Music: Lesley Gore “It’s My Party”
One of my favorite Picasso paintings is the “Crying Woman.” What attracts me to a work is the arrangement of shapes, lines, and colors (the composition). Even if you see a masterpiece upside down in a book, you can recognize the strength of its composition. Pablo’s (because we’re on real good speaking terms) “Guernica” was probably my favorite painting as a child. I didn’t understand, or know, the history of the work or what it represented; I liked its shapes.
It is my belief that an artist can learn a great deal about creation by following in the footsteps of those we admire. It is not only a way to study their techniques but also a way to feel or sense their creative instincts in how they constructed their compositions. I can think of no better way to honor someone, other than imitating or recreating their actions as an homage to their accomplishments.
When I was younger, one of the first things I did was copy masters from my parents art books or attempt to paint in their styles. It was always something I wanted to get back to doing; in order to broaden and strengthen my own creative abilities. This was probably my first attempt, since I was younger, at recreating or interpreting one my favorite masterpieces. My model for this painting was one of my favorite 5th grade students, Jenna. She was extremely nice and was a hardworking, good student. But I also found her to be hilarious. She told these jokes which made me crack up. And let’s be honest, most people (besides professional comedians) who try to tell jokes are terrible at it. But Jenna could tell jokes (something I cannot do effectively myself) and I admired that talent.
Picasso was actually a terrible human being. He cheated on his wives, treated women horribly, and was emotionally cruel to his own children. I’m sure there was an unhealthy dose of misogyny imbued into his crying woman. 
I do not believe that my work conveys any of those malicious behaviors or attitudes. I think my work shows my aversion to seeing anyone in extreme grief (especially grief probably caused by the artist himself). And even though Jenna was attempting to appear in tears; there was always a smile underneath.
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#painting #portrait #picasso #crying #retrato