How to Start Seeing Like Monet
(And Why It Changes Everything in Your Painting)

Learn how to paint like Monet by focusing on light, color, and shapes instead of detail. Simple tips for beginner impressionist painting.

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Have you ever looked at a Monet painting and thought… “How does this look so soft and beautiful without a ton of detail?”

I used to wonder the same thing. But recently, I had the chance to see some of Monet’s work in person while visiting Musée d’Orsay in Paris, and it completely changed how I understand his paintings because up close… it almost doesn’t make sense. But from a distance? It’s stunning. And that’s where everything starts to click.

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Seeing Monet Up Close Changes Everything

When you stand right in front of a Monet painting, you don’t see perfect flowers or clean lines. You see loose brush strokes, patches of color, and texture and movement. Some areas even feel messy or unfinished, just like the up close view above of his Water Lilies painting.

But then you step back… Suddenly, the water appears, the lilies come into focus, and the light starts to glow.

That’s when you realize, he wasn’t painting things. He was painting how light moves across them.

You can see this in practice in the following two images. The first image is a photo I took of his painting titled “Woman with a Parasol” housed in Musée d’Orsay in Paris. The photo below it shows a close-up view of one section of the same painting. In that close-up you can see how he used texture, brushstrokes, and color choices to mimic the wind and the light on the plants below the woman.

Monet's Woman with a Parasol In Person in Paris.

Stop Looking for Details

This is where things shift. When you look at a Monet painting up close, it can feel messy like the image above. See those brush strokes, layers, and colors sitting side by side? It all looks messy, right?

But, when you step back, it all comes together. You see the scene clearly. That’s because he wasn’t focused on detail. He was focused on light, color, and movement.

Monet Didn’t Paint What He Saw. He Painted What He Felt

One of the most interesting things about Monet is that he painted the same scenes over and over again, but they never looked the same.

Why? Because he wasn’t chasing the object… he was chasing the light. Different times of day, different weather, different moods… all of that changed what he saw and how he painted it.

Inside Tribe, this is something we recently practiced. In one of our recent lessons, we worked from photos I took on a trip to Lake Tahoe. In the lesson, we focused on how light changes what we see. We painted that scene more than once, so we could really chase the light like Monet and implement his technique within our own paintings.

Chasing the Light Tribe Lesson Paintings.

Start Seeing in Shapes and Values

Instead of asking: “What is this?” Start asking: “What value is this?”

Try squinting your eyes when you look at a reference. It helps you ignore details, see light vs dark, and understand the structure. And that’s exactly how Monet approached his paintings.

Instead of getting caught up in the details of my Lake Tahoe photos, we simplified everything into shapes and values first in these paintings. Then we used color and brushstrokes to build the scene. Even though the composition stayed the same, small shifts in light and color completely changed the mood of the painting.

Chasing the Light Lesson with Paint Colors In View.

Let Your Colors Do the Work

Monet didn’t blend everything smoothly. Instead, he placed colors next to each other and let your eye do the blending.

Try using quick, loose brush strokes and let them overlap slightly. That’s what creates that soft, impressionistic feel.

Use Warm and Cool Colors to Create Light

Instead of using black to create shadows… Monet used temperature.

Warm colors (yellows, oranges) come forward
Cool colors (blues, purples) recede

That’s what gives his paintings that glowing, light-filled look.

Focus on the Feeling, Not Perfection

This is the part that really changes everything. It’s not about painting exactly what you see. It’s about capturing a moment… a feeling… a sense of light.

When you start thinking this way, painting becomes a lot more freeing.

Inside Tribe, we also recently painted our own version of Monet’s Water Lilies together at the end of a month-long Monet study.

Instead of trying to paint every petal perfectly, we focused on loose brush strokes, letting colors sit next to each other, and capturing the movement of the water.

The Social Easel Tribe Water Lilies Paintings.

Close Up View of Tribe Water Lilies Painting.

Want to Keep Learning and Playing? These are just a few examples of how we explore art and painting in Tribe. In addition to full paintings, we work through techniques and art styles. That’s where we slow down and really learn how to see like Monet and many other artists… not just copy them.

And while Tribe isn’t always open, it’s such a fun place to experiment, try new techniques, and grow your confidence when it is.

If you want to be the first to know when it opens again, click here to join the email list so you don’t miss the next time Tribe opens.