The politician Winston Churchill
was an outstanding amateur painter
Oil paintings painted by Winston Churchill are being auctioned today at Sothebys and Christies. Not only because of the famous name: they touch with their subjects and convince with their quality.
By the age of 40, Churchill had been demoted and lost his responsibilities as First Lord of the Admiralty. The failure of England’s military action in Gallipoli was blamed on him.
In this difficult personal situation, he observed his sister-in-law making a watercolor in the garden in Kent, England. She urged him to give it a try, too.
Audacity triumphs
Churchill had not attended an art academy and felt “Two years of drawing classes, three years working on wood sculptures, five years working on plaster sculptures, that’s only for young people.”
He said of himself that he was self-taught and “had the audacity to just give it a go”.
Painting vacation when things get difficult
Later in his life, he deliberately took time out in difficult situations to go on painting vacations. Marrakech was a favorite destination for these trips.
He also spent the winter of 1935-1936 painting in Marrakech at the famous La Mamounia Hotel. The bar Le Churchill is still named after him there.
He wrote to his wife Clemie on December 30, 1935: “This is a wonderful place, and the hotel one of the best I have ever used. I have an excellent bedroom and bathroom with a large balcony twelfths feet deep, looking out on a truly remarkable panorama over the tops of orange trees and olives and the houses and rampart of the native Marrakech, and like a great all to the westward the snow-cold range of the Atlas Mountains.
The light at dawn and sunset upon the snows, event at sixty mile distance, is good as any snowscape I have ever seen.”(Financial Times)
Later, Winston Churchill once remarked “If it weren’t for painting, I couldn’t bear the strain of things.”
We have all already taken the first step
There is probably hardly anyone who had a paint box with watercolors in school lessons, daycare or kindergarten.
Most people enjoyed it and why not use the time at home creatively and relive the joy of childhood: The fresh drawing pad, thinking about which colors to start with, the first brushstroke across the white paper.
A comparatively small investment and if it is fun, the step to professional watercolor pencils is usually not far.
Simply for yourself
Don’t be put off by high artistic standards, but follow your heart and let colors speak.
You can find a short introduction on how to use watercolor pencils here.
Watercolor pencils with a block are also a nice, surprising gift for friends.
If you pull out your sketchbook and pencils at sunrise on your next trip, you’re guaranteed to make a grand entrance among all the cell phone cameras.
If you do not want to attract so much attention – give the pens as a gift and prove style this way.
