In Amsterdam last week, I was visiting an exhibition about impressionism, featuring paintings by Monet, Renoir and Pissarro.
The Impressionists as they were called mockingly first, wanted to capture moments, the play of shade and light with few and quick brush strokes. Just recently enabled by the invention of paint in tubes, they painted in the open air and tried to capture the atmosphere of what they saw.
They had to paint quickly and couldn’t afford to spend too much time on details cause the light changes rapidly and those windows, they wanted to capture were open for just a short time span.
But details weren’t their focus anyway, it was the mood of a moment, a feeling, fleeting, moving. Monet once said “For me a landscape does not exist in itself, it changes every moment in appearance, but the surrounding atmosphere brings it to life.”
For today, let’s get into their footsteps and write poetry in an impressionistic style
- Do this by using quick and loose “brush strokes”
- Write about common, ordinary subject matter, maybe from an unusal angle
- Bring the poem to life by capturing the play of shade and light of how it falls the moment we see it
- Write quickly, don’t spend too much time on details but try to capture the mood and the atmosphere
- Add only those details that you think are important to underline the mood of your poem
- It’s not perfect…? It doesn’t matter..
- Immediacy of a moment’s window and random choice of the part you show us are the characteristics we’re looking for
Here’s how it works…
- Write your poem
- Post it on your blog
- Click the Mr. Linky button below, and in the new window that opens up input your name and direct url of the poem
- Have fun and visit others who have taken the challenge
- Share via your favourite social media platforms
claudia said:
happy thursday everyone.. i hope that many of you take the challenge to paint us an impressionistic poem with their pencils…looking forward to read what you’re coming up with
Susan L Daniels said:
This was fun!
claudia said:
thanks for taking us with you to the fun fair susan
Susan L Daniels said:
🙂 Did you have a good time? One of my friends is going on so much about fried dough…I might have to go back and get some. I loved having cappuccino with you in Amsterdam…
brian miller said:
yours was def a fun response…had me right there…having jsut gone to the amusement park as well i can relate…smiles.
claudia said:
yes..had a good time…amsterdam is an awesome city..inspiring and full of art..
Daydreamertoo said:
Very nice prompt Claudia. Just wish my topic was a bit lighter but, I felt it needed to be said so, had to say it..LOL
claudia said:
glad you adressed it…a sad topic for sure..
brian miller said:
oy a powerful piece bren…def dont apologize for that….
claudia said:
just back from a skating tour and really need a shower…back in a bit…smiles
ManicDdaily said:
Claudia – “it’s not perfect” – I don’t know if I can write with that pressure! (ha!)
This is a lovely post and idea. I don’t think my cockroach poem exactly fits – although there’s a certain amount of impressionistic skittering -, so I will try to come up with something else later today or tonight! Yours was terrific. k.
claudia said:
smiles…enjoyed your roaches poem even though it gave me some shivers as well..
hedgewitch said:
Thanks for hosting, Claudia, and you pick one of my favorite things, Impressionism. I will have to see if I can open some windows and look at the light–though here it might shrivel things up more than illuminate right now. Great prompt.
claudia said:
maybe you have to wait until the shades get longer… over here we’re happy about every single sun ray… the summer has been way too wet so far
Mary said:
LOL, Claudia!! I can vouch for that. I wish rain had stayed away when I was in Munich…but c’est la vie!
Madeleine Begun Kane said:
Writing assignment–
dash off impressionism–
no clue how to start.
claudia said:
it would be wonderful if you could write the probably first impressionistic limmerick..
Madeleine Begun Kane said:
The strictness of the limerick form feels so contrary to the concept of impressionism. A daunting challenge. 🙂
brian miller said:
oh i am pretty sure you can do it…smiles.
Laurie Kolp said:
OK, I did it the way you asked us to… hope it’s what you had in mind. Thanks, Claudia.
claudia said:
on my way over… freshly showered…ha
brian miller said:
i am here…i am here…haha..oy, busy day…ready to get out and read some poetry for a break….
claudia said:
woohoo…brian’s in the house… good to see you..
brian miller said:
thank you for the wonderful prompt claudia…was much fun for sure…
Mary said:
Brian, you did a great job. You were a tough act to follow.
brian miller said:
smiles…thank you mary…
Jerry said:
Hey, I will try to make an impression…”Day Broke Me Open”. Let me see how many I can read in this slit in my life.
claudia said:
ah jerry..cool seeing you at dVerse…and so enjoyed your poem..
hollyannegetspoetic said:
Love, love, love this prompt Claudia! My favourite artists – and the challenge to write quickly….. Gosh, now I feel quite breathless!
