Young girl throwing a rock 1931

Here's a painting by Picasso, where he's working with a palette of orange, blue, and white to imagine a young girl throwing a rock. I can almost feel Picasso in the studio, maybe even outside, brush in hand, wrestling with how to make a figure emerge with the fewest marks possible. Look at that big orange form that makes up the girl’s body – it’s like he's squashing and stretching her at the same time, exaggerating her motion. Those little balls could be rocks, or maybe they're just there to balance the composition, who knows? I’m drawn to how the blue kind of creeps in around the edges, making the orange pop even more. The paint looks pretty thin, almost like a watercolor in some spots, which gives the whole thing a light, airy feel. Picasso was always pushing the boundaries of what a painting could be, always in conversation with the other painters in his circle, and the many painters who came before him. It's a reminder that painting is never really finished.