My oldest group took on a very challenging project for our Picasso Blue Period focus week.  I did this project in Carla Sonheim’s “Y is for Yellow” class.  I think it is a great project for learning about value and learning how to build up color in watercolor.  We started by drawing from Picasso’s original portraits from his blue period.  Then we gradually worked up dark values using watercolor and gloss medium.  It is a difficult process with lots of layers.  I know there was a lot of frustration.  I don’t think everyone felt their finished work was a success, but I really think they all learned something.  Some of these really captured the melancholy mood of the blue period.