
David Hockney Impressionism: A Modern Take on Colour, Light, and Expression
Welcome to the second post in our art exploration series! Last time, we dived into Impressionism and Claude Monet’s work, discovering how his approach to light, colour, and movement makes Impressionism an ideal style for beginners. This week, we’re looking at a contemporary artist who has taken some of those core Impressionist principles and reimagined them in a bold, modern way—David Hockney.
David Hockney, © David Hockney Foundation
Why David Hockney?
David Hockney is one of the most influential living artists, known for his vibrant use of colour, his unique take on perspective, and his ability to capture light in unexpected ways. While Monet and the Impressionists sought to paint fleeting moments of light and movement, Hockney pushes those ideas further, exaggerating and distorting colour and form to create work that feels immediate, energetic, and distinctly contemporary.
His work reminds us that Impressionism isn’t a rigid style—it’s an ever-evolving approach to art that encourages experimentation, personal expression, and breaking the rules.
Claude Monet, Public Domain/ David Hockney, © David Hockney Foundation
Impressionism: Expansive, Ever-Changing, and Still Relevant
When people think of Impressionism, they often picture Monet’s water lilies or Renoir’s soft portraits, but the movement was never about simply replicating the world. It was about seeing differently—capturing the world in ways that a photograph could not.
Many new participants in my art classes often believe they cannot paint because what they create doesn’t look exactly like what they’re painting. I always remind them that as artists, our job is not necessarily to recreate something as a photograph would—though photorealism is an incredible art form, it requires years of practice and a very different approach than the two hours we spend together in a class. Instead, we are creating a feeling on canvas, an interpretation of what we see rather than an exact replica. Art is about storytelling, emotion, and personal expression, and that is what makes every painting unique and meaningful.
Hockney embodies that same spirit by embracing colour, distorting perspective, and simplifying forms to enhance how we experience the world around us. While Monet softened edges and let colours blur into one another, Hockney often takes the opposite approach—using bold outlines and saturated colour blocks. Yet, both artists share an obsession with how light transforms a scene, whether it’s the shifting reflections in Monet’s ponds or the electric blues and greens in Hockney’s swimming pools.
Breaking Down Hockney’s Techniques

1. Colour Beyond Reality
Hockney’s paintings don’t just depict the world as it is—they exaggerate it. He uses hyper-saturated blues, punchy yellows, and intense greens to amplify emotions and make his landscapes feel alive. Unlike Monet’s subtle layering, Hockney often paints with flat, bright colours, creating a sense of immediacy and clarity.
Tips:
Try using colours that aren’t true to life. Paint a sky orange, a tree blue, or a river red just to see how it changes the mood of your artwork.
Mix colours directly on the canvas instead of blending them perfectly on a palette for a more vibrant effect.
Jargon Busting!
Hyper-saturated blues – This means colours are extremely vivid and rich, almost glowing. Imagine the bright blue of a tropical swimming pool in sunlight.
Flat, bright colours – Colours that don’t have soft shading or blending, making them appear bold and solid rather than realistic.

2. Bold, Simplified Forms
Where Monet used rapid, broken brushstrokes to suggest movement, Hockney simplifies objects down to their most essential shapes. His landscapes are often made up of rolling hills and geometric trees, outlined in strong lines. This makes his work feel structured yet playful, a modern contrast to Impressionism’s loose, fleeting strokes.
Tips:
Reduce a complex subject into its simplest shapes before painting. Try sketching a scene using only circles, rectangles, and triangles before adding details.
Use a thicker brush or even a palette knife to create defined, confident strokes.
Jargon Busting!
Simplified forms – This means reducing details to their basic shapes, like turning a tree into an oval with a stick rather than carefully painting every leaf.
Strong lines – Outlines or edges that are clearly defined, often in black or a contrasting colour, rather than soft blending.

3. Perspective and Depth
Hockney isn’t interested in traditional perspective. Instead of painting depth as we see it in real life, he often flattens the image, bending roads and tilting objects in ways that feel almost cartoonish. This distortion makes his work instantly recognisable and gives it an expressive, dynamic quality that challenges how we perceive space.
Tips:
Try painting a landscape as if it were viewed from above while keeping all elements clear and bold.
Experiment with pushing the horizon line higher or lower than you normally would to create a sense of movement.
Jargon Busting!
Flattening the image – This means painting without making things look three-dimensional, like a child’s drawing where everything is on the same plane.
Distorted perspective – When objects don’t follow natural rules of size and depth, making them appear stretched or tilted in unusual ways.

4. Mixed Media and Experimentation
While Impressionists like Monet were pioneers of painting en plein air (outdoors), Hockney has taken landscape art into the digital age. He has used iPads, photography, and collages to create works that push the boundaries of traditional painting techniques, proving that Impressionism’s spirit of innovation is still very much alive today.
Tips:
If you have access to a tablet, try painting digitally to see how layering colours differs from physical paint.
Cut up magazine images and collage them together to create an experimental landscape before painting it.
Jargon Busting!
Mixed media – Using different artistic materials together, such as combining paint with digital art or collage.
Digital painting – Creating artwork on a tablet or computer instead of traditional media like canvas and paint.

Exploring Impressionist Influences in Landscape Artist of the Year
The latest episode of Landscape Artist of the Year (Series 10, Episode 2) showcased a diverse range of artistic approaches to capturing landscapes. Simon Gazzard, a former architect turned painter, stood out for blending elements of nature and urban life, though not strictly Impressionist in style.
The episode continues to highlight how artists explore light, colour, and movement—key Impressionist principles—even when working in modern settings. By studying these contemporary artists, we can see how Impressionist techniques still influence today’s painters in unexpected ways.
For those inspired by Impressionist landscapes, watching the competition provides valuable insights into different approaches, from rapid brushwork to capturing atmosphere and natural light.
Simon Gazzard Instgram
Why Hockney’s Work Matters
Hockney’s work shows us that Impressionism is not just a historical movement—it’s an evolving way of seeing and interpreting the world. His fearless approach to colour and form reminds us that art isn’t about perfection, but about feeling, exploration, and joy.
Whether you love Impressionism’s softness or Hockney’s boldness, the key takeaway is this: Art is about finding your voice. Don’t be afraid to experiment, exaggerate, and make the world your own.
Try It Yourself: A Hockney-Inspired Art Challenge
For this week’s challenge, let’s step into Hockney’s vibrant world! Instead of painting what you see exactly as it is, push your colours beyond reality. Choose a simple landscape scene—perhaps a row of trees, a road leading into the distance, or even a swimming pool. Now, change the colours dramatically—make trees bright pink, skies deep orange, or roads neon green. Use bold outlines and keep forms simple.
📌 Key Focus: Try flattening perspective and exaggerating colours. Don’t worry about realism—this is about feeling and expression!
🎨 Bonus Challenge: If you have access to a digital drawing app or tablet, experiment with creating a painting digitally, just like Hockney does with his iPad series.
📸 Submit Your Artwork: Share your creations before the next blog is published to be entered into a draw to win a little something from me! By submitting your images, you agree to allow me to share them on this blog or social media. Your name doesn’t have to be included unless you’d like it to be.
Looking Ahead
Next week, we’ll continue our journey through the world of impressionism. In the meantime, have fun experimenting, embrace bold colours, and remember—there are no mistakes, only new discoveries! 🚀
Let’s break the rules, challenge perceptions, and create something uniquely our own. Happy painting!
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