Weeping Willow, Giverny 1922

Claude Monet made this painting, Weeping Willow, Giverny, with oil on canvas at an unknown date. It’s a cascade of marks, a real frenzy of brushstrokes in a dance of greens, yellows, reds, and blues – a colour palette as emotional as it is descriptive. Up close, you can see how the materiality of the paint is crucial; thick daubs and swirls create a texture that almost vibrates. The way Monet layers these strokes, you can practically feel the wind rustling through the leaves, the sunlight dappling the ground. Look at the lower part of the canvas, the reds and oranges pulse like embers; it's a fiery base from which the willow's blues emerge. It’s all about the touch, the gesture, the raw physicality of applying paint. Monet's the grandaddy of painters who dared to let process be visible, to let feeling guide the hand. I think of him as a kindred spirit, chasing after that fleeting moment, knowing full well that the painting is never really finished, just abandoned.