Picasso's blue period: two women

They need silence.

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Pablo Picasso the blue period and portrait of Gertrude Stein

Right: The Blind Man's Meal, 1903, by Pablo Picasso
Left: Gertrude Stein, 1905–6, by Pablo Picasso

The Blind Man's Meal is part of the blue period, 1901 until 1904, a phase where Picasso's work shows loneness, abandonment, desolation and sorrow in a very deep way using all hues of blue.
After settling in Paris in 1904 he started changing his colors and motifs.
Gertrude Stein, the American poet, used to gather people on Saturdays at her home and many of the intellectuals used to attend to discuss and have fun.
This is the story of the portrait of Gertrude Stein:

In her book The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (1932), Stein described the making of this picture: "Picasso had never had anybody pose for him since he was sixteen years old. He was then twenty-four and Gertrude had never thought of having her portrait painted, and they do not know either of them how it came about. Anyway, it did, and she posed for this portrait ninety times. There was a large broken armchair where Gertrude Stein posed. There was a couch where everybody sat and slept. There was a little kitchen chair where Picasso sat to paint. There was a large easel and there were many canvases. She took her pose, Picasso sat very tight in his chair and very close to his canvas and on a very small palette, which was of a brown gray color, mixed some more brown gray and the painting began. All of a sudden one day Picasso painted out the whole head. I can't see you anymore when I look, he said irritably, and so the picture was left like that."

Source: Metmuseum

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Music, painting and photography - music power

I am learning to play guitar from the first lesson. The tip of the left fingers aches and you have to exercise to create callus and it is strange to start losing sensibility and the muscles of the left hand have to adjust itself to make the chords.
It is a little bit boring at the beginning since you have to learn to change from one chord to another quickly and do it as faster as possible.
But if you keep thinking in the future when this phase is over and you will finally be able to have the music in your mind and the positions of your hands at the guitar together you keep going.
I was thinking about putting some paintings of guitar players showing different kinds of feeling portrayed by the artist that makes me think about the different emotions music can trigger but came across with this photograph by James O'Donnell and though that it was a great combination of three arts.
I remembered of what Picasso used to say about the geniality and inspiration myth:

"Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working."

"There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun."

And the famous Thomas Edison quotation:

“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”

I will go back to practice. Maybe next year I will be able to play something easy of one of many musicians I like. An amazing fact about people who play an instrument is that it is the last memory a person who suffers Alzheimer lose. They forget their parents but for a long period can play. This is something special about the musical language.
Music unites people. This is a great achievement.

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