Opened the old tube yesterday, the one that's been living in the tin at the back since I don't know when. 2009, probably. Cadmium red, and the oil has separated so badly the top is a rubbery disc I could have peeled off whole. I did peel it off, actually. Took a minute and felt oddly satisfying.

Underneath it was still good. Perfectly good. Which is the thing nobody tells you when you buy your first tube and think it will go off like milk. Lead white, cadmiums, the earths, these things are practically immortal. The paint outlives the painter.

Anyway I was painting a hand, one hand, all morning, and that red is exactly the note I needed at the knuckles. So the moral of the story is that I am a hoarder and it pays off roughly once a decade.

Interested to know how old the oldest tube in your box is. I suspect I am not the record holder.