Welcome back friends!
| Click this link to hear a story about Monet! | In 1985, a French artist named Claude Monet thought to himself, "I want to paint the beauty and tranquillity of my Lily garden. I want to create paintings that are so large that they would go around the room, people could walk in and be surrounded by the light!" |
Monet took his idea and turned it into this beautiful work of art! We can see underneath the water where grass looks like its flowing and moving. We can see the water lilies that are floating on the surface of the pond. We can see the reflection of clouds, these clouds are not just white puffy clouds they have lavender and pink in them from the way the light hits the water, and even water itself is not just blue or green, it is turquoise and navy. Do you have a pond or lake, or even a pool or puddle nearby? Take a look at the way the water reflects the sky and how the colors dance with each other!
Monet wanted to create this curved, huge painting that would surround the viewer (like you!) in a scene of water, flowers and sky. He called this work Water Lilies. The painting is made with three large canvases that are joined together in a curved row. When a painting is made with three separate panels, it is a called a triptych. At the center, lilies bloom in a pond of green and blue that is lighted by the refection of the midday sky. You can even see the reflections of the of the white and lavender clouds!
Monet wanted to see his paintings line a room and curve through the galleries. They would have no edges and no corners, just like the water in the real Lily pond by his home. The sky would have no edges or corners either. There, He transformed how people would look at art into an experience in which the viewer could nearly hear the sound of the water and feel the soft breeze.
What do you think if these paintings?
How do they make you feel?
Explore more paintings by Monet of his gardens!
What do you think if these paintings?
How do they make you feel?
Explore more paintings by Monet of his gardens!
Art Break!
Would you like to make your very own Monet pond? Heres what you will need:
- Paper plate
- Paint (blues, greens, whites, and purples)
- Spoon
- Tissue paper or coffee filter
- Scissors
- Glue Sticks
- Green paper
- Marker for flower (I chose pink flowers)
- Paper plate
- Paint (blues, greens, whites, and purples)
- Spoon
- Tissue paper or coffee filter
- Scissors
- Glue Sticks
- Green paper
- Marker for flower (I chose pink flowers)
Begin by gathering your supplies! On your paper plate, you will put small dabs of paint all over. Try to use several different shades of color!
Use the bottom of your spoon blend and spread out the paint. Try not to mix the colors too much. Add more paint if you need to, it is okay for it to be a thick layer with a lot of texture!
Lay your pond to the side to dry! Depending on how much paint you used, it might need to dry for an hour or two.
 | With help, cut circles out of your green paper and tissue paper. These will be your lily pads and flowers! Go ahead and place the green lily pads in your wet pond. Fold your tissue paper circles in half, and then in half again. Use your marker to color in both sides, and add a few drops of water to help the color spread! This will give you a beautiful watercolor effect. Open them back to a circle and lay them to dry. |  |
 |  |
Once everything has dried, use your glue stick to add your flowers onto the lily pads..
Now you have your very own Monet Water Lily pond!
Now you have your very own Monet Water Lily pond!
