…..the police arrested a Mother Superior, a washing machine and the Eiffel tower….(thank you Prairie Home Companion Joke Show).

Lessons of Picasso are many. Year-long college courses, books too heavy to lift, miles of gallery walls, movies and novels have all been dedicated to this man’s life and work. A couple of weeks focusing on his paintings is little more than an opportunity to wonder a bit about his vision.

The most valuable thing I’ve gleaned from experiencing him over the years is how expansive it is to try and see things as he might. Cubism can be boiled down to seeing things from multiple points of view. And he did it with a playful, child-like spirit.  He said: “Every child is an artist.  The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up”. Let that influence your work however it works best for you.

In the meantime we are going to take one more week on visiting this genius and try to mimic his way of working.  This is an exercise we have done before.  It requires a WHOLE LOT of letting go. We will be guided by a video of him at work.  Have more than one substrate just in case.  A least one clean sheet is good–not t00 small–16″ x 20″ ish. Then feel free to have an underpainting. There will be deconstruction in a different way so have white paint, maybe erasers, perhaps collaging can be utilized.  This again is AN EXERCISE.  It should be fun and challenging and may end up as a “joke” or as a stepping stone to great things–we shall  see.

Below is our Cubist expression for last week– (Note: please know that if your piece is not here or if it is blurry or if it is label incorrectly or if your name is spelled wrong, please accept my apologies. It is in no way a judgement or even carelessness.  This takes a lot of time and a skill level that does not come easily to me. It is as good and accurate as I have time to make it.)