An old man in a hat?

It has recently been suggested – by someone with more insight than outsight – that I identify too closely with Picasso’s painting; « The Old Man in a Hat ».

Though they were too polite to say if it was my age or my hat that lead them to this conclusion.

In fact the title of the painting may actually be something different, and the fact that i chose to name it such probably gives too much away, so my friend is almost certainly right.



The painting - the other day at least - was stuck to a wall in an art gallery in Antibes; which turns out not to be in the Caribbean as I originally thought but nestled in the agglomeration that runs between Cannes and Nice on the French Riviera.
Perhaps I should have concentrated more during the geography lessons at school.



The fact that a neighbour also believed I had been to the West Indies when I returned home on Sunday, confirms that I am not the only person who failed to remain 100 per cent alert in Mr Burton’s classes.

Picasso, I believe, once said something along these lines – “When I was a child I could paint like the great masters, it has taken me a lifetime to learn to paint like a child”.

He also, apparently, said “youth has no age” – which would have been a handy phrase to come back with when my friend questioned my impartiality to the painting; but unfortunately I was ignorant of the man’s mutterings at the time.

So, I suppose, it’s better that I don’t say too much about Picasso’s self-portrait - at least until June when Bitsnbobs will adopt it as motif of the month.

Instead – what about this?

A child gave it to me.

Well, a young woman actually, though strictly speaking not an adult – which is what I think is essential here.

When she gave it to me she said –“here, you can have this and you can make up a story.”

…..

Once upon a time there was a flower which was very much in love with an apple.
Hopelessly in love.
The flower worshiped the ground where the apple lay.
Unfortunately two ducks who lived nearby also liked apples and one night they ate the apple.
The flower was heartbroken.
Shaken to the very core.
The flower started crying and shouting with an inner rage that made her petals tremble.
The ducks were very, very sorry.
The stars, who as you know are the wisest things there are, looked down on the flower and the ducks, and comforted them.
Don’t be angry with each other, peace, look the seeds of the apple remain, plant them and in time there will be a whole apple tree, but it will need love from all of you”
The flower and the ducks understood the wisdom in their words, spoken from a star’s heart, and they all lived happily ever after.