In this post I take a closer look at one of my favorite paintings, Impression, Sunrise by Claude Monet – the painting which gave Impressionism its name. Claude Monet, Impression, Sunrise, 1872 Key Facts About Impression, Sunrise Impression, Sunrise was painted in 1872, when Monet was 32. It depicts the port of Le Havre in France,…
How to Paint like Claude Monet
Claude Monet in Front of His House at Giverny, 1921 In this post I will be taking a deeper look into one of my favorite artists, Claude Monet. Monet and many of the other great Impressionists have been instrumental to my own development as an artist, particularly in relation to color and brushwork. Like many…
Using Google Arts & Culture To See The Master Paintings Up Close
Google Arts & Culture (formerly Google Art Project) is an online initiative which provides public access to extremely high-resolution photos of artworks and cultural objects. The initiative has partnered with many museums to provide intimate access to some of the most famous paintings in history. Below are some of my favorite master paintings up close. The first…
How To Develop Your Own Unique Artistic Style
One of the most common problems I hear from my readers is…. “How do I develop my own unique artistic style?” I remember this question frustrated me in the early days of my painting journey. The question actually crippled my progress as I tried to force some kind of unique artistic style, rather than let it…
The Cliffs Of Étretat Through The Eyes Of Different Artists
The cliffs at Étretat seem to be a popular subject to paint. They have been painted by several famous artists such as Claude Monet, Eugene Boudin, Gustave Courbet, Gustave Loiseau and Henri Matisse. The reason the cliffs are such a popular subject to paint is most likely the naturally strong design created by the formation…
How To Paint In A High Key (Plus Master Painting Examples)
In this post I discuss how you can use a high key to create beautiful displays of color in your paintings. So what is a high key? It basically means you push all the values in your painting towards the lighter end of the value scale. So your darks will become mid-tones and your lights…
How To Paint A Vivid Sunset (Plus Master Painting Examples)
I absolutely love sunset (and sunrise) paintings. During these times of the day, the contrast between light and dark sharpens, the details start to fade and all these beautiful colors start to get involved. As there is generally less clarity in sunset scenes, you need to rely more on color and light to create interest…
How The Impressionists Used Complementary Colors To Great Effect
Complementary colors are basically colors which are on directly opposite sides of the color wheel. So blue is a complement of orange, red is a complement of green, yellow is a complement of violet and so on. Complementary colors provide striking visual effects when paired together. Claude Monet said this about complementary colors in 1888:…
How To Use Atmospheric Perspective To Create Depth In Your Paintings
What Is Atmospheric Perspective? Atmospheric perspective (or aerial perspective) refers to how the atmosphere affects how we see objects as they recede into the distance. Atmospheric perspective indicates that as an object recedes into the distance relative to the viewer, we see that object with reduced clarity, value and color saturation. In addition, objects in…
How To Use Increased Color Saturation To Draw Attention To Your Focal Point
An amazing technique for drawing attention to your focal point is to use increased color saturation to contrast against areas of more muted colors. I used this technique in my most recent painting, Queenstown From The Shore: This was a fairly gloomy painting with mostly muted colors. But this presents a perfect opportunity to draw…
