If you’re familiar with my work it won’t have escaped your notice that painting outside football stadiums has become a theme in recent months. Having had a very enjoyable time capturing the matchday build-up outside both Goodison Park and The Hill Dickinson Stadium I looked at upcoming Premier League fixtures and spotted the Manchester derby at the Etihad scheduled early in the season.

I booked a train and hotel immediately. It was my first time visiting Manchester so I was excited to have the opportunity to explore the city as well as work on another matchday painting. Exploring would have to wait though as my train got into Manchester Piccadilly about 4 hours before KO so I headed straight to the Etihad to find a suitable location to paint.

I was surprised to be able to walk right up to the stadium and choose a spot to set up my easel within the grounds of the club. It crossed my mind that a steward may ask me to pack down but none of the many brightly dressed officials nearby paid much attention to what I was doing.

The weather was not kind – wind and rain – and the general atmosphere in the build up to the game matched the elements. This may have been in part because of the breaking news that local boxing legend and Manchester City fan Ricky Hatton had died. It certainly didn’t feel like fierce rivals were about to face each other in the Premier League.

Usually I have loads of chats with fans when painting outside stadiums but perhaps because they were hidden under brollies and hoods I wasn’t spotted by many people so hardly interacted with anyone. What a shame! It’s one of the best things about painting from life rather than the studio.

Instead I stuck on my headphones and listened to BBC Five Live while tackling what turned out to be a tricky subject. The spiralling walkways leading to the top tiers are unique to the Etihad and with the Manchester City blue adorned on the outside of them I had to include a couple of them in the composition. They were not the easiest of subjects to capture though.

After a couple of hours painting, most of the supporters had made their way into the stadium and I carried on working while listening to the commentary of the game. That’s a strange experience! I did the same at Everton. The crowd noise is ahead of the coverage so I know when a goal is coming and can work out if it’s the home team or away by the volume of the cheer. City seemed to cruise past United in the game and by the time the second half kicked off I was well on my way to my hotel. It did not feel like September and I needed to warm up! Is this Manchester climate?

Anyway, despite there being challenges with the painting, the weather and not much interaction, I still had a great time working on another matchday painting. At time of writing I haven’t yet made plans for the next matchday but I know for sure I’d like to come back to Manchester and perhaps next time paint outside Old Trafford (before they knock it down!).