Olga Kataeva-Rochford. Painting. I Saw Three Ships. 2021

I Saw Three Ships. Tempera on canvas. 92 x 73 cm. 2021 Several years ago now I had just arrived in France from Russia and found myself one evening in the clear, calm twilight at Etretat, on top of a cliff. The sounds of a seaside town could barely be heard. Silver birds flashed across the stars, like living sparks in the night of the world. I often return to this memory, when something much bigger than you and much more eternal opened up before you. The three ships of an old English choir seem to sail away under the same sky. I Saw Three Ships I saw three ships come sailing in On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day I saw three ships come sailing in On Christmas Day, in the morning What was on those ships o’ three On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day A little boy and a lady On Christmas Day, in the morning Oh, they sailed for Bethlehem On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day Yes, they sailed for Bethlehem On Christmas Day in the morning