had fun imagining life in our fantasy castles!

But why on earth did I paint castles? I spend most of my life InSide the Back Mountain! My friends and students know I seldom travel south of the rock cut these days! It all began early last summer when my dear friend Susie Germick and I met at our favorite restaurant InSide the Back Mountain for our monthly luncheon get-together. Susie had just returned from a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Europe with some of her close family members, and I was vicariously enjoying her journey. For the next several months, Susie brought her digital tablet filled with photos to our lunches and after we ate, I enjoyed fantastic photographs of her trip through the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France, and Belgium. There were scenes with spring tulips, windmills, ancient winding streets, churches and cathedrals, world class cuisine, lakes and mountain peaks, and… castles. Smitten with Susie’s glorious images, I asked permission to paint three of those castles for my own enjoyment as well as to share with you.

I began by drawing all three castles on Fabriano watercolor paper using an HB graphite pencil. Ignoring the realistic colors in each of Susie’s photos, with the exception of Neuschwanstein, I painted washes of watercolor using dreamlike color schemes. The photo of Neuschwanstein had many of the colors I wanted but I did add more cobalt violet. During several painting sessions, I worked on all three to assure the continuity of style. In a few places I added salt to the damp pigment before the paint dried. Salt absorbs damp color before it melts,exposes white paper, and creates a bit of added visual texture. I thoroughly enjoyed painting the reflection of DeHaar Castle, even adding a few spattered snowflakes just for fun!

The Eltz Castle is a blend of medieval, Gothic, Baroque, and Romanesque architecture situated in the middle of the Eltz forest in the hills above Moselle, Germany. It's still owned by the original family who has lived there since the 12th century, when it was initially constructed along an important trade route. While palaces are built for luxurious living, castles are built for defense, and Eltz is a perfect example, complete with thick walls, watch towers, and a dungeon.

The DeHaar Castle, located outside Utrecht, is the largest castle in the Netherlands. The first castle onsite was built in 1391. After a cycle of fires, rebuilds, and wars, the 1892 restoration was begun by Etienne Van de Haar and directed by architect Pierre Cuypers. It boasts 200 rooms, 30 bathrooms, an enormous furnace, richly ornamented wooden carving inside and electricity provided by its own generator as well as an impressive park and gardens.

The Neuschwanstein Castle is famous for its eccentric, possibly insane creator, King Ludwig II, as well as for inspiring Walt Disney to build his famous castle in Florida’s Disney World. Set against the foothills of the Alps in South Germany (Bavaria), construction began in 1869 as Ludwig’s tribute to the composer Richard Wagner and to opera, theater, and medieval legends. As Ludwig added more and more additions to the huge and beautiful idealized castle, he lost his grip on reality. The “fairy tale King” was removed from his throne and later found dead in waist-deep water, his body lying next to that of his also deceased psychiatrist! Neuschwanstein, which remains unfinished, is the most visited castle in the world today.

Even in the midst of sometimes drab weather, February still provides two special days. February 14th might inspire dreams of valentines and romance—perhaps even of castles, damsels, and dragons! And don't forget Hoodie Hoo Day’s goal on February 20th: scaring winter away! Let’s try it! What have we got to lose?

This article originally appeared in the February 2025 publication of InSide the Back Mountain.