Water Lilies 1917

Monet made these "Water Lilies" paintings throughout his life using oil paint. I love how he approaches making a painting like an ongoing process. What strikes me most is the texture. Monet isn’t trying to hide the paint, it's there, thick and thin in places, creating these layers. You can see the way the brush moved, almost like he’s dancing with the canvas, layering blues and purples to give the illusion of depth. Look at the way he suggests the lilies themselves, these quick dabs of white and pink. It’s less about perfect representation and more about capturing the feeling, the fleeting moment of light on the water. You could get lost in that for hours. Monet to me is like Twombly - the older they got, the weirder and looser they got, and that's something to aspire to.