A Monet Moment

So ... did I tell you? I'm not just going to Paris. As you can probably guess from the name of this post, I'm also going to Giverny ... to visit Monet's garden and home. It's part of our tour itinerary. We'll be travelling by train, along the banks of the Seine, to Vernon in the beautiful region of Normandy. 

This book - "Monet" by Christoph Heinrich (published in 2000), is one I bought - probably on sale in the bargain bin at my local bookstore - years ago. I remember reading it, and as I look back at its pages, I find it exciting to think that in less than five months, I'll be there in PERSON.

This is my mouse pad ~ yep, that's "a Monet." I don't know the name of this painting, and I should. It's been under my hand now for - oh, I dunno - over five years, I'd say. 

Using a simple palette, Monet created dreamy worlds with his magnificent strokes. "According to James Heard in his book Paint Like Monet, analysis of Monet's paintings show Monet used these nine colors:

- Lead white (modern equivalent = titanium white)

- Chrome yellow (modern equivalent = cadmium yellow light)

- Cadmium yellow

- Viridian green

- Emerald green

- French ultramarine

- Cobalt blue

- Madder red (modern equivalent = alizarin crimson)

- Vermilion

- Ivory black (but only if you're copying a Monet from before 1886)"

(Note: Yes, that's one color - "ivory black" - in the list above, not ivory and black. Ivory Black is actually Pigment Black 9, made from charred bones.)

The back of my Monet book shows a black and white photo of the painter in his garden. He looks like a gnome with his hat and long beard, standing amidst the lush leaves and trees all around him.

Too bad I am not going to see Monet's gardens in the spring. That's the best time to see everything in bloom, full of color and life. I'll be there at the end of September. The flowers may not be all in bloom, but at least there will be leaves . And maybe Monet's fantôme!