You can only laugh. I was just putting the last touch to the painting when I lost control of my brush. It jumped up in the air, spinning like a circus knife in front of my eyes. It hit the page, sable first. Splat!
I had just loaded the brush with Vandyke Brown moments before. The glimmering sea had lost its shine. Now there was a dark brown whale in my watercolour.
Later, I painted over the crime scene with opaque white. The sea sparkled again. It would never be perfect, but it’s finished.
The Coast Road, Malahide, Ireland 33 x 23 cm
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.meldrum.se/meldrum_wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/P1260921-edit3-1024x691.jpg?resize=269%2C181&ssl=1)