Do you know Oscar-Claude Monet? When everyone painted like the masters, Claude Monet (1840-1926) drifted to the outdoors and painted nature; he studied the effect of light en plein air and painted using broken color and rapid strokes in what would later be known as impressionism.

Saturday, February 20th, at OBO studios, a group of 15 artists ventured into the world of Monet through a novel approach suggested by instructors Emily McLeod and Tracy-Lynn Chisholm. After a brief but factual introduction on Monet, the teachers had us transfer 4”x6” compositions using pastels onto graphite shrink film paper. This was done either by pointillism or rapid strokes. Once complete, the creations were slipped into the oven for two minutes. The result is magic…a concentrated version of intense colours on a brittle plastic (2”x3”) ready to frame. It made me think that Monet understood what we today call pixels and the workshop itself, explains why my paintings look so great in a photograph. The afternoon was delightful…time to make friends and discover another way to do art. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

Beatrice Dumbreck proudly displays her mini-Monets For more information about Focus Art go to www.focusartonline.org