Food just tastes better outside.
Dining alfresco among butterflies in the afternoon summer sun, I pondered expressions referring to the great outdoors.
“Breath of fresh air.”
“Stars in your eyes.”
“Outside the box.”
“Sky’s the limit.”
“Every cloud has a silver lining.”
“A voice in the wilderness.”
“A ray of sunshine.”
“Colour outside the lines.”
Referrals to nature may infuse our language, but experiences outside are becoming limited. Several recent articles suggest children spend less time outdoors than the average prisoner.
Fresh air feels better in our lungs, but research states we will spend 80% – 90% of our lives indoors.
I suppose then, it shouldn’t be surprising to hear inquires concerning nature’s hues.
“How do you feel about taking such liberties with colour?”
“No land is that red.”
“I love your red trees. Do you always paint trees in autumn?”
The flavour of colour influences our emotions similar to music. We recall unsung lyrics hearing the first notes of an old cherished song playing on the radio, drawn back in time by the familiar rhythm.
Adventures in nature are emotionally fueled. Colour (in art) offers a powerful connection and clarity to experience.
Fascinated with light & shadow, I take nature’s cue for colour inspiration. My friend Susan’s photo is of a land I once wandered. Crimson tundra does exit in bold beauty.
Finding sources of existing palettes in nature is kin to discovering a four leaf clover, witnessing a sun dog, or fireflies on a summer night.
It’s magical.
Paintings can censor the noise of a landscape while illuminating nature’s breath of life.
Art and wilderness share the same language.
They both speak to our soul.
Luminous essence of the wilderness in art conveys a universal language we can all appreciate.
Landscape art is also an open invitation to wander out of doors.
Peaceful, engaging, awe- inspiring beauty beckons us to revisit.
Nature always welcomes us back.~
Note:
I once delivered paintings a rural forested home of a client who was very ill. A nature lover, she had wandered her grounds daily during times of good health.
As we sat quietly on the edge of her bed, looking at her new paintings in full view of her perch, I heard her sigh.
Gesturing to nearby glass doors opening to a ground level terrace surrounded by wilderness, she whispered softly, “You are reminding me what it’s like to be out there, and that’s a beautiful thing”.~