A Day in the Bay

Red wildflowers line the Pacific Coast in this sunny scene of the Monterey Bay in California. Artist Lisa Elley says she is greatly inspired by Monet's work, quoting the famed Impressionist, "I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers." In the tradition of the Impressionists, she layered rich oil paint, adding her own "deep impasto" technique. The paint is applied in thick strokes, creating a very sculptural effect. In some areas, the paint is over half an inch thick.