Beginning again and again… Chavela Vargas

Have you ever started something and not finished it but it haunts you so you start it again and don’t finish it. Then a few months, or in this case, years later you’re at it again?

This is happening with this one painting. I start, stop and start. I have the end in sight but I keep coming up against hurdles too high for me to jump - whether that be belief in myself or finding balance between commissions, being a human outside of art and this piece.

My inner critic is telling me, it’s been so many years you may as well scrap it. Or people don’t take you seriously because of your stop start pattern on this piece. But who decided work needed to be finished in a linear manner? When we visit museums we see art that took years if not decades to finish and sometimes by more than one artists because the original artist died! I don’t want to die before finishing this of course, but I find comfort in knowing that this is a normal part of being a creative, but today’s fast pace creates an illusion that we need work to be churned out like processed meats. Don’t get me started on AI art or music ….

I’ve always been a rebellious spicy one so I’m changing my approach and just saying a big jumping high five F U to all of that modern day malarkey and painting her on my time while perhaps keeping a semi tight deadline in mind, due to life’s current circumstances.

This is a first blog post introducing a sort of diary of how, when and IF I finish painting this piece. I started in 2023 physically on paper but the idea has been swimming around in my mind since 2021. Yes - that long!

It will either be a nice short read or a long one- let’s see. But I thought I may as well document what will be for me - a momentous achievement and one which I pray will unlock so many personal growths and also perhaps invite more of you to know the work a little better, as opposed to just looking at highlights on socials - boo!

Also, I’m paying for a website and not using it - that’s dumb! (Again another inner mean girl influence) So here we go, documenting my process / progress and using up the space I bought for myself to talk about the work…

Speak soon amigos! Xx