Let's Paint a Garden
Artist Claude Monet~Impressionist painting

Mrs. McCullers Art Adventures Summer Online Art Camp 2018 Facebook Group

Written Lesson: ​Let's Paint a Garden~Artist Claude Monet~Painting

The Bible tells us that God created light but, He didn't create light so it is like a lightbulb cutting on and off. Light changes throughout the day as the sun rises and sets.  Artist Claude Monet was very aware of this and was interested in capturing natural light in his paintings. He was so interested in it, he would paint the same thing at different times of the day. That way he could compare how it changed with the different lighting. Because the light would change quickly, he painted quickly using loose brushstrokes. For Monet, it was more important to show the changes in light and color than to paint something realistic so his artwork came to be know as Impressionistic. That means it didn't look exactly like what he was painting but gave the impression of it. One thing Monet loved to paint was waterlilies. He painted them in all seasons and in all weather for over 30 years. He even created a waterlily pond where he lived so he could paint them all the time. He loved his waterlilies so much some people said that he paid a gardener to come and dust them. Here are some examples of his art.
There are a few things you should notice about Mr. Monet's art.
  • He used a lot of color.
  • ​He used light and dark colors.
  • Monet’s paintings look fuzzy up close but realistic from a distance.​​

Supplies

  • paper
  • pencil & eraser
  • watercolor paint
  • brushes
  • water
  • sharpies

Instructions

You are going to create a piece of art in the style of Claude Monet.
  • Take a clean brush and dip it in the water. Wet the entire surface of the paper.
  • Take different colors of the watercolor paint and dab small amounts of the color on the paper. Allow the paint to bleed or spread on the paper. Proceed with this step until you get the desired effect.
  • Let your paper dry or you can take the hair dryer and dry it.
  • Use your sharpie to draw outlines of the flowers on your paper.
  • Post your artwork to our Facebook page.​

*For more info on Claude Monet you can check out these links:
https://youtu.be/_fsH2wf1y54
https://www.claude-monet.com
https://youtu.be/ah5g2M14oUM

Here is my finished project:

People discuss my art and pretend to understand as if it were necessary to understand, when it's simply necessary to love. ”
- Claude Monet
Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.
Pablo Picasso