PAINT LIKE MONET

One of my favourite works by Claude Monet is his 1891 painting Poplars on the Epte. It is one of a series of paintings he undertook of poplar trees along this part of the river near to his house in Giverny. The story goes that when a local farmer was about to cut the trees down, Monet purchased them so that they could stand a little longer and he could finish his work. The painting is part of the National Gallery of Scotland’s collection and there is a picture of it on their website, which you can enlarge to see almost every brushstroke.

Painting a study of this Impressionist masterpiece is a great way to understand how Monet used loose directional brushstrokes to bring the scene to life, creating the effect of the wind blowing through the trees and rippling the surface of the river.

This masterclass is about using bold but considered brushstrokes and how the way you apply your paint can be