What Picasso’s artistic periods teach us about the creative process and the life span of the artist

Photo by Julie Kwak on Unsplash

There’s a line in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story that pretty much sums up the struggle: “All I’m asking is that you write one masterpiece that is the culmination of your entire life.”

Yeah.

Well here’s thing. Life’s not about just one thing.

Though it’s primarily about God, it’s about growing, learning, meeting, and teaching.

It is a transcendent kaleidoscope of inter-shifting forms and shapes.

Looking back at the works of our forbears in the arts, we can see the broad swath of changes that the creative life goes through.

It’s creatively freeing to know my art is not all about one thing.

Even the great Pablo Picasso went through different creative periods in his lifetime. Early on, he experimented with different techniques and styles, from realism to cubism. As he got older, his work became more abstract. And yet, each period had its own unique charm and served as a stepping stone towards his eventual artistic maturity.

What we can learn from Picasso’s “periods” is that the creative process is never static. The artist is always evolving, growing and experimenting with new ideas. This can be a daunting…