It is a pleasure to help you celebrate your love of nature with inspirational art and quotes. This beautiful collection of nature-inspired art has been created by some of my artist clients and members of The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS and Manhattan Arts International.
I’ve also added the art and quotes of famous artists, environmentalists, authors, poets and spiritual thinkers.
If you are an artist who creates nature-inspired at, perhaps this presentation will spark some creative ideas for writing about your own art.
“The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction. The question is whether any civilization can wage relentless war on life without destroying itself, and without losing the right to be called civilized.” ~ Rachel Louise Carson
Joan Mitchell
“I paint from remembered landscapes that I carry with me – and remembered feelings of them, which of course become transformed. I could certainly never mirror nature. I would more like to paint what it leaves with me.” ~ Joan Mitchell
Andrea Robinson andrearobinson.co.nz
“Nature plays an important role in my work because I am passionate about showcasing its beauty and advocating for its protection. We are all interconnected with nature, and we are losing habitats plant, insects, birds, and marine life at alarming rates. I believe art can serve as a catalyst for change, and that by creating an emotional connection with viewers, people will feel encouraged to stand together to bring about systemic change.” ~ Andrea Robinson
Nancy Reyner ~ nancyreyner.com
Turquoise Sea, acrylic on panel, 45″ x 36″.
“I paint exotic versions of heaven – places that are beautiful and meditative. Gold leaf and other unusual materials combine with paint to create these imaginary worlds. Nature is my muse for inspiring luminous interpretations of air, water, earth and light. Merging the literal and metaphorical, my paintings hover somewhere between pure abstraction and realistic landscape.” ~ Nancy Reyner
Odilon Redon
“The artist submits from day to day to the fatal rhythm of the impulses of the universal world which encloses him, continual centre of sensations, always pliant, hypnotized by the marvels of nature which he loves, he scrutinizes. His eyes, like his soul, are in perpetual communion with the most fortuitous of phenomena.”
~ Odilon Redon
“When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon,
my soul expands in the worship of the creator.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Dick and Rosanne ~ dickandrosanne.com
Read Art Review: “Dick and Rosanne Esteemed Botanical Photographers”.
“The sun and the moon, the cedar and the little flower, the eagle and the sparrow: the spectacle of their countless diversities and inequalities tells us that no creature is self-sufficient. Creatures exist only in dependence on each other, to complete each other, in the service of each other.” ~ Pope Francis in his book “Enclyclical on Climate Change & Inequality”
Julia Underwood ~ julia-underwood.pixels.com
Path of Life, acrylic on canvas
“The images and colours we see every day change how we feel, influencing our emotions and wellbeing. So, although I paint in a range of styles my work is always positive and hopeful. I enjoy creating relaxing and uplifting artwork inspired by nature and gorgeous vibrant colours.”
Vincent van Gogh
“…and then, I have nature and art and poetry, and if that is not enough, what is enough?”
~ Vincent van Gogh
“This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.” ~ John Muir, John of the Mountains: The Unpublished Journals of John Muir
Georgia O’Keeffe
“When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to or not.” ~ Georgia O’Keeffe
Barbara Brown ~ barbarabrownart.com
“Envision a world where Nature in all her beauty is revered. Where we have fallen back in love with the natural world, in all her divine splendour. It is my deepest desire that my work inspires this reverence — for we naturally take care of what we love.” ~ Barbara Brown
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” ~ Henry David Thoreau
Claude Monet
“For me, a landscape does not exist in its own right, since its appearance changes at every moment; but the surrounding atmosphere brings it to life, the air and the light, which vary continually for me, it is only the surrounding atmosphere that gives subjects their true value.” ~ Claude Monet
“For most of history, man has had to fight nature to survive; in this century he is beginning to realize that, in order to survive, he must protect it.” ~ Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Peter N. Van Giesen ~ peternvangiesen.com
Wintercover Reflections acrylic on canvas, 24″ x 18″.
