Waiting for the Opportunity: A lesson from Monet

Every day is different -- not to mention every hour. The old complaint that we often have is that life is at a standstill. That promotion you wanted, the change that you wanted to happen, never seems to happen. You are waiting for something to happen, perhaps for your opportunity to fall in your lap. The thing is that, if you notice it or not, the world is changing, and changing constantly. If you have any doubt, just ask Claude Monet.

A book can be written on Monet. Well, several have been written. Here I will not attempt to dive deeply into all the different aspects of Monet's life and work. Monet is perhaps one of the most loved artists today. It wasn't always like that. He was often made fun of and insulted. At the time his art was considered a real insult to the critics and traditional artists.

The constant change that Claude noticed all had to do with the light. Claude was obsessed with light and color. He delighted on how the colors changed when the different hours of the day would create a different image, all depending on the light. This might seem a simple enough idea, but just look at how often we ignore our surroundings. Since we are born, we notice the light, the contrasts it makes, and the shadows it creates. We were thrilled with the light and the games it played. As we got older the contrasts and the shadows became less interesting because we grew accustomed to them. Next time you're around an infant watch where the baby looks. When not looking at a loved one, the infant will often look at the light and shadows.

So while we might ignore these changes once we grow older, Monet embraced them. When looking at Monet's body of work, and a large one it is, you notice that he painted the same scene over and over again. The location might have been the same, but what he painted each time was very different. Monet noticed how the light changed during the day and created different colors and shapes in otherwise the same exact location and place. His focus on nature, colors and shadows reminds us of the true beauty of the everyday we ignore. Perhaps this is why he is so loved and admired today.

Monet was constantly told how to paint and what subjects he should paint. The themes he was told to paint were basically patriotic and idealistic. He was to paint like the old masters, and he was enrolled in a studio in Paris. He was taught under Charles Gleyre, a known painter who taught and emphasized the traditional ways. If you did not paint like the old masters, you were not a real artist. If you challenged the rules, you would not get accepted by the Salon. The Salon, the big boys controlled the art world in France. This was the basic tone of art in France during Monet's early life.

Monet tried to listen to Charles for a short time, but his ideals conflicted too much with Charles' and the Salon as a whole. He was interested in nature and he wanted to paint outside. He left Gleyre's studio and decided to explore the outdoors himself. He looked around -- and I mean really looked around. He noticed that the trees were not really just green, but many different colors. He also concentrated on how the light changed the colors and the look of his surroundings. To further emphasize his vision he would often sit at the same location painting the same scene during different times of the day. It is when you look at these works side by side that you really learn to appreciate how dramatic the changes are when the light changes. After time, people understood the beauty of Monet's work. He was not interested in techniques but color and light.

I often have very little patience and find myself never being able to replicate what Monet had done -- to sit in a location and paint the same scene over and over, with the different lights. Maybe it is all that TV watching, and wanting to be entertained. It was very difficult for me to continue this project. When trying this I notice that Monet had to paint rather quickly, because of his rough, unfinished style. I tried to focus on the colors and the light. I once heard that squinting helps one see the true colors and not the colors that we might have in our head because of association. The world was a different place for me that day. I never noticed how much the light influenced our world. It's often something we ignore in our busy lives.

Monet can teach us many things, but one of the most important is how light is ever-changing. Light is what changes our world. So the next time you think nothing is going on or you're just waiting for something to happen, take a look around and really look. You will see that every hour has a new tale to tell. Just maybe then you will stop waiting, and take action in our ever-changing world.

William DePaula is an artist and writer. He writes on art, history, and how it relates to us today. Through his series "Behind the Painting", he learns about the artist, the artwork, the techniques used and what life was like during the creation of the masterpiece. His art and apparel can be viewed and purchased at http://www.artedepaula.com.