My morning is very French here off the southwest coast of Canada. I slept late (9:00 am) hand ground my coffee beans, made espresso and baked the chocolate croissants. The sun is shining.
Wave photographs are almost the equivalent of my warm up sketches in a figure drawing session. The process gets me stretched down low to the ground in odd angles and into that place where my eye starts to relentlessly compose and frame the world around me. Waves also feed an acceleration that pulls up any lazy cells in my being that thought they might just coast along through the photo shoot. NOT! We are here to capture the movement of light. Time to get to work.
Good morning and Happy Thursday to you!
SEED: Speaking of the French, I made a most treasured purchase a few days ago. It is the 282 catalogue (or catalog) published by The Art Institute of Chicago for the 1995 exhibition of Claude Monet‘s (1860-1946) art work. Did you know that he used to get angry and slash his canvases and may have personally destroyed over 500 paintings? His art career was 60 years long but he is best known for his earlier paintings during the impressionism hay-day and of course his lilies. Though my paintings and even my photography have often been said to remind people of Monet I have never studied his work – rather I reclined into embarrassment and pride at being compared to such a great artist, too scared to even give it serious consideration. I personally had felt my work may have more in common with Camille Pissarro but that is another story. But over the next few weeks and months I am going to read about and study Monet’s work closely and see if I can see what it is that has people so often making this connection.
© 2012 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.
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Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.
From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada
Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com
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Creative Potager 
Bonjour, Terrill
Such a beautiful world Mayne Island is in the sunshine–well, who am I kidding, any time.
Your post reminded me of watching my talent mother-in-law create a delicate clay flower–perfect, beautiful. Each petal was a work of art.
She said, as I watched, “Here it is. Now it’s gone.” And she squeezed between her fingers.
My husband and I looked at one another in pain, in confusion.
It wasn’t until I read your account of Monet that I began to understand my mother-in-law’s actions. She wasn’t angry. For her, I think it wasn’t a lesson in…
It’s the journey not arriving
It’s the intangible not the tangible.
For Monet, I think his actions may have steamed from poor self-esteem. Who knows?
I am looking forward to reading about Monet’s artist career in great detail and will hopefully be inspired to write a post or two about what I find. Self-esteem can often be a creative beings greatest humbling guide and also torturous destroyer of great works. Have a most wonderful day my friend!
Me don’t know nothing about french except maybe french fries, french roast coffee, french press… Oh Monet, you say, hmm? I would have do a more through study of both….
yet the photograph of waves is always refreshing…
I have no idea what the heck I am talking about, just was making my voice heard.
Well I am glad you dropped by and made your voice heard Jeff 🙂 Today I made a medium roast instead of the very dark French Roast which is most delicious but I somehow like to keep it for weekends or special mornings – always drank black and in the late morning. It tastes and feels so decadent!
Ohhhhhhhhhhh I am excited Terrill about your study of Monet. . . .probably my most favorite impressionist artist. I had a chance to view his originals at the Muse de Orsay while in Paris and it was an other-worldly experience. And yes, I have seen a resemblence in some of your work to his. Will be on the look out for what your “study” of his work brings to future offerings from your brush.
Alison I envy you your visit with his originals at the Muse de Orsay in Paris. But is somehow nice to know that you have been as well. It is like almost getting to go. It is the intention of the Impressionist to capture light that and how the paint is applied to do this that I think I have in common with these painters. But it is going to be fun to study and see what else there might be to glean from their approach.
Nice post and yes I will have a chocolate Croissant thank you very much 🙂
Monet, Wow I have taken a whole class in Impressionism and liked Monet best…and my aunt gave me a Monet bracelet that I passed on to a daughter…How lovely to have a study lined up, what a great idea
I signed up for a gym today because the weather has been so inhibiting and I do not want to take medications and I signed up for a healing yoga class with my acupuncturist for 8 weeks. My study for 2012 is to work on the FEARS that are holding me back and to release them…one biggy is my relationship to money and it is surfing in on those waves…I can feel it…
Yes, sometimes one must lay down and take their best shot…and you seem to have the eye for just the perfect moment and capture.
( Did you read that novel the Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova ? – although fiction a lovely sideways glance at Impressionism)
Patricia I wish you all your best facing your fears. Not an easy task but one I know you are up to doing. I haven’t read Swan Thieves yet. It is on my list and thanks for the reminder. I remember looking it up when you first mentioned it and thought it was a “must read.” Now you have something that if I order from Amazon on your site you get points or something right?
I get 1/2 of 1% of what you order from Amazon from my site…Yes indeed! That’s the few beans in my bucket…:)
I thought it was something like that Patricia. I am going to try and order the book over the weekend and will drop by your place to do.
Terrill – The French start to your morning sounds delicious, and the color that you captured in the curve of that wave is extraordinary!
I definitely learned something new today — I had no idea that Monet may have in anger destroyed up to 500 pieces of his own paintings!
What a fantastic compliment having your work compared to Monet, Terrill. But I’m hardly surprised, as that’s how far you have come over the past year! I have always understood his earlier work was the most revered (and the lillies, yes!) but I never knew he had such a hot temper and destroyed a number of his own works. Ugh!
I am glad you think so Sam. I do feel as if I am coming into my full stride as an artist these past two years – a maturing as a painter that somehow can only come from a few decades of living. I also feel I have a good long stretch of expansion ahead of me. Feels good! The comment about destroying his work was made on May 16, 1927 at a private viewing of Monet’s Water Lilies murals by George Clemenceau who lamented that “Monet frequently slashed works out of dissatisfaction and anger, estimating that he may burned five hundred works.” reference: Claude Monet 1840-1926 by Charles F. Stuckery with the assistance of Sophia Shaw p. 257. It is not uncommon for artist to destroy their works as they only want those around that they feel adequately represent their work. When I was a child and teenager, my mother pulled more than one work away from me that I was going to destroy. Now I simply paint over something that I am no longer pleased with – using transformation rather than destruction to achieve the same goal. This is why some works do not go up for sale, I am not sure yet if they have a lasting quality that I am comfortable with bestowing on the world.
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