I recently became re-aquainted with the paintings of Winston Churchill. Not an artist by profession, mainly self-taught, he did his paintings as a form of self preservation to ward off the "Black Dog" of depression as he called it and the pure love of "Brushes and Paints". Churchill had a studio at his home, Chartwell, but he spent a considerable amount of time "en plein air", painting outdoors not only at his estate but wherever he traveled in the world. There is a memorable painting he did in Marrakech during WWII that he gave as a present to President Franklin Roosevelt.
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| Winter Sunshine, Chartwell |
My favorite painting by Churchill is "Winter Sunshine, Chartwell 1924/1925". His home is portrayed in almost blinding sunshine reflecting off the snow in the landscape. The colors of the brick at Chartwell gleam in the light. The brushwork is impressionistic and bold.
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| Churchill Self Portrait |
I have not spent much time plein air painting but I plan to amend that. To be able to sit immersed in a landscape, be part of it at a specific time and place seems to me to be a fantastic way of being fully engaged in this world and as Churchill a mode of finding some peace in a very challenging time.
