A Windy Walk

It was time for another study of the masters. I had yet to choose an artwork by Claude Monet, so his painting "Cliff Walk" seemed like a good choice. I am mesmerized by the impressionists ability to capture a moment with little blurry blobs of paint. Studying this painting in depth, it looks like he used the same, tiny brush for the entire painting, working his way through the details one little mark at a time. 

At first glance, Monet's choices of delicate desaturated pastel color palette (which he of course is known for) make mine look harsh and contrasted. I am also pretty sure I experienced the day as much more windy (had I been there)! There is also the difference between the mediums: acrylics vs oils, primed canvas vs natural. 

Once I establish a more permanent studio for myself, I will look forward to diving back into oils. They are a very different medium to work with. I remember the first time I switched from acrylics to oil paints, I loved the continued workability of the oils, the way you had complete control over the saturation and opacity, thin layers or big globs. This painting, I will argue, is very hard to reproduce with anything other than oils, because of this. Of course, even with oils, I would never expect to get anywhere near Monet's mastering of the medium and his style. But it sure is fun to try.