Our Climate’s Influence on Art - Shan Shui

In today’s post, we explore how climate affects art through a specific style of painting found in China. By looking at climate and how it impacts our expression, we hope you’ll find inspiration in your own nature and maybe even reflect on where your unique art derives from.

Nature, climate, and the conditions around us impact our art immensely. As humans, we constantly observe and interact with our world. It’s no wonder so many painters, artists, musicians, poets, and more have used its influence as inspiration. Some of the world’s greatest artists and artworks, that resonate the most, have been those that observe their region’s nature and share its profound beauty with us all.

Immediately I thought of the stunning paintings in Chinese restaurants, the foggy mountains and rushing waters taking me far away and deep into China’s forests. This traditional Chinese mountain art is called Shan Shui. Shan Shui’s concept refers to mountain and water, or ‘landscape’, and how the human mind interacts with it. The

mountainous regions of China have always inspired painters to encapsulate its stillness, beauty, and peace within their art. Seeing these paintings, we are transported to these regions and feel the serenity of the mountains for ourselves. Living amongst the magic of these mountains and seeing the beauty they express has birthed a style of art that encourages the audience to feel the presence and grandeur of this nature. 

In the painting above, we meet this wide expanse of mountainscape: the rolling fog and still water exemplifying the stability and permanence of the region. A mountainous landscape promotes potential artistic themes of tranquility, strength, and presence, whereas an artist from a coastal village might work with themes like motion, fluidity, and impermanence. We gain insight into the unique lives of these artists through this art and what they might’ve felt on a daily basis.

Each of our individual climate’s, inform the art we create. Someone from a beach town will create different art than someone from a desert. All of it inspires our unique expression and influences. Next time you’re stuck on what to create, think back to the climate’s you’ve lived in and see if it can bring new life to your art.

Thanks for reading and see you next time!