21/01/2026

I must, before I begin (or ‘resume’) painting, discuss the preparations that take place prior to me feeling able to create anything. I will give the specifics on this set-up, though this of course changes slightly depending on the creative activity.

In order –

• Tidy/ reset space
• Set up easel
• Set up paints
• Get fresh water ready
• Set up cameras
• Roll a cigarette
• Set up optional sound (in this case classical music)
• Set up iPad timer
• Make a tea
• Use the toilet & wash hands
• Smoke ***
• Empty pockets
• Put painting apron on
• Start the recordings
• Start timer
• Paint

Where I have placed *** marks the point I am up to now; so after a couple more steps – I’m about to paint, essentially. In this moment I will document any feelings I have and rate them on a percentage scale, 100% being the most intense.

• Excited, 40%
• Anxious, 50%
• Contentment, 60%
• Frustration, 40%

I will also document any feelings I have at half way through the painting process (45 minutes), and again at the end.

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Well, unexpectedly, I have finished my process with Resume: Frida. Only 25 minutes on the timer had gone, but I felt without a reference photograph to aim for exact details, and the size/ scale of the painting itself – left not much for me to do.

I remembered the painful back and forth I put my canvases through with my previous Resume: paintings, and strangely felt the opposite drive today. Rather than feeling an inadequacy over my painting technique and style, I felt sort of content with what I was able to produce in a much shorter time frame. So much so that I decided to turn off the cameras that were holding me accountable to ‘finishing’ the work.