Sculptor, Model, Scupture, and a Goldfish (Sculpteur, modèle, sculpture et poisson rouge) 1933

This is an etching by Picasso: 'Sculptor, Model, Sculpture, and a Goldfish'. I wonder what it was like to draw this image, the etching needle scratching into the metal plate with each line. It's a scene of making, an artist surrounded by his creations: a sculpture, a muse, a fleeting thought represented by the goldfish in the bowl. Picasso was a great artist. Here, he's playing with the idea of the artist and the model, and the way that art is always a conversation between the real and the imagined. The single line makes each element of the scene feel permeable. The vine climbing around the sculpture and the wreath around the sculptor’s head make me think about art and life being intertwined. The simplicity of line in this work is striking, yet it conveys so much about form, space, and relationship. It reminds me that painting, like any art form, is about seeing and thinking, about capturing a moment and turning it into something lasting. It’s an ongoing process of discovery, each artwork building on what came before, looking to the future.