Nature in Art
Art has always been a creative expression used by people in every time period and culture. Nature is a common subject found in art pieces both past and present. Paleolithic cave paintings give insight to creatures found in the past with the forms of cave lions, woolly rhinoceros and mammoths being found amongst the figures decorating the caves using natural pigments. Renaissance art features life like human figures pictured with landscapes of flowers, rivers, mountains, trees and more. Romanticism, impressionism, naturalism, all the way to today’s contemporary art have all had nature featured in many paintings, drawings, and pottery pieces. Nature being featured in art crosses cultural and continental lines showing that all people everywhere feel the connection to the world around them.
Artists are able to use nature as a profound inspiration to explore themes of beauty, to give depth to the artistic piece, to explore colors and pigments, to bring awareness or concern for our environment and environmental issues. When the observer connects with the nature found in art, it resonates on multiple levels.
Nature itself provides many health benefits to us. Being in nature can ease stress, improve moods, help provide clearer thinking and give you joy. Regular activities in nature help with better health - from physical things such as lowering blood pressure to mental benefits such as easing anxiety and depression. Nature in art shows that humans know the importance of admiring nature and gives us long term records of how nature has changed through the years.
This year, we have been honored at the Red River National Wildlife Refuge to have amazing artists create murals for visitors to enjoy. John Fox created an amazing mural for our Children’s Nature Play Area. His family helped support him during the project and with their help, it was recently installed. John included animals such as alligators, Baltimore Orioles, Rufous Hummingbirds, and Monarch Butterflies - all animals that can be found here on the wildlife refuge! John also used his artistic skills to create our new Caddo Language Red River Animal Coloring Book which showcases animals in our area with their Caddo language names.
Hulya Onel, Naturalist for Caddo Parks, and Carolyn Grogan also created an amazing mural. This mural, designed and painted by Hulya, is located in the women’s bathroom and compliments a prior mural she painted in the men’s bathroom.
Hulya and Carolyn are longtime volunteers at the Red River NWR and in the community. The multiple murals in the Visitor’s Center done by Hulya are not just beautiful - they are done true to real life making the plants and animals realistic to nature in addition to being amazing art pieces.
Thus, nature being featured in art, especially when done with such accuracy, has proven to be a beneficial method of scientific documentation and communication.
Nature is important to people. Sharing nature through creations of art is a timeless skill and we appreciate the artists who are able to bring nature to life in such ways. Next time you are at Red River National Wildlife Refuge, stop by the murals and see these creations for yourself.