Off for a lie down, but will be back in a bit to have a read round. 🙂
claudia said:
smiles..i felt a bit breathless as well after reading your poem…nice…smiles
hollyannegetspoetic said:
😉
Linda Kruschke said:
Claudia, What a fun challenge! I wrote a poem quickly and didn’t worry if it was perfect. 🙂 Somewhere on my computer at home I have a picture that could go with it, but I’m hoping my words will be visual enough. Peace, Linda
claudia said:
they were certainly visual enough…no picture needed…you painted well linda
Madeleine Begun Kane said:
I posted a link to this post on my Facebook page, along with the haiku I posted above. One of my Facebook friends responded within seconds with the following poem. I thought it was rather amusing and post it below with his permission.
Here’s Gordon E Moore’s poem:
Words.
Strung together.
No rhyme or reason.
Wins praise.
From poets.
For being deep.
brian miller said:
lol…hey if you can get them to interpret depth…all the better….smiles…
claudia said:
nice.. love me some spontaneous responses…
Madeleine Begun Kane said:
Gordon was surprised when I suggested posting this. But I swore to him that you folks have a good sense of humor. And of course I was right. 🙂
Deb Powers said:
I followed Madeleine over from FB — great, fun challenge. I haven’t written in months, but couldn’t resist dashing one off. And I loved Gordon’s too!
claudia said:
great you jumped in Deb – enjoyed your poem much but unfortunately didn’t find a way to leave a comment
brian miller said:
deb, love the butter cream imagery at the end of yours very nice piece….
Bodhirose said:
Madeleine, loved Gordon’s poem…please pass that on to him. It is interesting when people read things into your writing that you had not intended…especially depth!
charlesmashburn said:
I’m probably a bit off the mark on the prompt this afternoon, but several things came together this morning to inspire the poem I’ve submitted, and so I shoved it onto the stage. I hope you don’t mind.
claudia said:
not at all charles….could def. feel your heart in this
brian miller said:
strong strong write that i sadly agree with sir…
Deb Powers said:
Thanks, Claudia — my usual blogs are temporarily indisposed. I don’t know how to comment on Tumblr either! But I’m enjoying reading around to other people’s poems.
Laurie Kolp said:
Yours was lovely, Deb.
Mary said:
I tried to reply and could not either!
John (@bookdreamer) said:
Home-made Szechuan chicken, impressionist art and writing poetry – has this working class lad lost his roots or what! Thanks for the prompt takes me away from moaning that nothing on but Olympics
brian miller said:
man i have not had dinner yet…and szechuan sounds so good….
claudia said:
ha – i’ve had dinner but some hours ago already…so some szechuan chicken would come in handy…smiles..
brian miller said:
off topic questions…anyone else having a hard time with twiter? mine is not working half the time this week…i can get on just cant reply….
claudia said:
mine is working good…no problems with replies…
brian miller said:
i switched search engines and it seems fine now…weird…
claudia said:
ok…going to bed a bit early today…have overdone it with sports a bit i think… biking and skating..oh and finishing hunger games… exhausted…smiles… see you tomorrow..
brian miller said:
yep, catching the last two and then off to football practice…but will be back in a couple hours…
Madeleine Begun Kane said:
While I’d hoped to write something impressionistic, I ended up with a Limerick Ode To Claude Monet
Gay said:
Not sure what mine is – probably more like Pollack. But it has a bit of homage to Baudelaire I suppose. Thanks for a great prompt, Claudia!
brian miller said:
loved it gay….
Ginny Brannan said:
Decided to join you today! A fun little challenge–hoping I got the gist of what impressionistic writing is! Sharing my “impressions” of the lovely heat wave we are enjoying here in New England. Found the perfect image to go with it on my dear friend Charlie’s blog. Thanks for hosting and the great prompt, Claudia!
brian miller said:
ginny, i tagged you in….glad i dropped down here so we did not miss you…though now i feel a bit sticky after reading…smiles…
yoga-adan said:
impressionism, yeah 😉 i’m in 😉
brian miller said:
liked your turns through life man….
gardenlilie said:
Hey! Mine was fast and turned out a bit more serious than I wanted but I think that’s a key point. Just because you are thinking of one way does not mean your writing turns out that way. Am I correct guys?
brian miller said:
you are correct in that…sometimes the pen just takes over and you hang on with all you got…smiles.
Victoria C. Slotto said:
Yeah! I made it for one of my favorite ever prompts (thank you, Claudia) with a short, unedited, NEW poem. I savor Impressionism. And, yes, that’s what I was doing at 2:26 AM last night!
brian miller said:
that is awfully early in the morning victoria…i was probably dreaming…smiles…actually with the time difference i was soon to wake….
Victoria C. Slotto said:
I’m a great insomniac but, thanks to the tea, I went back to sleep!
Ravenblack said:
I got mine.
Just kinda been rocky lately though. Oh well. Read you all later. 🙂
brian miller said:
it happens…smiles….
