Picasso

It took me four years to paint like Raphael,

but a lifetime to paint like a child.

Pablo Picasso

Picasso - painted last night.

Watercolor on paper.

Sometimes, I just feel like copying what i see.

No big revelations

or  inspirations

or color combinations.

(hey, that could be a song...)

;-)

I just paint what i see.

Don't you love the texture in this paper?

Paper makes all the difference in the world.

i can paint with dollar store paints,

but the paper needs to be top notch.

Especially for watercolors.

By the way, do you ever check the stats on your blog

to see how many visitors you've had in a day?

Well, i do.

Here are my stats for the day so far...

Isn't that amazing?

That technology allows us

not only to connect with one another

on this huge blue ball in the sky,

but to KNOW who we're connecting with!

When i first began to blog

i told myself it didn't make a difference 

whether people visited or not.

That i was doing this for myself,

to get more comfortable

with putting my work out there.

But there's more to it now.

It does matter.

You do matter to me.

It was a strange feeling

when i first saw that i had visitors

from all over the world.

Something magical happens

when you realize you've just communicated

with someone in Taiwan,

or Russia,

or the UK

or India...

At least it's magical for me.

So thank you to all you lovely visitors,

whether you comment or not.

It melts my heart

to know that someone out there

may be inspired

by my words or my art.

I hope it's you.

:-)

Wishing everyone a great weekend,

wherever you happen to be in the world.

xoxo

I am linking this to Paint Party Friday,
Creative Every Day
and for the first time ever,
Illustration Friday

Come on over and check out
some of the great stuff there!

sad girl and Rainer Maria Rilke

hi there.

Feeling a little off today,

so no words of wisdom.

Here's what i painted this morning.

(acrylic and charcoal on watercolor paper)

There's a quote by Picasso that i love:

Every child is an artist.

The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. 

So this morning,

i felt like connecting to the artist i may have been

as a child.

It's a real challenge for me to let go of control

and paint from a place of innocence

rather than judgement.

I do like her...

...and her red shoes. :-)

I may have shared this with you already,

but i'm doing it again.

I read these words often,

by Rainer Maria Rilke

the genius poet.

His words comfort me

in times of doubt,

more than any other words ever do.

*****

Your work needs to be independent of others' work.

You must not compare yourself to others.

No one can help you. You have to help yourself.

Criticism leads to misunderstandings and defeatism.

Work from necessity and your compulsion to do it.

Work on what you know and what you are sure you love.

Don't observe yourself too closely, just let it happen.

Don't let yourself be controlled by too much irony.

Live in and love the activity of your work.

Be free of thoughts of sin, guilt and misgiving.

Be touched by the beautiful anxiety of life.

Be patient with the unresolved in your heart.

Try to be in love with the questions themselves.

Love your solitude and try to sing with its pain.

Be gentle to all of those who stay behind.

Your inner self is worth your entire concentration.

Allow your art to make extraordinary demands on you.

Bear your sadness with greater trust than your joy.

Do not persecute yourself with how things are going.

It's good to be solitary, because solitude is difficult.

It's good to love, because love is difficult.

You are not a prisoner of anything or anyone.

- Rainer Maria Rilke

*****

europe painting, mini watercolor and picasso

Good morning fellow bloggers of the world! :-)

I'm still working on my Europe painting

but i thought i'd post anyway.

There's way too much blue in this as it is...

I plan on finishing it this week

so i'll post the final pic soon.

You'd think i'd be so tired of blue... :-)

I did this mini watercolor of the ocean and sky (about 3" x 4").

The ocean here is still covered

with frozen ice and snow,

but i'm dreaming of the days

where I walk barefoot in the sand again. 

I love doing small formats.

They take very little time,

and small doesn't mean it's any less art.

********

It used to bother me

that i didn't have a particular style 

when it came to art.

Then I remembered Picasso.

We know Picasso from paintings like this...

or this...

but he also did this...

and this...

and this...

and this incredible drawing...

study of a torso. 

So if any of you feel like i do sometimes,

like you're jumping from one thing to another

from one style to another -

Remember Pablo Picasso

and keep painting and drawing your little heart out.

:-)

Wishing you all a wonderful week! 

xoxo

alexandre

I did this pastel drawing years ago of our son, Alexandre. The original work is approx. 30" x 20" and sits here in my studio, hidden among many other lost paintings.

When I saw his little face, I thought about how all I really want for him is to be happy with his life. I know that sounds so cliché, but it's the truth. When he was little, he used to tell me he was gonna be a garbage truck driver, and I would say "good for you!!" and I remember thinking "you can shovel shit if you want - as long as it's what you want to do, and you're happy doing it". :o) All I can hope for is that he listens to his own voice and doesn't allow it to be drowned out by his surroundings, including us - the parents. :o)

And on that note, here's a little tidbit I read this morning that made me smile...

Picasso was taught by his father to be an academically sound artist with all the basic understanding of colour, light, drawing, perspective, and so on. But he only became Picasso when he rebelled and turned his back on everything his father taught him.

picasso and the tree