Creative people are usually considered to be those who spend time indoors in front of the

computer screen or working in a dim workshop for hours at a time. It’s not a secret that most of
creative process can be done indoors, however, there is great evidence that any sign of nature,
such as plant on your windowsill or a walk outside in some natural places, may offer a real boost
to the creative process rather than serve as merely a vacation or distraction.
Nature is so diverse! Unfortunately, very few people are able to observe its full potential. But
don’t worry if you are not in this group of people, you can still find a great source for creativity.
Psychologists have found that being open to experiencing new things is directly associated with
one’s level of creative thinking and output. From the exhilaration of cliff jumping or tree
climbing to the serenity of hammocking and relaxing by a fire to the rigor of a long trek to the
assurance of a gentle breeze and a sip of fresh water, the number of distinct natural experiences
are virtually limitless. 

Let’s remember the times when we felt frustrated or anxious – nature is one of our most
prodigious and effective problem solvers. There is now an entire field under the domain of
Biomimicry which takes the elegant solutions found in natural biological problem solving and
applies them to our most pressing modern problems. Things like Velcro, bullet trains, and wind
turbines have all been made using some of nature’s own ingenuity. How many artists and
architects were inspired by nature and its beauty. Let’s take a look at some of them:

Water Lilies - Claude Monet

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The famous French artist Claude Monet was one of the most celebrated Impressionists whose
nature paintings are well known in the  history of art. Investigating the shifting nature of
light and the perception of pure color, his paintings defined the Impressionistic style. His
famous Water Lilies series (nearly 250 oil paintings) depict the Impressionist artist’s flower
garden in Giverny, France. They were the main focus of his work during the last 30 years of his
life. What’s most inspiring about them is how different each painting in the series is from the
other — nature is so fleeting, always changing and transforming, colors and lights moving in
ways that can never fully be captured yet toy with the imagination.

Gloucester Harbor - Winslow Homer

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The self-taught American artist Winslow Homer initially worked as a commercial illustrator.

Fascinated with nature, he began investigating the traditional oil medium and soon became
famous for his landscape and marine subjects produced during his working vacations. His nature
painting Gloucester Harbor showcases the beauty of color, the shifting light, and the serene
atmosphere of the vacation at the sea. Other nature-inspired paintings by the artist include
the Sunlight on the Coast, part of the collection of the Ohio Toledo Museum of Art, Song of the
Lark, and Cloud Shadows.

Sunlight and Shadow - The Newbury Marshes - Martin Johnson

Heade
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The American landscape painter Martin Johnson Heade spent much of his time traveling the
tropics where he was inspired to paint many images with flowers and birds. Exploring the
world around him, he began to specialize in depictions of salt marshes in the New England
Coastal area. His painting Sunlight and Shadow: The Newbury Marshes not only reflects his
interest in this subject matter, but also displays the detailed analysis of the landscape. His other
famous nature paintings include Rocks in New England, Rhode Island Landscape, and Sunrise in
Nicaragua.

Looking Down Yosemite Valley - Albert Bierstadt

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The German-American painter Albert Bierstadt was associated with the Hudson River School
movement, inspired by the American West. The beauty of the outdoors and its wildlife were
often the subject matter of his famous nature paintings. Among his celebrated nature paintings,
which many associate also with the Rocky Mountain School Movement, is his painting Looking
Down Yosemite Valley.

Waterfall, No 1, ‘Iao Valley Maui – Georgia O’Keeffe

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Georgia O’Keeffe was famous for her abstracted paintings of the American desert, but not many
people know she spent several months in Maui, one of the lush islands of Hawaii (she was there
on assignment for a pineapple company but spent most of her time painting the gorgeous
landscape). The painting above serves as a tribute to a land largely untouched by human
development or pollution — seeing the purity of the landscape is something of a religious
experience for anyone who can get the chance to go to Hawaii. It’s images like these that remind
us how important it is to conserve the natural earth.
Birds of America - John James Audubon

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The French-American painter John James Audubon was also an ornithologist and naturalist.

His famous book The Birds of America became a major resource in the field of ornithology, and
he was credited with the discovery of 25 new species of birds. His celebrated and highly
detailed paintings of nature and its wildlife include the work Golden Eagle, American Crow,
and White Gyrfalcons.

Falling Water – Frank Lloyd Wright

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Fallingwater is a house designed by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 in the Laurel
Highlands of southwest Pennsylvania, about 70 miles (110 km) southeast of Pittsburgh.
Frank Lloyd Wright harbored a great respect for nature in his work and believed that human
buildings and architecture should harmoniously connect with and benefit the land around it. His
pioneering thoughts have inspired architects and artists to follow in his footsteps in maintaining
the environment while merging it with art.
“A building should appear to grow easily from its site and be shaped to harmonize with its
surroundings if Nature is manifest there,” he once said.

Spiral Jetty – Robert Smithson

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Robert Smithson was famous for being one of the first to undertake “land art” or “earthworks.”
In Spiral Jetty, he constructed a giant swirl out of mud, rocks, and salt crystals jutting into the
Great Salt Lake in Utah. The earthwork disappears then reappears, depending on precipitation
and the tide. When there’s a drought, the jetty is more visible while normal precipitation keeps it
submerged; and every time it reappears it is slightly different. It reflects the transient and
changing nature of the earth.

Earth Body – Ana Mendieta

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Ana Mendieta was a performance artist and photographer focused primarily on her spiritual and
physical connection with the earth. In Earth Body, she documents herself merged into nature in
various sculptural forms, bridging the gap between performance art, sculpture, and land art.