"Paintings With Personality"

Here is a watercolor I did in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands

On most evenings Honey and I sit in the family room in front of the TV, with our computers on our laps and water bottles beside us. I have a habit of tossing my empty water bottle on the other sofa, planning to retrieve it for recycle later. The other night, Honey had so much stuff piled on the sofa my empty bottle bounced off and landed on the floor.

Later, I looked up from my computer to see Honey dancing around the room, stomping on either end of two empty bottles, trying to make them jump high enough so he could catch them. I could clearly see him, in my mind, as an eight year old boy, stomping on empty bottles or cans, trying to catch them as they bounced in the air. He looked like such a kid and he was having so much fun.

Picasso said, “It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a life time to paint like a child.”

What do you think Picasso meant by that? I don’t think he wanted to paint a boat and have it end up looking like his daddy. I’m also sure he didn’t want to paint a mess, but something original and beautiful. He certainly wasn’t interested in duplicating Raphael’s style.

I believe Picasso recognized that Raphael painted in a way that matched the world of his day, with the materials that were available at that time. By 1881 when Picasso came along, people and art had changed dramatically from Raphael’s day. To paint like an artist who lived 400 years ago, or even 100 years ago would have been redundant. I believe Picasso knew the purpose of his art and the way he wanted to paint.

Why are you making art? Do you want to repeat what has already been done? Think about and answer those questions before you continue reading.

To paint like a child, the artist first needs a solid background in design, color theory, drawing, anatomy and their art materials. In other words, they have to work hard, practice, experiment, and never stop learning. Learning technical skill is the easy part of becoming an artist, the hard part is learning to paint with the freedom and love of a child.  

Yellow shirt was painted from a model a friend and I hired. I added the plant behind her for balance and interest.

We all know children don’t experience the world like adults. I read in Bigthink.com that there actually is something a few adults have, called “synesthesia.” It is a neurological condition where one sensation can be applied to another. For example, they hear a sound and visualize a certain color. It has been found that synesthesia is seven times more common in artists than in other adults. I wonder if that explains why in summer, when we have all the windows open, I can smell pancakes. I thought the neighbors had pancakes every day, but maybe it’s me and synesthesia.

You must go beyond the technical aspects of art and free your imagination to paint more beautiful and exciting paintings.

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