Have you ever noticed how much easier it is to stare at a lake than a parking lot?
I don’t think anyone has ever booked a vacation because they couldn’t wait to spend a week looking at a really impressive parking garage.
We seek out forests, mountains, beaches, lakes and open spaces when we want a break from everyday life. So it makes sense that many of us also enjoy bringing reminders of those places into our homes.
Nature-inspired artwork can’t replace actually being outdoors. But it can give us something beautiful and familiar to look at, particularly when the view outside isn’t quite as inspiring.
There’s a Reason We Seek Out Nature
Our relationship with nature isn’t just a decorating preference.
Researchers have studied the effects of spending time in natural environments and have found associations with reduced stress, improved mood and other aspects of well-being. Research has also explored how viewing natural scenes may affect attention and mental fatigue.
That’s interesting to me as an artist, although I think most of us already know from experience that different environments can make us feel different.
A walk through the woods feels different from walking through a crowded store.
Sitting beside the ocean feels different from sitting in traffic.
We don’t necessarily need to understand the psychology behind it to know which one we’d rather be doing.
Art Gives You a View You Get to Choose
Most of us don’t get to choose what’s outside our windows.
Maybe you’re lucky enough to see mountains, trees or water.
Or maybe you have an excellent view of your neighbor’s trash cans.
Artwork gives you considerably more control.
A landscape can bring mountains into a house in the middle of town. A wildlife painting can add life to a room that feels a little too plain. An ocean scene can remind you of somewhere you’ve visited, while a forest might bring back memories of hiking, camping or a place you grew up.
The painting isn’t replacing the experience.
It’s reminding you of it.
Nature Gives an Artist an Incredible Amount to Work With
This is probably one reason I’ve never gotten tired of painting nature.
It refuses to look the same twice.
The same landscape can completely change depending on the season, weather, time of day and light. A quiet lake can become dramatic during a storm. Snow can simplify an entire landscape. Sunset can turn ordinary clouds into the most interesting part of the scene.
And then there are animals, which introduce an entirely different element.
There is always something else to paint.
That’s dangerous information for someone who already owns too many canvases.
Calm Doesn’t Have to Mean Boring
I think people sometimes hear the words calming artwork and picture something pale, neutral and barely noticeable.
That’s not necessarily what I mean.
Nature can be incredibly dramatic.
Northern lights can fill a sky with color. Waves can crash against rocks. Sunsets can be intense. Mountains can dominate a landscape.
A painting can have strong color and contrast and still depict a place that you personally associate with getting away from everything.
That’s why I’d choose nature artwork based on what you connect with rather than trying to follow a formula for what is supposedly relaxing.
Maybe your peaceful place is a quiet beach.
Maybe it’s deep in the woods.
Maybe it’s watching a thunderstorm roll across the mountains.
We’re all different.
Memories Matter More Than Decorating Rules
This is probably the biggest reason I think nature art works in a home.
Places carry memories.
A particular coastline might remind you of childhood vacations. A snowy landscape might remind you of where you grew up. Wildlife might bring back a trip where you saw an animal in the wild for the first time.
When artwork connects with one of those memories, you’re going to experience it differently from someone who simply sees a pretty landscape.
That’s something no decorating trend can manufacture.
And it’s why I think choosing artwork solely because it matches your furniture misses the best part.
Original Art Adds Something Human Too
Nature may be the subject, but with original artwork there’s another layer to it.
Someone stood in front of a blank surface and made the painting.
There are brushstrokes, color choices, changes, mistakes that got painted over, and decisions made along the way.
I know when I finish a painting, I’ve usually spent enough time looking at it that we’re practically in a committed relationship.
When that original eventually goes to someone else’s home, they’re getting the actual object I worked on—not another copy coming off an assembly line.
I think there’s something special about that.
Creating a Home You Enjoy Being In
Ultimately, I don’t think we need to make decorating more complicated than it needs to be.
Your home is where you live.
Surround yourself with things you enjoy looking at.
If nature is where you feel happiest, bring some of it home with you. Plants, wood, natural light, things you’ve collected on trips and artwork can all become part of that.
A painting isn’t going to eliminate your stress, answer your emails or magically make the laundry disappear.
Unfortunately.
But it can remind you of somewhere you love.
And sometimes, when you’re stuck inside dealing with everything else life has thrown at you, having somewhere beautiful to look isn’t such a small thing.
Discover More Original Artwork
“Every painting in my collection is inspired by the places, memories, and moments that remind us to slow down, breathe deeply, and reconnect with the natural world.”