Les Demoiselles d'Avignon

With Chicago finally in bloom, I thought it was time to switch out the sunflowers from the chalkboard for a new drawing.

This time I asked Dave what should go onto the wall--"something modern. Like cubism. Picasso."--and after a brief debate about which painting to pick (Guernica, although lovely and beautiful, was nixed for being too damn depressing. Also, I don't have that many grays.), we settled on Picasso's cubist/primitivist portrait of five ladies from a Barcelona brothel, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon.

I really enjoyed drawing this one! I was nervous, like with Sunflowers, that chalk wouldn't be the best to translate the work, but while I had to ditch some of the lovelier details, for the most part I like the overall effect. It was fun working with a twisted perspective, and even my dopey little chalks could passably mimic Picasso's beautiful color scheme.

Dave's first view reaction: Nice ladies.

More pictures after the jump!

In the original painting, the colors are actually a little flatter than what I ended up doing,
mostly because it's easier to distinguish two very similar colors using oil than chalk. 

 The masks were super fun to draw (Primitivism FTW)

This is hopefully the most NSFWish this blog will ever get. 

 Close-up of Mask #1. Picasso went through several different styles before settling on this one,
resulting in the woman's twisting mash-up of a body.

 Mask #2. Influenced by African masks and Iberian sculpture.

 I liked the blush on this lady's cheeks.

 And the blush on this lady's nose.

 One of my favorites, which reminds me so much of ancient Greek and Sumerian sculpture
(although, apparently, that wasn't what Picasso was going for)

The real painting. UGH those colors... I need to step up my game.