This was my first landscape painting, and I was inspired by a view I came across while taking a walk in my neighborhood. Before creating this piece, I researched Claude Monet and became interested in Impressionism and the way Impressionist artists captured nature, light, and everyday scenes. I wanted to bring some of those ideas into my own work while still painting the landscape in my own style. I chose a portrait format to draw the viewer’s eye through the stream and toward the bridge. This piece allowed me to explore landscape painting for the first time and experiment with techniques inspired by an art movement I had studied.