This module is about exploring the use of different media in the making of paintings. One of the pieces that, for me, came off best from what was a difficult series was a small almost abstract painting of the pair of osprey I’d been watching for much of lockdown on the Loch Arkaig webcam. I saw the eggs; I was watching when one of them hatched; I saw all three grow up and leave the nest on their migration to Africa. This tiny painting, and some of the less satisfactory challenges that followed, drove me back into my comfort zone with an A1 sized piece full of extraneous materials such as packing paper, carboard, and string.

I’m very happy with this even though one of the birds is way out of proportion. I like the scale, the textures, the opportunity to discover different ways of making shapes and creating volume. I’m unlikely to become a sculptor but I’m enjoying making something a little more 3D than traditional painting usually permits.