November 7, 2014

A Double-Take

Deuth,-Dave-colorBy David W. Deuth, CFSP
President, Weerts Funeral Home

“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.” – Pablo Picasso

Sometimes we have to do a double-take, those occasions when something takes much longer to process intellectually than it may take for eye or ear to simply take in at face value.

While one could draw any number of corollaries to Picasso’s insight in this “have-to-read-that-again-so-it-all-sinks-in” statement, most would rightly take away inspiration from the positive thinking, the marked determination and the can-do attitude his statement makes.

I should like to think so.

Picasso, the world-renowned artist and sculptor [1881 – 1973], remains widely-known for having created artistic masterpieces, some of which have sold for unbelievable sums of money. Lesser known, perhaps, is the fact that he also pioneered new and different art forms throughout his career that had previously not even existed. Pardoning the pun, one might say that perhaps Picasso “colored outside the lines” every bit as much as he “thought outside the box.”

Notwithstanding his artistic successes, I can only imagine that Picasso also painted countless works that did not become masterpieces; many, I’m sure, were absolute duds and disappointments – and we may never know how many actually became discards. This got me thinking…

First, I would expect that Picasso had to envision something whenever he set his brush to the untouched canvas. Further, I doubt very much that he had any idea when beginning a new piece whether he was actually on his way to creating a masterpiece or a dud or a discard. And, moreover, I wonder whether his masterpieces may have quite possibly come to life on the canvas in step with that which unfolded in his mind as he processed the previous step in the painting. In other words, I suspect that the next thing he painted may have been predicated upon what he saw when the previous strokes of the brush were complete on the canvas.

Our life experiences recolor our own canvases and, on some occasions, even create new ones. A newly-married couple has a beautiful new canvas on which to paint their life story together. The birth of a child adds color to their family canvas and yet, at the same time, presents an entirely new canvas for the child to paint throughout his or her lifetime. And, not surprisingly, the death of someone we love will certainly recolor our canvas, too.

Whether Picasso knew he was creating a masterpiece or a dud while working on any given painting, we can’t be entirely certain. We can, however, remind ourselves that he did something remarkably consistent each time he did create a masterpiece: he picked up his brush and put it to the canvas.

Sure, there were undoubtedly duds and discards and frustrations along the way for Picasso. But perhaps it was just then that he squarely determined himself to do “that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.” And perhaps it is because of this resolve that he developed – and then demonstrated – the positive thinking, the marked determination and the can-do attitude that permitted him to create a masterpiece.

I should like to think so.

And that just might be worth a double-take.

Remember Well.

David W. Deuth, CFSP, is a funeral director and is the owner of Weerts Funeral Home in Davenport and RiverBend Cremation and Quad Cities Pet Cremation Bettendorf. He can be reached at (563) 424-7055 or by email at Dave@WeertsFH.com.

Filed Under: Personal Growth

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