Landscape Art

What Is It and Why Do It?

A landscape is basically a work of art where nature is the focal point of the work. Some landscapes might have an animal or human figure in it, but those figures are usually very small in comparison to the size of the work. Some might have a structure, such as a small cabin, but again, it is small in relation to the natural setting in which it sits. Again, the point of a landscape is nature.

Bob Ross, The Joy of Paining

Many people might picture artists at the park with an easel and paints, capturing the beauty of his/her surroundings. Some might associate landscapes with the late artist, Bob Ross (1942-1995) and his “happy little trees.” His televised art lessons years ago on PBS, The Joy of Painting, taught beginner artists how quick and easy it is to create landscape paintings.

Left: Claude Monet, Wheatstacks (End of Summer), Right: Vincent Van Gogh, Starry Night

Other famous landscape artists include Claude Monet, Jacob van Ruisdael, Jean-Baptiste Camille-Corot, and Van Gogh. Some of my favorite contemporary/modern landscape artists include Roy Tabora, Christian Lassen, Whitney Knapp Bowditch (@whitneyknappbowditchstudio), Chiara Mazzetti (@chiaramazzetti.art), and Kim Casebeer (@kimcasebeerartist).

Left: Roy Tabora Right: Christian Riese Lassen

Also, not all landscapes are painted. They can also be drawn in pencil, pastels, pen and ink, or even a simple ballpoint pen. One artist that I really appreciated was pen and ink artist, Rustem Kuramshin Tatarstan (1960-2011). He managed to get such incredible detail that at first glance, his drawings look like photographs. And another incredible artist I came across in my research was art student, Cheng Weiqian, who creates amazingly detailed landscapes with ballpoint pen.

Left: Rustem Kuramshin Tatarstan Right: Cheng Weiqian

As a young art student, I thought landscapes were nice, but…boring. As a student, there really wasn’t a need for me to create landscapes, but I came to understand why knowing how to do one was valuable. “Figure drawing is one thing,” an art teacher once said, “but what happens when you want to put that figure in an environment? Or are all of your figures going to just float in space?”

Hmm…okay. Point taken.

I still don’t draw a lot of landscapes, but every once in a while, I do draw animals in their natural environment. It’s not technically a landscape since the animal is clearly the focal point. But hey, at least my animals aren’t floating in space.