3rd June ’17: Looking down for colour

Good evening, lovely people.

When I’m looking for colour inspiration, no stone goes unturned. I look upwards, outwards and downwards. I look everywhere. I have to say, though, that when I look downwards, I sometimes feel slightly bad about it for a very left-of-field reason. In John Milton’s Paradise Lost, which I once studied, Mammon (one of the fallen angels) is described as always looking downwards (like someone forever looking for that dropped tenner): ‘even in Heaven his looks and thoughts Were always downward bent, admiring more The riches of Heaven’s pavement, trodden gold.’ I always think of this if I gaze intently downwards but the fact is, downwards glancing often yields good things (like all the plastic marine debris I’ve found on beaches near and far). Upwards, too. I remember covering Princess Diana’s funeral for @thenews_portsmouth and, for the first and only time in my lifetime so far, walked from The Mall through London afterwards looking constantly upwards (because the streets were sombre and traffic-free) and saw a London I’d never seen before – beautiful roofs, stunning stucco fronts, a whole new world of unobserved beauty. Since then I try not to feel bad about casting my eyes towards the floor or to the heavens in search of beauty. And so, looking downwards today enabled me to revel in the beauty of @swiftyknickers cloakroom floor. Not my usual colour palate but a real stunner, I think you’ll agree. As you were. Back to your Saturday night revelries and I’ll see you tomorrow.

Martha, The Colour File x

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