Water Lilies, Yellow and Lilac 1917

Monet made this Water Lilies painting with oil on canvas as a kind of all-over field of vision, where every part of the painting is equally important. Look at how Monet applied the paint: it’s not about blending, it’s about dabbing different colors next to each other. Up close, you can see all these little distinct marks of color, lilac, yellow and green, sitting side by side. There’s one lily pad, almost in the center, ringed with a halo of yellow, with dabs of white and lilac on the flower. It's like he’s trying to catch the light itself. Monet was so obsessed with capturing how light changes things, and you can see this pursuit really coming to life here. It reminds me a little of Joan Mitchell's color and loose brushstrokes, as both artists show how art is not about perfect representation, but about the messy, beautiful process of seeing and feeling.