Category: waterlilies

Photos for Friday in the Garden

My inspiration today is Monet’s amazing garden. Mine isn’t close to his, but I’m working on it.

The New York Botanical Garden is holding a wonderful exhibition of Monet’s paintings with a replica of his house and garden in Giverny, France, and I must go see it. It’s the closest I will get any time soon of being in his actual garden. And, from what I’ve learned, the garden will change with the seasons. Amazing!

Claude Monet, Reflections of Clouds on the Water-Lily Pond, c. 1920, 200 × 1,276 cm (78.74 × 502.36 in), oil on canvas, Museum of Modern Art, New York City
(Creative Commons License Wikipedia)

Hit the link for more information, directions, and tickets. Yes, you have to purchase a ticket! For a specific day and time! Now I find that annoying. I like to just decide one day and go. But, no, now I have to buy a ticket.

I need more color in my own garden. More flowers, more colors, different heights, maybe more rocks, or statues. Some flowers need moving around for better sun exposure. The peonies are leaning toward the sun.

Looks like I have work to do. Yeah, more to-do’s on the list.

Breaking Resistance Mode in Twenty Minutes

Peach at the Beach (c)2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
7×10 Watercolor

The latest watercolor is finished. You can see how the colors change with the different lighting, but the feeling is the same. Sunny, breezy, comfortable day at the beach. Can you feel it?

The second photo was taken in the afternoon after I painted from my beach photo for twenty minutes. I took the top photo this morning which is more blue with early light, rather than the yellow of late day light. That’s what Monet was seeing when he painted his water lily garden and other scenes in all times of the day. Different time of day, different shadows, different color of light, different paintings of the same scene.

I wonder if Monet painted for only twenty minutes at a time. Makes sense if he did, because if he didn’t and painted on one work all day, the light would be different as the day passed and I know he has many works of the same scenes. I will have to look into it.

Anyway, I enjoy working quickly, when I do paint. Lately I’ve been in resistance mode and twenty minutes has been helping break that cycle quicker than usual.

As far as my subjects, I think it’s interesting to mix objects that would not normally live together in real life life fruit and sea shells. These were nice shells too. Great shapes and colors to keep it fresh.

If the momentum keeps up it will be a good thing. However, the weather here has turned cooler and it’s not conducive to beach going. Beach weather is on it’s way out, but memories of a great beach day will have to suffice.