Celebrate the Age of Sail! - Commission a painting of yourself as a Sailor! Get the boat you've always wished for

In the immortal words of Captain Jack Sparrow: "Wherever we want to go, we go. That's what a ship is, you know. It's not just a keel and a hull and sails; that's what a ship needs. Not what a ship is. What a ship is . . . is freedom."

Fictional pirate though Jack may be, he was expressing a very real truth about the time we call the Age of Discovery or the Age of Sail. It was a time when, thanks to new technologies, the world suddenly lay open to travel and exploration in a way it never had before. The call of the waves and the freedom of the high seas attracted adventurous souls in droves: some searching for escape from their old lives, others looking to build new identities in new worlds, others yet seeking to make names for themselves in trade or exploration or science.

The Age of Sail has inspired fiction, iconic imagery and even specialty cruise lines right into the current century, visible in everything from Pirates of the Caribbean to Captain Morgan's rum. The elegant and distinctive profiles of clippers and windjammers evoke a period of almost unrivalled romance, and paintings of tall ships remain a major tradition in visual art. Even Star Trek, in the Sixties, was originally inspired by the fictional Royal Navy hero Horatio Hornblower.

Given the love of sail runs that deep in our culture, it's a tradition we're excited to celebrate at Nobilified. We all know someone who would have been a fine sea captain or a stout-spirited sailor in another life, or even in this one. Maybe that someone in your life is you. Whether as a gift for friends or family or a conversation piece for your own home or office, Nobilified's commissioned ship paintings are perfect for the maritime enthusiast.