“Every moment of life is precious. When I stop, look and listen, the natural world around me reminds me about how interconnected everything is. The trees are silent until the gentle breeze lifts their voice. I attempt to capture the eternal aura of nature.” ~ Peter N. Van Giesen
“I never saw a discontented tree. They grip the ground as though they liked it,
and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do.” ~ John Muir
Akshita Lad ~ akshitalad.com
“Each painting reflects my connection to nature’s beauty. Through my work, I aim to evoke the tranquility and wonder that nature continuously offers.” ~ Akshita Lad
“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity… and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.” ~ William Blake
Bren Sibilsky ~ brensculpture.com
“As a seeker of wisdom, I find truth in nature, especially when charged with passionate energy. For centuries man has been at war with nature, hoping to tame and control it. All of nature on this planet is caught in this struggle of survival and evolution. We may soon find only thru empathy for this world can we truly understand others, ourselves and the natural laws of nature.” ~ Bren Sibilsky
Eva Breitfuss ~ evabreitfuss.space
“For ‘Mint’, my intention was to bring this presence and work with the essence and information of the different plants and medicinal plants. My desire was to capture energetically both visually in color and shape and in taste and fragrance. Each plant has a finality and the colors of the tea extracted from the plants are ephemeral, reminding us that everything is constantly changing, within us and around us. ~ Eva Breitfuss
JoAnne Carson
Read an Interview with JoAnn Carson, leading contemporary artist
Wishful Thinking, acrylic on canvas, 39” x 48”.
“Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” ~ Albert Einstein
“The smallest flower is a thought, a life answering to some feature of the Great Whole, of whom they have a persistent intuition.” ~ Honore de Balzac
Rajul Shah ~ rajulshahart.com
My art is a fusion of the art of kintsugi and the spiritual energies of the Chakras. Chakras are energy centers in the human body. In basic form, all organisms (plants, trees, animals, humans…) are made of energy (atoms). The flow of energy between nature and living organisms is critical to the balance of life. Using the Aura of each chakra, I paint abstract expressions of color with kintsugi lines bringing strength to our bodies and our interactions with nature. ~ Rajul Shah
Gail Bach ~ gailbach-art.com
Calming My Mind With Magenta Windows watercolor on paper, 15.5″ x 19.5″
The ground we walk on, the plants and creatures, the clouds above constantly dissolving into new formations – each gift of nature possessing its own radiant energy, bound together by cosmic harmony. ~ Ruth Bernhard
“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God… I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.” ~ Anne Frank
Christine Ilewski ~ chrisilewski.com
“And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.” ~ William Shakespeare
“A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers
but borrowed from his children.” ~ John James Audubon
Barbara Markoff ~ theartconsultant.biz
Canna Lily Leaf, photograph
“When photographing nature related images, I move methodically seeking unique color and patterns, representing the nuances of nature. I often visit the location multiple times studying how natural light optimizes my subject. My images add solace and enjoyment in healthcare, corporate, and residential settings. My motto is, ‘Art Humanizes Spaces.’” ~ Barbara Markoff
Mary Manning ~ marymanningnewwest.com
“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” ~ John Ruskin
“Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain.” ~ Henry David Thoreau
Frederic Edwin Church
Frederic Edwin Church, Niagara, 1857, oil on canvas, 40″ × 90 1/2″. Corcoran Collection. Photo: Public Domain.
“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.” ~ Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
An Annual Exhibition I Curate Each Year
“Nature contains the elements, in color and form, of all pictures, as the keyboard contains the notes of all music. But the artist is born to pick and choose… as the musician gathers his notes, and forms his chords, until he brings forth from chaos, glorious harmony.” ~ James Abbot McNeill Whistler
Thank you so much for including Entering the Maze, mixed media 36 X 24, Renee. The painting is inspired by slot canyons where I went during nine years of archaeology at Itah Tech University. The initial piece sat on an easel for 11 years because it looked disjointed and then the geological veins pulled the piece together. You will see me in the next Healing Power of Art!
Mary, Thank you very much for sharing the fascinating history behind “Entering the Maze”. I look forward to featuring your art in the next “Healing Power of Nature” exhibition.
This was thoughtfully presented; the quotes and art were calm air in a time of outer turbulence. Thank you for taking the time to put this together. Perhaps I will get brave and contribute.