Meeting Monet

We recently returned from visiting friends and family in the D.C. area (with a "side of Boston.")  I left my sketchbooks behind and rarely even got out my camera, it was a much needed break.  But "art" is never totally off our agenda.  My sweet daughter-in-law arranged a real highlight when she asked a friend of hers, a tour guide for the National Museum of Art, to give us a personal tour.  I could not wait!

And wow: Laura was amazing....we encouraged her to select her favorites and go from there.  What a marvelous tour; she hit some little known highlights, in chronological order, and gave us so much wonderful information that the paintings really came to life.  Her enthusiasm left a lasting impression on each of us and we left vowing to schedule another round as soon as we return.

But let me share my moment with Monet.  Most of us are familiar with the noted impressionist and can identify much of his work.  But we tend to forget about the time the masters actually spent learning and perfecting their craft.  We see the end results scattered throughout museums of the world and never think about the pieces that got trashed or reworked over and over...but I digress!

Laura was full of enthusiasm when she rounded the corner to share with us two prized possessions of the Museum: depictions of the west facade of the Rouen Cathedral done in two different lightings by Monet in 1894.

Claude Monet (artist) French, 1840 - 1926 Rouen Cathedral, West Façade, Sunlight, 1894 oil on canvas overall: 100.1 x 65.8 cm (39 3/8 x 25 7/8 in.) framed: 127.6 x 91.4 cm (50 1/4 x 36 in.) Chester Dale Collection 1963.10.179 On View Claude Monet (artist) French, 1840 - 1926 Rouen Cathedral, West Façade, 1894 oil on canvas overall: 100.1 x 65.9 cm (39 3/8 x 25 15/16 in.) framed: 121.6 x 88.3 cm (47 7/8 x 34 3/4 in.) Chester Dale Collection 1963.10.49 On View These jpgs, from the Museum's site, do not offer great color detail.

Laura took her time explaining how Monet had painted other series (haystacks for one) in an effort to capture the various nuances of color that the different times of day offered.  This Gothic styled cathedral is located in Rouen, France and Monet produced over 30 different studies of this facade, all executed slightly differently in their colors and shadows.  It took him 2 years to do the pieces which he then took inside to his studio across the street to hone and rework.  Out of these he selected 20 for an exhibit in a Paris gallery.

 Michael Howard, in his Encyclopedia of Impressionism (Carlton, 1997), writes:

As always, the pictures gave him intense difficulties, which threw him into despair. He had vivid nightmares of the cathedral in various colors – pink, blue and yellow – falling upon him… [Monet wrote:] ‘Things don’t advance very steadily, primarily because each day I discover something I hadn’t seen the day before… In the end, I am trying to do the impossible.’ 

The second group of photos is from a Wikipedia site where you can see almost all of the images of the cathedral.  I recommend a wonderful video by Kahn Academy that discusses Monet's cathedral paintings as well.  Monet intended for these pieces to be shown all together so that one could get the sense of what he was trying to do.  Unfortunately they are now all over the world in various museums and so the National Museum has a right to be proud of showing us two side by side.

Another fun site to check out is this one from Columbia University which shows the Monet paintings in a sort of sun time sequence.  I just can't convey how much Laura's comments made me want to continue my research on the work that she shared.  Monet became the man who struggled with his art, not just someone who captured our fancy with impressionism.  Each artist she discussed became a real person to us but none more so than Monet.....and I thank her letting me meet Monet through the Rouen Cathedral series.

Lucky 13: Roussillon

Day #13 of 30 paintings with my non-dominate hand

The Provence area of France is chock full of tiny little towns perched high on a hill and surrounded by a wall for fortification.  One such village we explored was Roussillon.  We actually set out on a mission to find me authentic hand made pastels which come from the sands of the surrounding red-ocre mountains. ( Most of these small villages have very few sustainable businesses and are threatening to die out simply because the young flock to jobs in the city.)  As quaint as the towns are it was the approach, or the distant view, that I loved seeing the most.  So on Day #13 I decided to paint Roussillon.

5 x 5 watercolor, Roussillon

 This was my first attempt.  It was time consuming and laborious.  I was way too concerned about referencing my photo and i somehow found myself backed into corners and lost on meandering paths.  Not a lot of fun.  Just as I was thinking that day 13 was UNlucky I decided to give it one more pass...quick and dirty with more regard to how I remembered the scene feeling, as opposed to what the camera said.

I lay out my colors on gut: no pencil guides, very little planning, get in/get out.  I closed my eyes and remembered being in the car looking up towards the city.

7" x 5" watercolor Roussillon Redux

Almost a pleasant hour later here it is.  No attempt at realism...just the memory of lots of squarish buildings, all ochre and gold, tumbling down a hill til they are stopped by a wall.  There is a lot of clustered greenery in those reddish scenes as everything that is not paved is planted.  warm and cool.  done.  Day 13 to bed.

Does one appeal to you over the other?  Funny how similar they are, and no doubt because they were done on the same day with the same color palette.  Vote for your favorite in the comments section.  If you receive this by email just double click on the blog title and it will take you to the blog.  Scroll down and at the bottom you will see the word "comments."  enter your choice there....by doing it this way you can also see what others prefer.  Personally the jury is out....they will look different to me tomorrow!

Thanks for sharing the challenge.

Day #10: Provence

I wanted to do this photo from Provence because I loved the cool blues against the warm orangey color of the building.  But i also saw a lot of straight lines that really needed to be .... straight!  so, i cut these strips of masking tape (scissors helped) and laid them out on my paper.  I just peeled them off and moved them around until i had painted in a few of the longest lines in the design. i would have to punt on the windows and doors.

In retrospect this was a challenging picture to choose and not just because it is composed primarily of straight lines.  As i began i realized that my limited knowledge of watercolor prevented me from making the many shadows as interesting as i imagined them.  i couldnt remember whether they go down first or last and i got rather tangled up in the layering.  But i still think it came out as a crisp reminder of a lovely scene i captured one morning while exploring a small French village in Provence.

"Provence"

7" x 5"  watercolor on paper

BUY HERE

I feel funny referring to these pieces as my left handed work as there are many left handed painters who dont see this effort as a 'big deal.'  A friend suggested calling them my southpaw creations. One elaborated on this calling it spaw or s'paw for short. Another friend suggested the "sinistra series" as sinistra is latin for left side.  I've also seen such referred to as "off hand" or non-dominant hand work.  I suppose I'll continue to use a combo of all these references.  Whatever we call it, i appreciate your comments and support.  And it tickles me that many of you want to hang these "limited edition" masterpieces!!