Got inspired and found a new hobby!

On a rainy day in February a friend of mine and myself found ourselves without any plans and decided to visit the Museu Coleção Berardo. The Museum is located within the Centro Cultural de Belem and the incredible architecture around the plaza alone is worth a visit. We got tickets for the entire exhibition which stretched over two floors.

Unfortunately, there were few pieces which caught my eye as they felt very predictable and somewhat mocking of well known pieces of art. However, what made the whole experience special was the fact that we came into the exhibition with a clear goal. Just outside the museum we found a little shop which sells painting equipment. We decided that each one of us had to find a paining which we would try to replicate later on. This goal gave the whole experience a different perspective as we were no longer just observing the art but also evaluate whether we could create something like it.

In the end the painting I decided to try my luck with is an untitled Spanish painting from 1961 from the Equipo 57 collection:

I wouldn’t say that the painting blows my mind, however, I liked the colours, it looked somewhat manageable considering I hadn’t painted in ages or even liked painting. Now looking at this painting I feel bored. The pattern reminds me of a simple camouflage and the colour pallet is a bit dark for my personal taste. However, back in February when I looked at it I felt confident. I knew I would be able to paint something with a resemblance and could potentially add some more colours or spots if I felt like it.

This is what our evening looked like:

I really enjoyed the entire day and even though I did not like the exhibition that much I have very fond memories to the day at the museum. Another part which feels very special to me is how calm and relaxed I was when I was painting. Since this day I have spent multiple evenings with friends painting. I really enjoy the creativity and definitely consider it a new hobby which I wish to keep up. Some main takeaways for me is that you don’t have to like something to be inspired and that you can find new hobbies without even trying.