You have a million and a half museums in Paris (approximately) and on those days that I need more inspiration, I open my “to-visit” museum list and check another one off. One of the recent museums that I’ve visited is the Musée Picasso.
HO-LY-CRAP
I did NOT know that he was such a versatile artist. He did EVERYTHING: sculptures, painting, drawing.. everything under the sun.
While I’m not a huge fan of his work (yah, yah, I know, “But it’s PICASSO”, sorry not sorry) I still got a HUGE amount of inspiration out of my visit and he changed my view of what being an artist is.
Things I learned from Picasso:
- You don’t need to have a style. Everyone tells you when you’re starting out as an artist, “You’ll find your style” and it’s true, you do. Except once you’ve “found” it, what do you do next? It becomes a little scary to evolve, grow and CHANGE your style as people have been accustomed to your one way of *insert art verb here: painting, photographing, playing, dancing etc.** Picasso didn’t give a crap about all of this, HE CONTINUED TO MAKE ART without a second thought to people’s expectations. Seriously, take that idea you have of picasso and his crazy mixed up paintings and throw it out the window. He’s so much more than that. You are too.
- Be inspired by anything. The range of Picasso’s art and technique is extraordinary. You could find uber contemporary graphic/complex drawings or renaissance-esc paintings. Anything goes. Do the same with your art and get inspiration anywhere from the warmth of a steaming cup of tea to the movement in the grasses of the savannah.
- Be unafraid. Like I said before, Picasso didn’t give a crap. He made art and got inspiration from everywhere. He followed the path his fingertips led. Unafraid to rock the art world with new concepts, he didn’t care whether or not his art would be accepted as is- He made art and in doing so, gave us a new perspective through which to see the world.
One of the real struggles of being an artist for me is the what’s next? I’m constantly trying to grow my art and evolve my style. I want to give myself and my clients the satisfaction of knowing that I put all of my creative juices into their art. Having that peek into Picasso’s life as an artist, perspective and way of working was one of the most wonderful gifts I’ve ever received from a museum visit. It’s a perfectly-timed push to keep going forward, keep innovating, keep looking to the next project, turning that project upside down, shaking it, and then looking at it again.
