Impressionism

   Impressionism is an art movement that was started by a group of French painters who decided to discard old ways of doing art. Lines were replaced by rounded shapes or tiny dots. Dark shadows became colorful and bright. These painters often enjoyed painting outside. This is where the term plein air painting got started. Plein air means "outside" in French. Artists began to discard old painting supplies and picked up box easels and panting tubes, allowing them to easily travel outdoors with their supplies. I can imagine the energy the artists felt when they actually decided to toss away the technique of painting shadows with dark color.

   Impressionism is one of my favorite types of art. I can feel the warmth of the sun, smell the brightly colored flowers, and see them dance in the wind. Impressionism is a looser way of painting, a less uptight method that shows softness in the final piece. Looking at a piece of impressionistic art is like peeking into a dream. It is often familiar yet mysterious.

   One of my favorite memories is going to a museum as a young child with my mother. We went to the huge collections of Claude Monet's paintings. I remember being fascinated by the haystack paintings. The paintings were done at different times of the day.