she paints; she is a painter

On one of the most inhumanly hot days last June, I flew to New York City to see the Picasso and Françoise Gilot, Paris-Vallauris, 1943-1953 Exhibit at the uptown Gagosian Gallery. I had to see this show, mostly because I’m a bit of a Picasso fanatic but also because Françoise Gilot was allowing some of her own work plus  some of her privately owned Picasso’s to be seen. Seen together!

Furthermore, to add more brilliance to the experience, John Richardson, who is writing the definitive biography of Picasso and who knew Pablo  personally when they were relative neighbors in Southern France, curated the show.

When I look at art I usually try to really see a few pieces very well instead of trying to absorb too many art works in a short time, leaving myself feeling overwhelmed. On this day I had a wonderful experience because the gallery was spacious and few people braved the weather. I’m going to show you one drawing and how I saw it constructed …

(Click on first drawing!)

OK. I’m not trying to be Picasso. I’m just trying to show his process. With an economy of gesture and line he is able to convey his subjects with beautiful simplicity.

I drew these on my iPad with the Brushes App. The subtlety of pencil  with its pressure points showing the beginning and ending of lines is completely lost. Go back and look at Picasso’s and try to see where he started and ended lines. It’s all a matter of looking!

If you would like to see the interview with Francoise and John Richardson about the making of this important exhibition see … Charlie Rose interviews Francoise and John Richardson 2012. It’s 52 minutes long. At least have a look at Francoise and see how vibrant and beautiful she is at age 90.