Painting in Monet’s Garden! – Day 3

Because we were going to have the opportunity to paint in Monet’s garden at least 3 times, weather permitting, I decided I just HAD to paint his pond. As someone said in our group, “You have to paint the pond, then you can move on to paint something else.”

The weather goddess was once again with us this glorious Friday, and after our breakfast outside – including warm croissants – Elizabeth Mowry gave us a demonstration of how she would approach Monet’s lily pond using watercolor as an underpainting – very inspiring.

Our date at Monet’s Garden was not until 6:00pm, so we painted around the grounds of the Inn.  September had been the last time that I had painted a landscape.  Needless to say, the first two attempts were complete failures and destroyed.  However, I enjoyed every minute out under the trees, listening to the birds.  How can a country have rain and humidity and virtually no bugs??  Below is an idyllic scene on the Inn’s property.

To get to the lily pond, you must walk under the main road via a tunnel photo below). In Monet’s time, the tunnel was not necessary.

Above you can see the results of painting along Monet’s pond. My head was a little confused as I went between thinking “abstraction” then “landscape” and then back, so I split the picture plane. I believe this idea has some potential for larger paintings, what do you think? (The lilies had closed as the sun set, so my lily was just a guess.)

The weather, as I mentioned, was perfect. Earlier rains boosted the trees and plants to a feeling of excessive abundance.

What was Monet’s favorite color? It was blue. The various blue flowers around his gardens were stunning.

The day was topped off by an extensive French meal. Our hosts even brought out their special after dinner drink – celantos.

Do you think the fuzzy photograph implies the condition of the photographer? 🙂 My oh my, what is in store for us tomorrow?

…to be continued.