Winston Churchill began his love affair with painting in his 40s， amid disastrous circumstances. In 1915，as First Lord of the Admiralty， Winston Churchill was deeply involved in a campaign in the Dardanelles that could have shortened the course of a bloody world war. But at last， the mission ended with failure， and suffered with great loss of life. So Churchill paid the price， both publicly and privately. He was removed from the admiralty and effectively sidelined.
Overwhelmed by the catastrophe①， Winston Churchill retired with his family to Hoe Farm where was a country retreat in Surrey. There， as he later recalled， “The muse of painting came to my rescue！”
One day， when Winston Churchill wandered in the garden， he chanced upon his sister-in-law sketching with watercolors. He watched her for a few minutes， then borrowed her brush and tried his hand. The muse had cast him spell！
Therefore， Churchill soon decided to experiment with oils. Delighted with this distraction from his dark broodings， his wife rushed off to buy whatever paints she could find.
However， for Churchill， the next step seemed difficult， because when he contemplated② with the blameless whiteness of a new canvas， he became unaccustomed nervous. He started with the sky and very gingerly③ mixed a little blue paint on the palette， and then with infinite precaution made a mark about as big as a bean upon the affronted snow-white shield. At that moment the sound of a motorcar was heard in the drive. From this chariot stepped the gifted wife of his neighbor.
Taking a big brush she splashed into the turpentine④， walloped⑤ into the blue and the white， frantic⑥ flourish on the palette， and then several fierce strokes and slashes of blue on the absolutely cowering canvas. Later that time， his neighbor began to teach him painting.
In painting， Churchill had discovered a companion with whom he was to walk for the greater part of the years that remained to him. In 1921， his mother died， followed two months later by the loss of his beloved three-year-old daughter， then painting offered deep solace. Battered by grief， Winston took refuge at the home of friends in Scotland， finding comfort in his painting.
Historians have called the decade after 1929， when the Conservative government fell and Winston was out of office， his wilderness years. Politically he may have been wandering in barren places， a lonely fighter trying to awaken Britain to the menace of Hitler， but artistically that wilderness bore abundant fruit. During these years he often painted in the South of France. Of the 500 oil paintings extant， roughly 250 date from 1930 to 1939.
Painting remained a joy to Churchill to the end of his life. In his book Painting as a Pastime he said， “Happy are the painters， for they shall not be lonely. Light and color， peace and hope， will keep them company to the end of the day.”
① catastrophen. 大灾，大祸，惨败
② contemplatev. 思忖，思量，仔细考虑
③ gingerlyadv. 极为谨慎地，极为小心地，轻手轻脚地
④ turpentinen. 松脂，松木油
⑤ wallopv. 痛打，痛击
⑥ franticadj. 发狂的，狂暴的，狂乱的
温斯顿·丘吉尔生活偶记
温斯顿·丘吉尔，在他四十多岁时开始迷恋上绘画，而当时正是环境异常恶劣的时候。1915年，邱吉尔时任海军大臣，积极投身于达达尼尔海峡的一场战役中，这场战役本可以缩短那段血雨腥风的世界大战。但是最后战争以失败而告终，并且伤亡惨重，因此，丘吉尔于公于私都付出了惨重代价。他被从海军部调离且实则坐起了冷板凳。
在灾难的折磨下，温斯顿·丘吉尔携家带口来到霍·华姆，那是萨利郡的一处乡间闲居。在那儿，正如他后来回忆道，“是绘画中的冥想拯救了我！”
一天，温斯顿·丘吉尔在花园中散步，偶然间他看到了弟媳在用水彩作画。他观察了一会儿，然后向她借了画笔并一试身手。他的专注仿佛给他施了魔法！
因此，不久丘吉尔就决定他要尝试画油画。妻子看到他从阴暗的忧思中解脱出来，非常开心，赶忙去买所有能买到的颜料。
但是，对于丘吉尔来说，迈出下一步就似乎有些困难了，因为每当他看到一块洁白无暇的新画布时，就会感到无所适从的紧张。他先从天空画起，非常谨慎地在调色板上加入一点儿蓝色调，然后以万分的小心，在这块被蓄意冒犯的雪白的防护板上点上豌豆大的一笔。这时，传来一阵驾驶机动车的马达声。他邻居那位才华出众的太太从这辆车中姗然而下。
她拿起那支最大的画笔，松油飞溅，她在蓝白颜料间挥毫泼墨，在调色板上疯狂的龙飞凤舞，然后在颤动不止而又发皱的油画布上用力画下了几笔蓝色。之后，他的邻居开始教他画画。
在绘画中，丘吉尔找到了能陪他度过余生大部分时光的知已。1921年，他的母亲去世，而仅仅2个月后，他又失去了他深爱着的3岁女儿，那时候作画给了他很大的安慰。在痛苦的打击下，温斯顿来到苏格兰朋友们的家中以求得安慰，用绘画来解脱自己。
史学家把1929年后的10年，也就是保守党政府垮台而温斯顿下台的时间，称为他的荒凉岁月。政治上，他一直在举步维艰的处境中徘徊，是一个孤独的勇士在努力唤起受到希特勒威胁的国人，但在艺术上，他在那荒凉岁月中却硕果累累。这些年他经常在法国南部作画。在现存的500多张油画中，大约250张是1930至1939年间的作品。
绘画给丘吉尔带来的乐趣直到他的人生尽头。在他所著的《画中的消遣》里，他说：“画家其乐融融，因为他们不会孤独。光与色，和平与希望，会始终伴随他们，直至生命终点。”