Impressions of Monet's Garden Workshop
First stop: Paris! The six of us stayed in a boutique hotel on the Right Bank. Easily walking distance to the Louvre and Musee D'Orsay. We tried to cram everything we could into our two days. A tour of the city aboard a Tuk-Tuk when we first arrived. Next two days we took in museums and managed some shopping. It went by quickly for me, but I was still excited about getting to Giverny to start our workshop.
Arriving at our B & B the Moulin des Chenneveries, we met up with the other two participants and our hosts. We all had our green aprons to wear for the week. Being able to paint in Monet's garden while it is closed to the public is so special. You do have to give way to the gardeners who work fast and furious in what little time they have when it's closed. The gardens were spectacular! I was a little disappointed that the purple wisteria was about gone, but the white had taken over and the colors of the iris and peonies were unbelievable. How can you have enough time to paint all this gorgeousness??
We did our best to catch what we could on canvas and paper. My advice to you is, don't wait! It doesn't matter how skilled you are as a painter, you will grow from the experience of being somewhere for a week or whatever and do nothing but art! You don't have to be thinking about anything or anyone else, no laundry, no dinners, no taxiing anyone around, it's your time to enjoy being outdoors, being an artist, and being with others who love the same!
If you are interested in attending a painting workshop, I offer one every summer abroad. I teach classes through the rest of the year. I would love to share an adventure like this with you! We will be sharing our paintings, drawings, and photographs in a show in October. Hope you'll be able to come! You might want to take home a little piece of Monet's Garden with you!
