Monet: Painter of Light (Part I)
Claude Monet (1840-1926) worked in plein air and his style came from a shift in focus. Instead of looking at the object itself, he focused on the patches of color forming the object. He advised: Merely think, here is a little square of blue, here is an oblong of pink. Paint it as it looks to you, the exact color and shape of the patches.
Monet had found a different way of painting by capturing the subtleties of light and color and he experimented with the effects of light throughout his long career. He often painted patches of complementary colors next to each other. This causes your eye to rapidly bounce back and forth between the two colors, giving a shimmering effect. Sometimes we say the painting vibrates, and the end product was a freer looking painting.