Level 2 Art
Tutors choice OCAD art Award
I chose to explore the themes of light and water through the work of Claude Monet.
Claude Monet fascinates me. His unique style captured my imagination when I first saw a painting of his lily pads. The way he tried to capture water and light inspired me to try to do something similar. Even before I had ever come across Claude Monet’s work, water intrigued me. I find it amazing the way water can reflect its surroundings. Claude Monet’s strokes are loose and quick, giving his paintings movement. I wanted to choose an artist I knew very well and whose style I could try to emulate. The thing I find with Claude Monet’s work is that no matter what level of artistic ability or how skilled you are, you could never recreate his paintings as he did. In a way, you create your own style while painting because of this although you are still influenced heavily by the artist you are trying to imitate. After a long period of trying to learn how to paint as he did, I noticed my paintings had obtained looser brushstrokes and this style had become familiar to me. I found my comfort zone and my best work is from what I have practised the most. I really loved Monet’s use of colour. Around that period colour was certainly used sparingly by other artists ..“One morning one of us had run out of black; and that was the birth of Impressionism” - Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
To conclude, I am quite amazed by how much I’ve learnt from this final project. The journey I’ve been on, having explored the themes of light and water through the eyes of the great artist Claude Monet, has been fascinating. I was very fortunate to visit his house and gardens in Giverny in October seeing first hand the beautiful garden that was the inspiration for many of his most famous paintings.
The November visit to the National Gallery in London was another highlight and gave me a heartfelt appreciation for his work and creative impressionistic style. I hope my project, especially my final painting, helps to convey aspects of my artistic journey and the evolution of my skill in capturing light and water and of course Monet’s signature lily pads which have become symbols of impressionism.
We at OCAD think this piece is highly skilled and a result of endless sampling and development.
To develop this style of painting to this high level takes huge commitment and motivation. The colours and composition is just stunning and we know you will have a lot of fans out there that like this as much as we do.
Congratulations Gianna, incredible painting