As a group of artists, the Impressionists have had the greatest impact on me. Monet painted and tore up an number of canvasses while striving for perfection in his depiction of water lilies. Vincent van Gogh struggled with depression. Renoir was so poor at times that he did not have money to buy paints. Initially, their works were ridiculed by the art critics at the time. I like to keep the Impressionists in mind as I work on my art projects.