One of the most common interests we have as designers is that we are all creatives, we all draw or paint, or tend to pursue some other art form. Being able to draw or use different media and to express our feelings, seems like essential traits that are inherent in our behaviors. I started painting without ever knowing that I would have been in a design field one day. I am grateful for obtaining this skill, and using it as an outlet to express myself. It is a form of documentation without words on paper. The meaning is between myself and the paintings, this is the power of creation.
Picasso is one of my favorite painters. I remember when I was standing in front of his work “Portrait of Jaume Sabartés with ruff and hat” at The Museo Picasso Malaga, Spain, I was intrigued by what he was trying to tell us in this painting. Is this what he thinks of his lifelong close friend as well as his assistant, wearing a hat and a ruff with deformed face structures? I was also confused and wanted to get into his mind and understand what the intentions were behind it. I did not find an answer to that right away while entering the “Blue Period” exhibition room, where there were walls of monochromatic paintings. There was a sudden feeling of sadness. I was able to feel sadness in the way he created these paintings without knowing the full story of the art piece. Picasso was going through a very difficult time emotionally and mentally during this period, as his close friend had ended his life, impacting the style of his artwork. “the paintings created during Picasso’s Blue Period are deeply poetic expressions of poverty, fragility, severe depression, and vulnerability.” http://www.pablopicasso.net/blue-period/. He used his skills to express his feelings, and describe them in his works instead of using his words. This is the power of art, a media capable of resonating with someone, tell stories, or create a strong emotional reaction in a voiceless manner.
Image source: http://blog.contexttravel.com/first-friday-5-masterpieces-of-the-picasso-museum/
Image source: https://blog.clarkart.edu/2010/07/23/degas-looks-at-picasso/
I learned how to paint and draw when I was in high school. With limited influences I did not know the tools to express my emotions and feelings without writing it down on a piece of paper so I started picking up brushes and pencils. To communicate my thoughts and express them into life, I took to painting oil, and various other painting styles and forms. My work is not compatible with a master like Picasso, but our art documents moments of memory within our lives.
-Yingli
