Why you like or dislike a painting may be difficult to articulate. A particular combination of colours and shapes may be pleasing – just because it is. The creation comes before the explanation. Pictures come first and words later. As Kandinsky puts it, “… the content of painting is painting. Nothing has to be deciphered. The content, filled with happiness, speaks for itself.”

Extract: On the floor beside the boy was a purple spiral with curls like an opalescent snail’s shell. Deep purple curves merged with indigo leading to a centre touched by mauve. The patterns quivered and rippled before her eyes. Something stirred and uncoiled.

An art teacher once told me that you don’t really see something till you draw it. I thought it was a fatuous comment at the time, mainly because I didn’t like him, but it happens to be true. Looking and seeing are very different things. Drawing challenges your preconceptions about what is beautiful and helps you to see something in all its complexity