I’m sure this scene’s familiar – it’s how your palette often looks before you start:

• Your lump of paint is under a small bowl.
• Your reservoir of left-over paint is under a larger one.

And your “applicator brush” – your hake – is clean and dry.

So yes, I’m sure you’ll recognise this sight:

Meanwhile, this is where you want to be before you start to paint:

It’s different: yes indeed.

Now your hake is a wonderful brush.

But it’s like a teenager: there’s a knack to waking it up and getting it ready for a day’s work.

A method …