Edgar Degas once said about Claude Monet: “He has left us the present and future of art. He is the lighthouse of painting.”

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The career of this great artist proved to be a revolution in painting, and at the time he painted, he changed how critics and laymen alike viewed Impressionist paintings. His work still stands as a model for all who wish to paint impressionistically today.

In this article, we will look at some tips from Monet on how to paint like him.
First, let’s take a closer look at what Impressionism is. To get an idea about it, we should see what the name meant when starting. It was originally intended as a derogatory term against one of the artists’ first exhibitions. The French press at the time snubbed them as ‘impressionists’ because they seemed to record only fleeting moments rather than painting solid objects.

The word came from the title of Frederic Bazille, “Impression: Sunrise,” which was shown in that exhibition. However, impressionism has nothing to do with capturing reality or detailing facts about an object. It is more about creating your interpretation of what something looks like and not being tied down by details.

At first glance, it might seem easier to paint impressionistically rather than realistically since you don’t have to be accurate. Well, not quite so! The great thing about Impressionist paintings is that they often tell a story. For instance, you can easily guess what time of day Monet’s paintings were made from the colors he used.

For instance, in “The Bridge at Argenteuil,” it is early morning, and everything looks cool and grey since the sun hasn’t risen yet. In contrast, if you look at “Boating on the River Epte,” it must have been late afternoon because of the yellowish-orange color scheme of the painting. This way, you can show how many hours passed between them by using colors alone! Monet once said:

“Without colors, I am absolutely nothing; with them, I am somebody.”

When starting to paint like Monet, one thing to remember is that you should practice painting with your weakest sense. If you can see things in your head, but can’t get them on the paper, try using colors or perspective. If you don’t know what something looks like, then take a long walk and observe nature around you.

If you’re struggling with perspective, look at Monet’s paintings for help! He was known for his loose style of painting which he referred to as ‘flowing’ or ‘fast brushstrokes.’ You can make these fast strokes if it is difficult for you to paint details.

Another good tip is looking at the subject itself and its surroundings. For instance, one might think that “The Seine at Argenteuil” is just about the river. However, if you look at it carefully, you’ll see that Monet has included a hill on its bank, trees, and even some people! This way, the painting will have more depth since there are parts in the foreground, middle ground, and background.

When trying to paint like Monet, don’t be afraid of putting many colors into your composition. If you think that’s too much work, remember that he didn’t use an easel when he painted outside! He would throw his paint onto the canvas with color when he felt like it.

So when starting to paint like Monet, take your time when adding each color or brushstroke. You can make several versions of the same composition if you don’t like how it looks. Like Monet, keep them all and return to them later when you feel more skilled!

When painting outside, he didn’t care about mixing colors – he would use whatever was there. Of course, this isn’t advisable for beginners because it takes away the time needed to train your eye. Therefore, mix your colors beforehand so that they are ready at hand. For instance, if you want a yellow tree, then dry-brushing over red spots will give you the desired result without looking for colors in nature itself.

A very important tip is to put one brushstroke of paint into each area. That way, everything has its value or color, and there is no way for you to go wrong. That doesn’t mean that you can’t put several colors next to each other, but they must fit in so well that no one can tell.

Here is a basic color wheel showing some of the primary and secondary colors:

One last advice when painting like Monet is not to forget your surroundings. This means that you should include the sky into every composition since he did. The sky didn’t always have to be blue, though! If it were evening, then Monet would leave that part blank instead of putting in a blueish-grey tone as most painters would do.

Now that you know how to paint like Monet, why not try practicing with his self-portrait? You can then proceed to his other works, which are just as beautiful, if not more!