Ravenblack said:
🙂
Myrna said:
Not sure if I really make an “impression” here, but I posted it anyway.
claudia said:
haha…you always make an impression myrna even when you’re not writing impressionistic…smiles
brian miller said:
alright…back from practice…and lots of catching up to do…smiles…
henryclemmons said:
I tried, sigh. But I will love doing some reading. I have some good past examples of this, but tossed this newby out instead. Thanks, Claudia. Always enjoy your host.
brian miller said:
i like the blended language you used man..made me use the translator again..ha…
Susan said:
This was harder than I thought, Claudia, especially just letting it be and not adding some allusion to timely thought. I’m going to keep trying the light brush of impressionists rather than the heavier brush of stream of consciousness (where I am much more comfortable).
And BTW, although I think I have a tweeter account I neither tweet nor read tweets–but I seem able to use this site anyway. Is that a fluke?
brian miller said:
not sure what you are asking in that last bit about twitter susan…
i think i am more comfortable in the stream as well…but it is fun to switch up the pace…
Bodhirose said:
Ok…I gave it a try. Reflections on my restless mind that gets me up in the middle of the night! Thank you, Claudia.
brian miller said:
ha, you and victoria…smiles…cool…be over in a minute…
brian miller said:
alright…hitting the rack early tonight…wore out a bit…but will be back bright and early…be looking for you then poets…
Carl said:
Thank you for hosting this, Claudia. I enjoyed giving it a shot.
claudia said:
whew…great seeing you in the pub carl
charityv said:
What a great parallel from art to poetry. Strong lines, share emotion and light!
Love it!
claudia said:
i often think painting and poetry go hand in hand…
dulcinaandgnome said:
Thanks for this interesting challenge, Claudia, and for the clear instructions.
I think my poem is not impressive, but maybe it’s somewhat impressionistic.
🙂
claudia said:
smiles…maybe it’s both…will be soon over to read
margaretbednar said:
Thank you for this prompt! I would have loved to stroll the art museum you visited!
claudia said:
strolling art museums or galleries is such a great well for inspiration..
danadampier said:
I’m not sure if my poem meets all the requirements… but it sure was fun to write!
claudia said:
and fun it should be..
danadampier said:
Always!
kkkkaty said:
Still a beginner, I guess you call my entry free form… away for a few days, it will take me a day to catch up with reading and commenting…love this theme…I actually thought of many possibilities but chose the freshest in memory..
claudia said:
free form is fine.. think monet was doing free form all the time in a way…smiles
Polly Robinson said:
Please forgive me Claudia for spoofing this one up a bit … couldn’t resist (!) love this prompt 🙂
claudia said:
haha…now you make me curious…
claudia said:
wow…waking to 44 links…will get a coffee and start reading… nice..
Rallentanda said:
A lovely prompt. Impressionism is a wonderful art, music and literature medium.
The French got it right!
claudia said:
yep..they got it right indeed…they were rebels in a way…and art for me always needs to be a bit rebellious..
hobgoblin2011 said:
Thanks for Hosting Claudia. Really interesting theme tonight. Lots of great compositions on display here tonight.
claudia said:
yep…like walking through a gallery of paintings, isn’t it…?
vivinfrance said:
Marvellous prompt – right up my street!
claudia said:
enjoyed your take on it viv
dani said:
LOVE the prompt, Claudia! love impressionism!
♥
claudia said:
yes..love the lightness..
Lydia said:
Ah, seems to me a sweet summer prompt, and I thank you for the lovely pause in kinda a hectic week…
Good weekend to you, Claudia!
brian miller said:
goodness gracious….what a crowd of overnights….ha….fun fun…off to read….
ManicDdaily said:
Great prompt – but my effort–well, in my defense, no gas in gas stove this morning. Brain does not compute. Without Hot Tea. k.
claudia said:
haha…you gave me a good laugh with your take k. – impressionistic stomach – so good
pmwanken said:
Claudia – I didn’t exactly follow the directions — I wanted to write about the Monet itself. So…I went that route. I will post the link here instead of on Linky since I didn’t follow the rules.
Paula
The Course of Our Seasons said:
Sorry for my tardiness – loved the prompt – Monet is my favorite impressionist too. K
claudia said:
i once drowned in his water lilies at the MOMA – and strangely enough – felt more alive than ever afterwards…
The Course of Our Seasons said:
I saw all 3 panels of the Waterlilies together in St Louis about 35 years ago, each owned by a different museum. – they were together last summer for the first time since and I didn’t get a chance to see them. I make do with a large print over my stairwell. And I do drown in them with each viewing! K
Raivenne said:
Impressionism requires succinctness, something I always have problems with. Here goes..
claudia said:
succinctness…nice…just learned a new word…and you def. managed to paint a big picture with just few brush strokes…
rosross said:
Okay, I have come up with Doing the Dishes.
http://rosross.wordpress.com/
Emily said:
Thanks for the challenge, Claudia. Love Impressionism. Loved trying to paint with words this way…
brian miller said:
and you did well with it….smiles.
ds said:
I did it! Quick, loose, short. Such a creative prompt, Claudia. Can only hope I did it justice. Thank you.
brian miller said:
woot….be over in a min ds….always great to see you…smiles.