Pablo Picasso loved birds. His father painted them in his home studio when Picasso was a child. His Dove lithograph was created as a symbol for peace after WW2. He named his daughter Paloma with means dove. There is also many paintings in his Barcelona museum that feature seagulls. Here are some of the dozens of parrots that I saw beside this statue of Picasso in Malaga; I couldn’t help but think of them as “Picasso’s birds”.
Although I had taught Cezanne to children for many years I didn’t love him until I saw his work in person in Paris. Only then did I understand that he was the father of cubist modern art. (Sorry, Picasso) His expressive bold color, bold lines, and depiction of his subjects from multiple angles influences my work every bit as much as Van Gogh and Soutine. I just usually paint a different subject matter than what he is most known for so his influence isn’t as obvious. I found the most gorgeous and rather imperfect (more reason to love it) fruit at the Leucadia’s Farmer’s Market, spent an afternoon finding the perfect vintage bowl for it, then worked on a watercolor of it and threw it in the trash. I did however take photos and it was from these photos I painted this still life while in Spain a few weeks ago. It didn’t start as Cezanne inspired but how could “I” possibly paint a bowl of fruit without his influence coming through.
About a week ago I visited the birth home of Picasso in the lovely town of Malaga, in Southern Spain. I wasn’t able to take photos of the interior but it was a wonderful experience. They had the sitting room arranged very much like it was when Picasso was born, going off of descriptions of people who had actually been there. Also a studio of Picasso’s father, José Ruiz y Blasco, with many of his paintings set up in the front room. The rest of the home was filled items from Picasso and his family members. Down stairs was a small museum featuring dozens of beautiful sketches of Picasso’s, which were great to see in person. Picasso’s flat was on the second floor. He was born there on October 25, 1881 and he lived there for four years.
Painting in the Shadows of the Paris Bohemians 