Well, it’s finished! Although things went broadly to plan there were inevitably some pragmatic decisions that had to be made along the way – including filling an empty space that I hadn’t anticipated between the car and the area above the top of the barriers. In fact, it was a classic piece of serendipity which prompted me to include the logos of the companies I have worked for and a thumbnail of a retirement card saying ‘Don’t think of it as retirement’ – all excellent additions to round off the picture.

The whole process has been very instructive. I now know just how long it takes to plan and put together a coherent piece of art; and just how much skill there is in mixing paints and applying it with brushes. As for actually creating recognisable pictures of things in paint – well, I am in awe of those who are good at it. I am not, and my decision to stick to collage and broad swathes of paint was certainly the right one. The result is at least presentable and recognisable, and I have enjoyed the experience of turning a vision of an image into reality. Perhaps I will be moved to do others in the future.

As to whether the final result is what I wanted and as good as I would like – well the answer has to be, not quite. There are lots of aspects that could have been better – the outline of the vortex, the shape of the yellow leakage from the top, the too-uniform set of loose rocks below the car, the pattern around the edge – all these perhaps could be better. But most things can always be better, and these days I lean more towards completing than perfecting on the sea-saw of project choices. Anyway, judge for yourself.