Page 22 - LIN May-June-July_All1

deceptively simple
ASK THE

artsperts www.harmonmeek.com

by Kristine Meek and Juliana Meek 599 NINTH STREET NORTH SUITE 309 | NAPLES, FL 34102 | 239.261.2637

Dear Artsperts,
A person could think they can paint a Picasso, but to be respected
Sometimes I see a painting and can’t help but think, “I can do
that.” What makes some artists’ works so highly regarded and valuable the work must go beyond a mere copy. When we say an artist is
influenced by another artist, we can see the resemblance in the
when the work seems so easy to create?
Sincerely, technique, but the work is given a new and interesting twist using
Copycat unique ideas and techniques. The American master, Byron Browne
was heavily influenced by Pablo Picasso. The New York Times in
1977 described Byron Browne’s work as cubist-minded but given a
Dear Copycat , “peculiarly American flavor to the Picasso idiom.”
During an era when Paris was the center of the art world,
There is a difference in creating a concept and copying a concept.
Browne set to prove he was just as good as the European artists.
You may be able to copy something already created, but the challenge
He co-founded the American Abstract Artists in 1935 in part to
is being the first to create a concept or to create a new spin on an
protest the museums which did not collect American Art. It worked
existing concept. There are no skipping steps in this process. To
and he gained increasing recognition. Like Picasso, Browne also
create new concepts, artists must understand and have mastered the
started in realism and was an award-winning realist painter, but he
fundamentals of art. It’s about understanding how to manipulate the
destroyed all his early works to focus on abstract art. Later in his
fundamentals of art to create something new or different. The result
career, Browne merged the two genres in what has been dubbed his
can be a deceptively simple creation.
romantic period.
Pablo Picasso famously said, “It took me four years to paint
like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” Picasso created
Sincerely,
an entirely new style of art in cubism and influenced hundreds
of thousands of artists. Without question he understood the The Artsperts
fundamentals of art rooted in realism. He understood perspective and
color theory. His brilliance
was in discovering which
details to manipulate and
subtract in a way that creates
intrigue for the viewer. There
was great risk in taking such
a clear departure in art. One
that was hugely successful
though. In saying he wanted
“Woman with Plant”
to learn to paint like a child,
by Byron Browne
he meant he wanted to break (1907-1961)
away from the constraints Pencil, ink and
of realism in his work. watercolor on paper,
21” x 14” 1939
There is a definite place and
After his early
appreciation for realism
days in realism,
in art, but that isn’t what
Byron Browne fully
Picasso wanted for his work. embraced the ideas
created by Picasso
and developed his
“Paper Rose” by Byron Browne own spin of cubism
Oil on panel, 18” x 14”, 1960 in the 1930s.
Later Byron Bowne merged concepts
rooted in realism with concepts of cubism.
22 Life in Naples | May, June, July 2022