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A few years ago my wife and I went on a Viking river cruise in France, the first of a number of very enjoyable Viking cruises we have completed.
Our cruise in France began and ended in Paris, with an eight-day boat trip on the Seine River in between (we also added three days in Paris before the cruise and a train trip to London for a three-day stay in Oxford after the trip). When I reviewed the itinerary before the trip I was excited about … Continue reading
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A row of red flowers grows in the garden outside artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
Two water lilies grow in Le Jardin d'Eau (The Water Garden) at artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
Two boats, framed by plants, float in Le Jardin d'Eau (The Water Garden) at artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
A pale yellow flower grows in the garden outside artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
A window with green shutters is surrounded by ivy near artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
Flowers grow behind a fence near artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
A white lily grows beside Le Jardin d'Eau (The Water Garden) at artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
A sunflower grows in the garden outside artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
Flowers bloom in the garden outside artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
A bridge crosses Le Jardin d'Eau (The Water Garden) at artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France. A number of Monet's paintings included this bridge.
A pink water lily grows in Le Jardin d'Eau (The Water Garden) at artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
Lilies display yellow and deep red in the garden outside artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
Flowers grow in and beside Le Jardin d'Eau (The Water Garden) at artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
A white lily grows in Le Jardin d'Eau (The Water Garden) at artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
A yellow lily grows in the garden outside artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
Orange flowers grow in the garden outside artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
A cluster of flowers grows in the garden outside artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
A deep red and white lily grows in the garden outside artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
A yellow lily grows in the garden outside artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
Pink flowers grow in the garden outside artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
Red flowers grow in the garden outside artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
Two boats rest beyond flowers in Le Jardin d'Eau (The Water Garden) at artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
Water lilies grow in Le Jardin d'Eau (The Water Garden) at artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
Flowers grow in the garden outside artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
Water lilies grow in Le Jardin d'Eau (The Water Garden) at artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
Red lilies grow in the garden outside artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
Two boats float in Le Jardin d'Eau (The Water Garden) at artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
Water lilies float in Le Jardin d'Eau (The Water Garden) at artist Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.
touring the Louvre, seeing historic D-Day beaches and the American cemetery in Normandy, visiting small river towns along the Seine and seeing castles and other ancient structures.
I also saw that one morning was dedicated to a visit of artist Claude Monet’s home and gardens in Giverny. I’m not much of a fan of impressionism as an art form — I’m more into realistic paintings — so I assumed that morning would rank low on my list of memories from the trip.
I was wrong. And surprised.
As I wandered through Monet’s gardens and photographed scenes that were the subject of many of his paintings, I could better understand Monet’s transition from a more traditional artist into a style referred to as French Impressionist. The scenes in the garden were pretty, but ordinary. Painting them in a realistic style would provide limited variety of subject matter. But focusing on the light, color, form and composition of a landscape (impressionism) rather than realistic detail inserted creativity into the scene.
That’s when I decided I would explore converting my nice, but rather boring, photos of Monet’s garden into something that would mimic Monet’s impressionist style using relatively small and thin, but visible, brush strokes.
It would be a significant change for me as I strive for realism in my photographs, but Monet garden scenes called for Monet impressionistic treatment.
When we returned home from the trip I experimented with some processes in Photoshop that could convert my photographs into something resembling a digital impressionist painting. It took a few days and quite a bit of research before I came up with something that I liked.
I’m still not a fan of impressionist paintings, but I now have a better appreciation of the style.