Nothing is more fun than spending an afternoon with another retired teacher…woman…and friend, painting Monet Magic in a wildly energetic dance of colour and creativity!  And that’s what it was…a dance!

Often times I have spoken to students about the personality of our individual mark-making.  In fact, marks become so highly recognizable that often times artists do not sign their work in the formal tradition of yesteryear, but instead, simply include information on the back of the panel/canvas, so as to not distract from the image.

Like some sort of choreographed number, Gillian and I switched places every five or ten minutes this afternoon, in order to collaborate and weave our marks throughout the piece.

Gillian had a dresser, originally brown in colour, that she recently finished with a purple coat of paint.

The dresser has some interesting design details.  (apologies for the bright light in the photos…but…it was such a lovely atmosphere for painting, especially after the noon hour treat of a Cobbs ham croissant!)

Given that it was already prepped, we worked together to create a free-flowing piece, somewhat symmetrical, in the spirit of Claude Monet.  For those of my readers who do not know his work, here is a section of a water lily painting.

Because of the depth of the purple paint, I decided not to use the impasto tints most associated with Monet’s work, but to build layer upon layer from the deeper colours, forward, to the lighter.  We kept all of the marks very free flowing.

This series of photographs show the process.  We will follow up with photos once the piece is varnished and off of the fly sheet.  It will be quite spectacular.  Thank you, Gillian, for conversation, laughs and shared energy.  It was a beautiful afternoon!

Drawing boundaries for water, sky and vegetation with loose drawing marks. A decision to use Ultramarine for sky atmosphere and Pthalo for water.

Incorporating a little bit of lavender into the sky atmosphere.

Building up colour into the central area. Deciding on some wild irises to create a bit of a vertical movement.

Could I ever complete a piece without injecting red?  I don’t think so!  Gillian was daring and didn’t even hesitate!

Important that the entire piece be integrated…top and sides, included.

Yummy surfaces!  Thanks, Gillian, for sharing colour, light, conversation, travel stories and invention!  And for the record, this is a very cheesy music video….but, it’s perfect and well-suited for the experience!