I began my painting journey by teaching my daughter about Monet when she was in kindergarten, almost 10 years ago. We made little watercolor copies of his wheat stack paintings and took a field trip to our local botanical gardens and sketched the water lilies. By doing this little study with my daughter I opened the door to one of the greatest joys of my life. I began carving out time here and there to sketch and paint. While waiting outside tennis lessons, I sketched and played around with my watercolors. When we went on long road trips, I always had my favorite sketch book and watercolors handy in the front seat. At night, when we finally settled down to watch a TV show, I sketched and painted

I would use this time to study Monet, Corrot, Morisot and the like. I made little studies of their works, and tried to untangle their process for myself. I eventually joined an online artist friend, Michelle Wooderson in a summer impressionist challenge. I spent that summer getting up early every morning making small copies in oil paints in an antique photo album I turned into a sketchbook. As I worked my way through the impressionist’s that summer, several of these little studies would inspire larger paintings and deeper dives into a particular artist’s life. The influence these in depth studies have had on my artwork has been such an unexpected gift. The special time I set aside to focus on copying the masters has become something I treasure… my little antique oil sketchbook, that I’ve been slowly filling with copies from some of my favorites, has become one of my favorite places to find inspiration.

While my art has definitely benefitted from these studies, the joy that sharing these with my daughter and my students has brought me has fueled the flames to study more. Watching my Della recognize and name artists we’ve studied over the years when we visit museums has been such a treat. I relish hearing the excited stories and seeing pictures my students take when they visit museums and art galleries and recognize the masters.

If I could give a new artists or creative any advise, I’d say spend some time learning about, and from the generations past who mastered your craft so well. Even study the artists you may not be drawn too at first. I didn’t love Whistler’s work right away. It wasn’t soft in the way I like Monet’s work, but Della was interested in his story, so we researched and did a study on his life and work. She was drawn to the fact that he was an American artist … and as we learned more about him, his life and his love for his wife softened my view of his work. After we finished a short biography about him, Della made a comparison with Mr Darcy, and that pretty much secured his place in my heart.

If you ever find yourself feeling stuck, lost or just drained in your creative time, spend some time with on of the greats. Even reading about the life of Bethe Morisot was every bit as beneficial as studying her artwork. I’ve been told time and again to get out in nature when your stuck or uninspired… and I whole heartedly believe that is good, sound advice. Especially since that’s exactly what some of my favorite masters did when they painted. However, I think curling up with a great big book full of beautiful paintings by your favorite artist is equally inspiring. Throw in a sketchbook, a nice pencil that feels good in your hand and a hot cup of tea and you’ve pretty much created the perfect afternoon!

I hope this encourages you to study some of the Masters and their lives. I hope the next time you’re at a used book shop or a thrift store you’ll check for big, beautiful, art books. Most of all, I hope this encourages you to create!.

Cheers!

Lauren

In my next post I’ll share some of my favorite

resources and tools for a wonderfully rich

and fun for all ages Monet Master Study!