We, Brits, love our countryside with its rolling hills, green grass all year round, colourful flowers everywhere and even the rain that reminds us of Jane Austen’s novels. No matter what lifestyle we have and where we live, we enjoy spending time in the countryside admiring the beauty that surrounds us. For artists, however, the countryside is bliss and a never ending source of inspiration.
The colours of leaves in the autumn, the summer season with its various shades of green, the movement of the skies with cloudy and sunny patches and idyllic cottages – here are some features specific to countryside paintings that every landscape artists attempted at some point in their artistic endeavour.
From John Constable, one of the first British landscape painters to contemporary artists, the countryside has seen many facets and interpretations according to the trend and style specific to each era. Between ‘painting what one sees’ and ‘painting what one feels’ there are many cultural movements that favoured one or another so today both approaches and everything in between are equally valid and appreciated by artists and collectors alike.
Many artists claim that painting the landscape and the countryside is therapeutic as they can immerse themselves in nature and within themselves, thus finding a deep connection between man and land.
