Apart from his professional art, Picasso further developed his artistic skills by trying out different mediums for illustrating his art. This helped him express his natural talent in various forms. Across his career, topics drawn by Picasso included still life, portraits, animals, and mythology. These drawings helped us to appreciate his natural and artistic talent. They acted as quick ways for him to experiment with ideas, wherever he was. They helped him capture the moment as it was without any obstruction. If he continued to focus only on his professional art, it would have curtailed his creative mind sooner or later.
One of the popular mediums used was portraiture. Portraits of Erik Satie and Igor Stravinsky are some of his famous artistic drawings. These exquisite drawings are said to remind many of the work of David Hockey in the 1970s and 1980s. He used single, well thought-out lines in pencil or chalk to bring out feelings and emotions that lied in abstraction. The simplicity of his style is astounding and communicates volumes to his fellow artists as well as art enthusiasts. Many of Picasso’s subjects were almost always his personal friends and those close to the family circle. Since his portraits were not for sale at the time, he depicted and interpreted his subjects according to his vision and understanding of them. He had the freedom of choosing the style and medium as he saw fit.
For example, Erik Satie was a close friend of Picasso. They have quite a number of artistic works together with such as the 'Parade’ ballade. He used the medium of pencil on gray paper to illustrate this particular portrait. Picasso’s drawings have been reproduced by major artists who are fans of his work, all over the world. It is reported that his animal sketches are most popular due to their simple artistry and how they capture the subject as it is portrayed. His pencil sketches offer the eye a glimpse of the raw and naked talents of the genius that is Picasso.
