Waterlily Pond

Waterlily Pond

6"x 8" oil on raymar panel $150 SOLD

Artist Note
We are still using Monet's color harmonies
as the focus at the guild this month.
In the one above, I have used the
Analogous Harmony of blue and green.

This is painted from a photo I had taken in
 Cloudcroft, NM, but I have a good friend
who has just returned from a trip
to Giverny Water Gardens
and I am excited to see her photos.

It means my series of lily paintings
will get a shot of inspiration
in my painting arm!

Abstracted Landscape plus Monet Inspiration

Cloudy Skies

8X6" oil on Raymar panel $150.

Purchase HERE

Artist Note
In this painting my goal was\
abstracting to only the
main shapes
of what I saw in the landscape.

I used colors from one of
Monet's Landscape themes.
It is a great way to learn how
 he really used a LIMITED palette.
The same few colors mixed
in different proportions
make for an interesting
 harmony.

 Below, left, is another Monet waterlily painting

You can see how I matched the colors 

on the plastic sleeve overlay before

using them in a still life of my own.

Scraped and gone, the painting exists no more
but it was a terrific lesson on the green
because I found it was mixed
from yellow and purple.
Reddish purple and blue purple.

Waterlily Light #2

Waterlily Light #2

6x8" oil on panel   $150.

Purchase HERE

Artist Note

Here I am - back to the Lilypond. 

I am really captivated by the 

three components...

Water, plants, and light. 

It appears almost

 magical to me when

the sun casts through the shaded areas.

I can see why Monet devoted 

so many years to painting

his waterlily series. 

He bought the land and 

diverted water from a stream

to start designing what he wanted.

Seven years of planting, building

and creating.

Then he spent 30 years 

- the rest of his life-

painting it!

The two 80-ft oval rooms

in the 

Orangerie of the Tuileries. Paris,

where the enormous and stunning

murals of 

his water garden are shown

are often described as the

"Sistine Chapel of Impressionism."

Thinking about all the people

and animals who are 

suffering in

The Carolinas 

in the aftermath of Florence.

Sending heartfelt prayers

Artists of Influence - J.M.W. Turner

Rain, Steam and Speed 

- The Great Western Railway

J.M.W. Turner 

painted 1838

I was invited to write about the 

influences which helped me as an artist

 by the company 

Patience Brewster

I have been enjoying reading some of

the artists who have been sharing

their own stories so I was delighted

to participate.

Standing in front of this amazing

Turner painting (above) was 

definitely the start of realizing 

a

 painting 

could give me goose bumps!

My huge emotional response 

shook me up because before that I 

was enamored by technical skill...

not realizing the 

pure genius

of technical skill it took Turner

to do this.

This painting was done 

2 years before Monet was born.

Turner painted outdoors a lot

and colors above are true to the 

part of England I knew so well

because he actually painted

the atmosphere...

 the rain, 

steam trains,

and a very industrial area.

Turners watercolors are a 

delight, but not easily available

to view in the area I now 

live in here in the US

so when the museum in Houston

had a exhibition of his watercolors

 years ago, I flew out to see it

and was delighted to find the 

goose bumps were still there.

Other Influences.

Picasso had a strong impact 

with his many different periods

of style and media. Such

comfort knowing it was 

okay to change focus,

and Cezanne has long been an artist

I turn to when I need inspiration. 

And my love of 

Impressionism/Romanticism 

was continued by being 

drawn to some of Monet's more

atmospheric paintings. 

Yes - the waterlilies for sure. 

Seeing we are talking about 

influences in art

there are interesting stories

about Turner's influence on Monet

after Monet visited the 

National gallery in 1870 

The story goes... 

Monet stood in awe in front of

Turner's work and then after

some private visits ...and do you think 

he could have seen this 

during one of them?

(Sunrise is a clue)

Norham Castle -Sunrise

1845

JMW Turner

And when, after

returning to Paris, Monet started to 

try and capture the emotion

he experienced about the atmosphere

as well 

as the brighter colors of 

painting outside.

There is no doubt of the change  

when you see the before and after.

Here is a popular Monet piece

painted in 1867

Garden at Sainte-Adresse

C. Monet 1867

Forgive a little rant here...

Although this is a very popular

piece I dislike this painting for 

several reasons, the

"dibby dabby do" brushwork

in lower half and smooth work

on top with every dang mast

 on the way off horizon

painted in perfect detail!

BUT all is not lost - 

Monet visits Turner 

and look what happens

Impression - Sunrise

C Monet 1872

This is the painting which coined the 

word Impressionism.

How marvelous for Monet

to find an influence

which had such a profound effect.

Sorry this led into such a long post.

I am beholden to all artists 

who get inspired to try and

capture emotion, no matter their

style - but it was Turner who 

gave me my first goose bumps.

It was fun finding out who in turn

influenced the great Turner.

But that's another story.

Thank you, Marietta for the invitation

to participate. 

You must be very proud of 

your mother, Patience...

her work is beautiful.

Please check out the blog

of patience brewster