Over the past five years she had helped out as a media adviser to one of the island’s big annual events, the Straddie Arts Trail, but had yet to take part as an artist herself despite an interest in acrylic landscape painting dating back to her childhood. Island Artists and Makers That’s 70 artists on an island with a permanent population (in 2021) of just 2156. Island Artists and Makers The event’s creative director, Cath Carroll, who is also an artist specialising in ceramics, said she saw the opportunity for an arts trail during COVID.