Imitating good projects can be a good lesson. When we try to reflect on a masterpiece, we learn how to present shapes, extract proper colors, and draw a perfect line. Imitation teaches us new techniques.
I wanted to become a Great Artist 😉 from that very moment, I started the Academy. I wanted to create my own, original works that would impress the world. It seemed to be a good direction… I was incredibly happy that I started studying at the Academy of my dreams. To put it simply, “success went to my head”. Luckily, I had wise teachers. My art professor and year tutor has noticed my craving for attention. At first, she told me to learn techniques of classic and realistic drawing before I reach for my imagination.
I remember the question she asked me:
- Did Picasso start by painting cubic forms? Look at his early paintings and see how he could grasp reality. How beautifully he could reflect human anatomy, its features, and characteristics.
Pablo Picasso has shown artistic abilities from the early stage of his life. It was noticed by his father, who started teaching him drawing. At the age of 13, the apprentice outdid the master and the master allegedly made a promise to withdraw from art, as he could never keep up with his son.
We can see features of classicism in the early works of Picasso. He painted “Portrait of Aunt Pepa” at the age of 14. It is a striking, realistic illustration that has been declared one of the best portraits in the history of Spain. Only after the classicist, blue and pink period did Picasso start to experiment with less obvious forms, such as cubism.
That conversation made me realize that, in order to be able to create new forms, I firstly needed to depict the world around me. I started sketching details, looking for proportions and watching and appreciating works of great masters of realism, whom I had underestimated before. I used to think that “any fool” could reflect reality. That period of my life was a time of modesty and learning. I copied, I reproduced, and I studied the colors, techniques, and styles of great masters.
Reproducing is natural for all of us. From the day we are born, we start copying our parents, friends, idols… we want to be like them. We want to keep up with them and therefore we learn our own needs and desires. Only when we become adults, do we want to be different, exceptional, and admired. Reaching this state of mind is a long and arduous process. You cannot move a few years forward and skip university, just as you cannot gain all the knowledge and skills within two days. It requires years of practice and learning.
You cannot deceive time. Thus, we start learning… by copying. 😉
There is nothing wrong with it, as long as we do not sign copied works as our own.
In such a case, it is not learning, but theft.
