WHY I STARTED AN AMY WINEHOUSE PAINTING (AND LEFT IT UNFINISHED)😴

A few months ago, because of university assignments, I had to buy a lot of cotton paper for presentation boards. I ended up working with watercolors, acrylics, and different materials — and honestly, I went a little overboard buying supplies. (It is a mixed technique using acrylics, watercolors, and colored pencils.)

Instead of letting them sit there, I decided to try something personal. Not entirely original, since I worked from a reference image, but personal in intention.

I chose Amy Winehouse because I’ve always loved her music, and around that time I started learning more about her life and artistic journey. The reference comes from a video where she receives a Grammy from Tony Bennett — one of her own idols. Hearing him say her name was clearly overwhelming for her, especially considering she was coming out of a very difficult period in her life.

Seeing her in that moment sparked something in me. I wanted more people to understand her context, her vulnerability, and her talent beyond the headlines. I started talking about it with my family, and especially with my girlfriend.

Due to personal and academic reasons, I left the painting unfinished. I felt it could be improved with materials I didn’t have yet, so I kept postponing it — probably more than I should have.

Lately, I’ve felt the urge to return to it. That feeling, along with discovering SpaceHey (thanks to my girlfriend), became a reason to finally share what I’ve been working on over the years — my emotions and thoughts translated into drawings and paintings.

Even if I’m not fully consistent, I’m glad I can finally show a part of my artistic process.

The first photo is edited to better match the colors and lighting as they look in real life.

Thanks for being here. 😜😜