I don’t know about you, but sometimes I have days which do not work out the way I planned when I got up in the morning. I don’t mind quite so much if there is an obvious reason for it, like having to unexpectedly accompany someone to a hospital appointment, or the car develops a puncture. Either is enough to upset anyone’s day, but when things just don’t go well for no apparent reason at all, it’s very frustrating.
Sometimes I seem to be extra clumsy. If I walk through a doorway, I’ll bash an arm against a handle, or a leg against a doorpost. If I have a mug of tea, or coffee, I’ll be guaranteed to spill it. If I go for a walk I know I’ll get stung or bitten by a bug AND all it’s family and friends!
On such days, the only thing to do is to grab an off-cut of paper and make a sketch of the first thing to come to hand. It doesn’t have to be a grand display, because you know it’s not going to be good anyway, so I look for something quite common which everyone has in abundance and probably pays little attention to.
In this case there is no shortage of Buttercups or Daisies right on the doorstep, or just beyond it. Some people may consider them the vermin of the botanical world and want to uproot them as quickly as possible, but I love to see them at this time of year, no matter how many of them may be in the lawn or the edge of flower borders. While the resulting sketch may not be so masterful, the act of painting them is sure to lower the blood pressure and to look towards tomorrow with more optimism.
Graham Findlay Watercolours 