Monet and I, inspired by the masterpiece of nature

What could an amateur gardener and freelance photographer and writer living among the concrete suburbs of Melbourne possibly have in common with Claude Monet, one of the greatest painters in the history of art?

The answer is simple: a love of gardens, flowers, colour, and the endless inspiration found in nature.

‘The richness I achieve comes from Nature, the source of my inspiration.’ – Claude Monet

Born in Paris in 1840, Monet became one of the leading figures of French Impressionism. Rather than painting every detail with complete realism, the Impressionists sought to capture a moment, the changing light, movement, colour, and atmosphere of the world before them.

The movement’s name originated from Monet’s painting Impression, Sunrise, exhibited in Paris in 1874. A critic used the title when he dismissively described Monet and the other artists as “Impressionists.” The name remained, although the movement would eventually change the course of Western art.

Monet painted many landscapes throughout his long career, but he is perhaps best known for the gardens and water lilies at his home in Giverny, in northern France.

He moved there with his family in 1883 and remained until his death in 1926. Over time, he transformed the property into a garden filled with flowers, trees, winding paths, and carefully arranged areas of colour. Later, he created a water garden on nearby land, diverting part of a stream to form the pond that became central to his most famous paintings.

Monet was not simply an artist who owned a garden. He became a devoted gardener with a deep knowledge of plants. He read nursery catalogues, visited exhibitions and botanical gardens, exchanged ideas with other gardeners, and searched for new varieties.

Irises, peonies, nasturtiums, poppies, dahlias, roses, and sunflowers were among the many plants grown at Giverny. He arranged his flowerbeds with the eye of a painter, considering which colours would flower together and how the garden would change through the seasons.

His Japanese-inspired water garden had a distinct character. Willows leaned over the pond, while bamboo, irises, peonies, and water lilies surrounded the water. A curved wooden bridge crossed the pond, later covered with wisteria. The garden was alive with reflections, changing light, and movement.

From the late 1890s until the end of his life, Monet returned repeatedly to the water lilies. He painted the pond in different weather, at different times of the day, and under changing light. The water, flowers, sky, and reflections often seemed to merge, creating paintings that were less about a particular pond and more about the experience of looking at nature.

Impression, Sunrise, a most splendid painting by Monet, is credited to inspiring the name of the impressionist movement.

I understand the feeling, although in my case photography replaces painting.

My garden is far more modest than Giverny. It occupies a small space within an ordinary Melbourne suburb, surrounded by houses, roads and concrete. Yet it offers me many of the same pleasures on a much smaller scale.

I created the garden not to impress anyone, but for the enjoyment, inspiration, and companionship that plants provide. Flowers bring colour into everyday life. They attract bees and other insects, change with the light, and offer something new to observe throughout the year.

They have also become willing subjects for my photography.

The flowers featured in this article are from my much-loved collection of African daisies, or ‘Osteospermum’. These cheerful and showy plants produce daisy-like flowers in a rich variety of colours and bloom over a long period. Their ability to bring colour and life to an ordinary suburban garden is one reason I clearly adore them.

The botanical name ‘Osteospermum’ comes from the Greek words ‘osteon’, meaning bone, and ‘sperma’, meaning seed, a reference to the plant’s hard seeds. The genus belongs to the daisy family, Asteraceae, and its members originate mainly from southern Africa.

Their bold petals, strong colours and dark centres make African daisies naturally attractive photographic subjects. Each flower is beautiful when photographed alone, but together they create lively patterns of colour and form.

As a small homage to Monet, I wanted to photograph them in a more impressionistic way. I was interested not only in recording their appearance, but also in expressing something of the pleasure, colour and movement I experience when looking at them in the garden.

I photographed the flowers using an in-camera multiple-exposure technique. Rather than making one straightforward exposure, I superimposed nine separate exposures to produce a single finished image. The overlapping flowers, petals, and colours created a soft, almost dreamlike effect.

The photographs were created largely within the camera rather than afterwards on a computer. Once completed, I converted the raw files to JPEGs and made only minor adjustments in Photoshop.

I was not attempting to imitate Monet’s paintings. His art belongs to another world and another level of achievement. Rather, his freedom in observing colour and nature inspired me.

It’s often assumed that photography’s purpose is to provide an honest visual record of a subject. Yet a camera can also explore mood, movement, and imagination. By layering several exposures, the flowers become less fixed and more fluid, as though their colours are moving across the frame.

Monet understood that nature never remains completely still. Light changes from minute to minute. A breeze disturbs the surface of the water. Flowers open, fade, and disappear with the seasons. The artist or photographer can only capture a brief impression before the moment has passed.

My garden may be small and my creative ambitions modest, but the source of inspiration is the same.

Nature remains the greatest masterpiece of all.

Click here to view the full African Daisy image gallery.

 All images, text and content are copyright Steven Sklifas.