Learn from the Masters – Claude Monet landscape paintings for kids

‘Learn from Masters’ blog series brings to you how kids learn to paint famous artworks at our online art classes and learn about the master painters. This week we talk about how kids can learn to paint Claude Monet landscapes, learn about his life and history, how it influenced his style of painting, and the unique styles and techniques in his paintings.

Claude Monet – Fun and Interactive Impressionist Painting For Kids

Claude Monet was a French artist known for painting in the style called Impressionism. With vivid colors, bold brushstrokes and a revolutionary spirit, Monet was famous during his lifetime, and his paintings remain popular today in art museums around the world.

Learn and discover about the impressionist painter Claude Monet and how kids learn to apply the Art of Impressionism in landscape paintings at Nimmy’s Art.

Who was Claude Monet

Claude Monet was born on November 14, 1840, in Paris, France. Claude Monet was actually born Oscar-Claude Monet and his parents referred to him as Oscar. Monet became professionally known as Claude Monet, but some of his very early drawings are signed “O. Monet”.

Most of Monet’s subjects were from nature. Like other Impressionists, he was fascinated by the way light and shadows change during the day. He often painted the same scene again and again to show all the variations of light and shadow.

In the 1880s Monet settled in Giverny, outside of Paris. There he painted one of his most famous series of paintings, called Water Lilies. Monet died on December 5, 1926, in Giverny.

“The richness I achieve comes from Nature, the source of my inspiration.” 

-Claude Monet

Monet’s painting style – Impressionism

Impressionist artists were not trying to paint a reflection of real life, but an ‘impression’ of what the person, light, atmosphere, object or landscape looked like to them. This is why they were called impressionists.

In the 1860s, Monet became friends with other artists, including Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The group of artists became known as the Impressionists because of Monet’s painting called Impression: Sunrise.

Before impressionism, landscapes in art were often imaginary and perfect. These landscapes were painted inside in a studio. The impressionists changed that concept, they painted outdoors.

As they were outside, they looked at how light and color changed the scenes. They often painted thickly and used quick and bold brush strokes.

How can kids learn to paint Monet landscapes

Impressionists tried to capture the movement and life of what they saw and show it to us as if it were happening before our eyes as an impression on canvas.

At Nimmy’s Art, when we create landscape paintings by Monet, we try and identify the different variations in colors in each element that is a result of the changes in light and shadow. This helps us identify the undertone or base layer for the paintings.

Another important aspect in the Impressionistic paintings by Monet is the choice of colors and bold brush strokes. Unlike other acrylic paintings in our online art classes, Monet landscapes need a rich use of color and paint. This creates a texture that is exclusive to these paintings, and each kid’s creation stands unique in its own way.

In Monet landscapes, kids create brush strokes by simply creating marks on the paper using the brush rather than filling an area completely with paint. Depending on the type of subject, these strokes can be in the same direction or in multiple directions. This can often seem challenging for kids but like any art form, they can perfect these strokes by practice.

While kids learn the technique in our live online art classes, they practice more using our online video tutorials. An easy tip to help kids create a rich textured painting is to load their brushes with paint after every 3 strokes.

Benefits of Learning about Impressionism and Fine Art

Building skills and practicing techniques, completing art projects and learning to express themselves in new ways helps kids gain confidence and perseverance. Without even realizing it, kids that participate in the arts are consistently analyzing and solving problems. 

Practicing art develops children’s skills in reasoning and understanding that is necessary for success in any career. From an educational standpoint, children learn an abundance of rich history all while having fun. The art world is filled with artists having vastly different points of view. As we help kids learn about art, they think about how the artists are connected to each other and how they are part of the time and place in which they lived. We talk about movements in art, how they have evolved in the past due to culture, place, and style, and how art is still evolving today.