As a group of artists
the Impressionists
have long been my favorites...
I suppose it is
the sense of
romance...
and the atmospheric
quality of their paintings...
but it was also
the idea of
the elevation of the mundane
to the magical..
that appealed to me...
capturing ordinary people
doing ordinary things...
like reading..
or relaxing at a picnic..
perhaps the most intriguing thing
for me was the notion that
Claude Monet
built a garden in Giverny
with the sole purpose of painting
what he planted...
As a gardener myself..
I know that what we plant often takes years
to grow to fit our vision..
much as our artistic vision grows
as we take time daily for practice...
a dream realized
was visiting the gardens of Monet...
it was even more stunning in person than I could have imagined...
I have seen a lot of gardens in my life...
but this one is beyond words...
I took so many photos, that I will have to split them up into
two posts and hope dear reader that you are as in love with
it as I was...
and though it was a chilly day...
and grey...
there was always the light..
the impressionistic lure...
If you have never been there
I would say that there are 3 distinct areas of interest..
the pond..
the gardens...
the house...
the photos I am sharing
with you today are all of the pond area with the
iconic green bridge..
and though there was a crush of tourists...
at one point, I was concerned that the tiny bridge would collapse...
they were all very polite and almost
...reverential
If you are interested in reading more about
the gardens...
go
Part Two is coming soon...
I still have so much to share with you...
and now that my travels are done..
I will soon have time to get back into the studio...
As always, thank you for stopping by...
ciao, ciao!
