Water Lilies Mark Tansey Analysis

Water Lilies, done by Mark Tansey in 1994, is a monochromatic oil painting of the flooding of Claude Monet’s water lily garden in Giverny, France in 1910. The painting depicts Monet's calm water lily pond being flooded by the rising waters of a nearby river. What immediately pulls you into this painting is the use of blue. Mark Tansey primarily paints in monochrome and can really reflect the mood of the color in the painting itself. On the right side of the painting the rough and turbulent waters of the river have broken through the wooden fence around the edge of the lily pond. The waters of the river are flowing through the broken fence and are beginning to stir up the calm pond. In the lily pond we of course see lilies but we can also see a clear reflection of the large, dark, full clouds in the sky. On the left of the painting ice is
The further left you go until the edge of the painting the thicker the ice. On the top right their are reflections of bare leafless trees, indicating the approaching winter months. In the middle of the painting close to the top border Mark added the reflection of Monet turning a waterwheel in hopes of calming the flooding water. Mark is paying homage to Monet who has inspired his way of painting water and reflections. In many of Marks other works the use of reflection plays a large part and can be traced back to the paintings of Monet.
Marks use of monochrome blue is what really drew me to this piece. By using only blue I believe Mark has perfectly reflected the mood and atmosphere of the situation through the use of color. The blues seen in the painting are mostly deep or dark blues with the only lighter softer blues seen in the calm waters of the lily pond. Even in the water we see the reflection of the dark clouds above