Day 5 - Monet's Badge of Honor

I’m feeling decidedly uninspired today, which may have something to do with the fact that I didn’t get much sleep last night. Yesterday was one of the first warm days in Chicago this year, and sometime in the late afternoon I realized that the AC wasn’t working. We opened all of the windows, but there aren’t any windows in the bedroom. (We live in a one bedroom right now and the baby sleeps in a bassinet in the bedroom). So… it was pretty warm and the baby was pretty unhappy about that and didn’t sleep well. Which means Mama didn’t sleep too great, either.

So, this morning while I drank my coffee, I was much more interested than usual in the amount of caffeine in said coffee. I had thought I was going to expand beyond the Impressionists today, but my groggy brain couldn’t figure out what I wanted to research. (Hey, I’m sure even the big name priv-lit authors I mentioned in my introductory blog had days like this!) I feel like you can’t really go wrong with Monet, so I decided to continue my exploration of his works.

I read the Metropolitan Museum’s page about Monet. (Find it here: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cmon/hd_cmon.htm ) Again, more than his work itself, I’m drawn to his story. I like to read about how the Impressionists were criticized in their time, and yet continued to paint in the Impressionistic style anyways. The article on Monet says that the Impressionists considered the criticism as a “badge of honor.” What if they had given up? What if Monet had followed the crowd and painted in the fashion that the “experts” thought he should? He might not be nearly as famous, or have had nearly the influence that he did. I think this is an important lesson for us all. As cliché as it may sound, not giving up in the face of criticism, and even using criticism to motivate you, really is such an important lesson. How many times have I not done something because there was even a *possibility* that others might think it was stupid? At first, I did not even want to write this simple blog because I thought it might appear to be a silly idea compared to Elizabeth Gilbert’s travels or Gretchen Rubin’s seemingly charmed New York life. But you know what? I’ve had a few people tell me they enjoy reading it, and I’m enjoying giving my morning coffee time a purpose. So here’s to Monet, and to viewing criticism as a badge of honor! You can accomplish so many things when you don’t listen to other people’s negativity!

Today’s picture is of Women in the Garden, one of Monet’s paintings initially considered too ambitious by many artists of his day:

Xoxo,

Diana

Day 4 - Dalmatians and Impressionism

I decided to spend another day learning a little bit about Impressionism, since I’ve only really read about specific artists or works and not on the broader topic of Impressionism itself. I read through the National Gallery’s Guide to Impressionism (find it here: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/learn-about-art/guide-to-impressionism/guide-to-impressionism/*/viewPage/1), and realized that Claude Monet was an Impressionist. This is probably not news to most people, however, let’s review: I am pretty much completely illiterate when it comes to art.

Monet is a famous name in art - famous enough that I think most people would recognize the name even if they don’t know he was an Impressionist. The first time I remember hearing about Monet is when I was twelve years old and taking painting lessons at a Hobby Lobby. At this point in my life, I was obsessed with puppies, as I think most girls are at some point during their childhood. Specifically, I was obsessed with Dalmatians, since I was lucky enough that my parents had allowed us to get a Dalmatian puppy. The only thing I wanted to paint was Dalmatian puppies. I painted Dalmatians in gardens, at the beach, and even in a gift box. I wasn’t a particularly talented painter, but I had fun creating these tributes to Dalmatians. The teacher did her best to not only teach us some about painting, but also to introduce us to some well-known painters. I remember Monet because she showed us his work, Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lilies (pictured below), and I liked it so much I decided to break my streak of Dalmatian paintings and paint a water-lily pond. So, I guess, even back then I was a fan of the Impressionists. I just didn’t pay enough attention to remember the term Impressionism.

Now, I’m rediscovering Impressionism. One snippet from the National Gallery’s guide that I found interesting was that “…significant to the Impressionists was an interest in the way in which the human mind processes what it sees. When we look at a landscape, or a crowd of people, we do not instantly see every face, or leaf in detailed focus, but as a mass of colour and light. Impressionist painters tried to express this experience.” I like this aspect of these paintings. Sometimes it’s nice to not focus on details, but on an overall experience. Maybe art viewed in this light is more attractive in a certain sense. There’s no pressure to find specific details, but rather the freedom to enjoy an overall experience. Something to think about at least.

Xoxo, 

Diana