What I learned from Picasso

I'm not a fan of Picasso. There! I've said it.

I have a lot of respect for him as a pioneer in the modern art movement. I enjoy the variety of work he's produced. He deserves accolades for being influential and passionate about painting but let's face it, he was a pompous picasso.

 Françoise Gilot and Jacqueline Roque, his two wives, had to cope with his infidelities and abusive behavior. 

So when the Black & White show came to Houston, I knew I wanted to see the art for it's merit. Forget the ego, personality... what can I learn from Picasso? I wondered.

While viewing the work at the gallery, I  was surrounded by folks who were swooning and praising him for all he'd done. Once I got over my inner critic trashing him for being a womanizer, I took out my sketchbook. 

I hear over and over again from friends and students saying they can't draw. Instead of trying to convince them with words, my best advice is to look at some of Picasso's line drawings and just re-create it for the sake of experimenting with lines, shapes and composition. 

I enjoyed the sketching process because it forced me to look closer at his originals to gain some insight from the scribble of a line or an abstraction of a figure.

You don't have to learn from a Picasso by standing in front of an original, no that's not necessary! There are so many books of his art you can reference or many online resources.

And here's a link from a previous post for a quick drawing practice that I call Picasso's dog. Click here

We are full of stories

Sometimes my stories are told with images instead of words. 

Drawings from Downton Abbey

To be quite honest, I didn't think I'd like Downton Abbey. I don't know why. Maybe I thought it would be too dry and boring.  But all it took was one episode and I was hooked. Everything from the scenic designs & fashions to the character development has grabbed my interest. Once season 3 finished, I found myself netflixing and ituning for the earlier shows. Now I'm about to view season 2 because I've seen the first and last seasons. How I would love to visit England to draw in Highclere Castle (the real Downton). 

We're drawing faces in my Basic Illustration class so I made these sketches while my students were working on theirs. 

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I teach classes at Houston Community college. I'm off during the summer months and am available for drawing or creative workshops.

Respite

I took a week off to stay on the island (Galveston). It actually took a day to unwind and release from the everyday routine I'm used to. Living in Houston is very stimulating, but it can get overwhelming. The key is to know when to step away and recharge. So the plan was to have no plan. What a relief! By the third day I was drawn to the architecture on the island. You can get a great sense of history just by wandering around and looking at the buildings and homes that have been preserved and restored.

 I snapped some pictures

 and drew in my sketchbook

I wanted to capture the timelessness of the place.

(more to come, stay tuned.....)

It's Spring Break!

We're headed to Galveston Island for some R&R. I'm packing the watercolors and will be looking for mermaids willing to pose for me. I'll have this print available in my etsy shop when I get back. And, hopefully there'll be more as well.

The other artist in the family!

Yes, it's true. I hate to cook. I am a disaster in the kitchen. My husband is a culinary artist and I mean that in the true sense of the word. He makes food not only taste good, but he can plate it to look just right. So check out his facebook page to read about and see pictures of his foodie ideas. 

I'll get back to regulary scheduled blogging soon.

Poly and I have been working on something. You remember Poly, don't you?

http://e14studio.blogspot.com/2009/10/meet-poly.html