Welcome to Week 28 of the 2016 Art Journal Adventure.  It amazes me still that we’re a  full 6 months into this project.

The Facebook group continues to be a marvel of creative women who share their art and are kind in their comments.  If you would like to join, you’ll find a link to the group in the sidebar.  Click it and request to join.  Everyone is welcome – the request is a Facebook formality.  We look forward to seeing you there!

I’m a big fan of Pablo Picasso and his Cubist paintings fascinate me.  In the Cubist style, the paintings are not meant to be realistic, but rather reflect a view from different vantage points that have been assembled into one painting.

In the same way that I like to work in my perfectly imperfect style, the idea that Cubist work is not meant to be realistic is right in my wheelhouse.  Eyes not symmetrical?  Nose seem like it could be from a being not of this earth?  Chunky slashes of color?  Yes, yes, yes.

I admire the folks who paint realistic figures.  The qualities they’re able to capture; the detail, symmetry and careful placement of facial features is amazing.  But it’s not me or my style.  Not by a long shot.  I can do flat, no specific perspective, very unrealistic work.

With that in mind, I thought it would be fun to try and copy one of Picasso’s Cubist paintings.

I chose this one as my inspiration.  Don’t ask what the name is.  I don’t know, though I do see it credited as one of his and that’s his signature in the lower right.  I love this painting.

There are various sketches on the internet that show a face that melds a frontal and side view in the Cubist style and that was where I began.

This is my sketched interpretation of that dual perspective.  I had no plans for it other than to try to create one.  Which is good since I drew it too large, plus everything is off and pretty unattractive.  There’s “not meant to be realistic” and plain ugly.  This is the latter, not the former!

Peer closely and you’ll see the basic shape of the face and neck from the inspiration painting.  This one is smaller and far less unattractive than the dual perspective one.

The sketch finished.  These sketches were done early in the week, then more than the usual craziness set in as I was prepping to head to a trade show.  I packed paint and brushes so I could finish in the hotel room.  Of course I didn’t pack the correct sized brush…

So was forced to make do with this one.  I’m up for the challenge though.  What the hell, it may just be ok!

Not only am I using a brush that’s too large for the task, I’m also using one of our Acrylic Blocks as a palette.  You make do with what you have when you’re on the road!  I’m using Black Marble Dylusions Paint.  Using the inspiration painting as a guide, I laid in the black.  So far, so good, though I did line something that isn’t in the original.  (Sh)It happens.

More Dylusions Paint: Postbox Red and Lemon Zest.  I’m still using that oversized round brush.  And wishing I had a smaller one.  I’m filling in colors approximately the way they are in the inspiration painting, though I am taking some artistic license.  There are white gaps where the background is peeking through the color.  I’m going to fill them in.  Eventually.  I’m also planning on the idea that I’ll need to add black back in again.  I’m sure there will be places where the color pushes past where it ought to be.

You can see places where I’ve covered the black.  Yup, those are where I’ll need to go back and add it back in.  In the inspiration photo the blue Picasso used looks like a sky blue color.  Since I am a dolt, I did not pack London Blue, which I could have lightened with White Linen.  So Vibrant Turquoise will have to do.

At this point my version only faintly resembles the original.  Ooops.

Dirty Martini is laid in the green places.  I’ve started to add back the black too.

More Lemon Zest too.  I went back over the streak on her face, added more to her neck, and put some on her headpiece.  Picasso’s does not have black in the headpiece.  Mine does.  Artistic license.

This was so far outside my norm it’s not funny, but it WAS fun.  I would have enjoyed it more if I’d been at home and able to work with a smaller brush.  Which is not to say I didn’t enjoy the process.  I did and I hope you do too!