Claude Monet is one of my favorite artists, and I'm particularly fond of his "Houses of Parliament" series of paintings. I did this study of Monet's painting as a way to better understand his style and technique. I have seen Monet's paintings on exhibit in museums and also in books, but I felt that studying his art in this way, by attempting to recreate one of his paintings, allowed me to "dig a little deeper". It gave me the opportunity to look at things with a more observant eye, and to comprehend his technique a little better, especially his use of color and brush strokes. Monet worked with a very limited palette so I eliminated black and white from the colors I used. He also worked in an almost dry brush technique and layered paint as a way to create texture. In making this piece, it was not my intention to complete a replica of Monet's painting. I simply intended to challenge myself and considered this an exercise in studying one of the masters.

Music I listened to while creating this piece: Moby, Kid Rock, Puddle of Mudd, Nirvana, Serenade for Strings in E Major by Antonin Dvorak