I’ve now reached an important stage in the painting – although you might not realise it from the photograph! I now have enough texture on the surface of the painting to stop squeezing strings of paint. From here on I’ll put the painting on an easel and dab the paint on with a brush.

The reason for switching to a brush is greater control, not only of the application of the paint but also the colour (I can’t see the exact shade I’m mixing in my squeeze bottles). Also I can break up the colour more with short strokes rather than long strings. And I need to balance my desire to produce a heavily textured surface with the knowledge that it becomes progressively more difficult to paint on.