The photograph above was taken in the beautiful forests of south-west Australia. You can buy it here.
Why Nature Photography & Paintings Are The Perfect Choice For Your Workspace
Like any room or space in the home, the office, as well as it's occupants, will reap the benefits from having some lovely art on the walls.
Whether you use your office for homework, sorting out the bills, pursuing a hobby or running a business, artwork will only enhance the workspace.
So are landscapes the best style to choose when it comes to office art?
Numerous studies have shown that artwork in the office has many positive benefits on mood & productivity. In particular, landscape art was shown to be the most popular as well as creating the most positive impact.
It's also a well researched fact that workers in a pleasing & happy office environment are more productive.
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The Benefits Of Landscape Art In The Office Environment
Just as the benefits of having real plants & foliage in an office helps to boost mood, well-being & productivity, so too artistic representations of nature have the same impact.
Especially with larger prints & artworks, nature scenes are almost like having a window to the natural environment.
A study undertaken by the National Center for Biotechnology Information found that viewing images of nature is beneficial for our health on a number of levels.
Scenes & images of nature not only help physiological recovery from stress, but also psychological stress relief.
An excerpt from the study states: " Research demonstrates that, like real views of nature, artwork can reduce anxiety, reduce depression, improve mood, increase relaxation & decrease anxiety medication usage when compared to no artwork."
If you like the landscape photographs in the image above, you can buy them here.
One of the most stressful environments for people can be the doctor's or dentist's office.
Which makes this study conducted by The Centre For Health Design pertinent, as it showed, that although nature images don't directly reduce actual physical pain or sensation, they do help reduce blood pressure.
Nature images have also been shown to reduce anger & stress in the office by a study done by Sage Journals, where participants had to complete deliberately frustrating tasks.
Interestingly, it was only the male participants that seemed susceptible to elevated stress & anger levels.
We've all heard how important it is to give our eyes a break from staring at the computer.
If a window isn't in your line of sight, then getting lost in a lovely nature scene every so often will help prevent eye strain by the end of the day.
Selecting Landscape Art To Suit Your Office
The landscape photographs above are also available for purchase here.
As with any other subject, landscapes can be photographs, paintings, impressionism or abstract, colour or black & white.
Landscape art can also come in various aspect ratios from a 1:1 ratio, or square, 5:4 is a popular ratio (think of the popular 10 x 8 frames found in most stores), right through to panoramic 3:1 & super wide 4:1 & 5:1 ratios.
Composition
How the artist has positioned elements in the scene within the frame is what's known as composition.
The aspect ratio as discussed, is part of that overall composition & this also has an impact on not only how the viewer reacts, but also how the art affects the space it's in.
Horizontal lines within an image, which can be emphasised with a panoramic ratio, create a mood of rest & tranquillity.
Vertical lines & composition, when used with a complimentary aspect ratio, evoke feelings of power & strength, such as an image of tall trees.
Leading lines not only help in drawing the viewers eye into the scene, but can create a sense of movement & even vibrancy.
Having an understanding of composition & ratios will help you to find the best landscape art to suit the shape or layout of your office as well as the wall space it will be displayed on.
For example, a panoramic format may not look balanced hung between a small, or more vertical wall space between a filing cabinet & a cupboard.
In the image above, the tall trees suit the vertical aspect ratio, as well as the vertical panels they're hung on. A more square ratio landscape would also look good.
The composition & aspect ratio can also be implemented to represent your companies values & vision.
For instance, a panoramic photograph of a wide open road invokes a sense of vast horizons & things yet to come.
Especially when strong leading lines are used.
As well as evoking feelings of space & endless horizons, the image above also uses strong leading lines to draw the viewer into the scene. Although it's a relatively minimal subject, it creates a sense of dynamics & movement as well as creating the illusion of a bigger office.
Sorry, another shameless plug! You can buy this photograph of the Australian outback here.
Although nature scenes, be it a painting or a photograph, are categorised as landscapes, there's many various subjects that can be captured or interpreted.
Which Landscape Scene Should You Choose?
When you start exploring the various types of landscape art, it's quite surprising just how many, or different nature scenes there are.
All landscape art is going to enhance your workspace, but different scenes & subject matter can have their own qualities & how they affect the viewer.
Seascape, Coastal & Beach Art
Coastal images can range from a stormy sea to a peaceful tropical beach.
A rough & windy coastal scene is obviously going to be quiet dynamic, whereas a panoramic beach scene will create relaxation.
Mountains
Mountain imagery can be used to convey strength as well as power or confidence.
Alternatively, a panoramic of mountains covered in fog & mist is also able to convey a sense of peace.
Desert
Although desert scenes can provoke a feeling desolation, they're also great for creating a sense of space & horizon.
Desert scenes can use dynamic leading lines, such as the wind patterns in sand dunes for example.
Forest & Woodland
One of my favourite subjects to photograph, forests, bush & woodland scenes can be wonderfully peaceful & connect you to nature.
But a foggy & dark woodland scene can also appear a bit spooky & mysterious.
Cloudscapes & Sky
Although the subject matter is minimal, clouds & sky, they can be stormy skies, white fluffy clouds or really interesting cloud shapes.
Although spectacular, images of really dramatic storm clouds can almost create a sense of danger as well as excitement.
What could be more peaceful though than a photograph of white fluffy clouds floating across a clear blue sky?
Well .. actually being out of the office staring at white fluffy clouds floating across a clear blue sky!
Sunrise & Sunsets
Another subject, that although there can be quite dramatic sunsets, they still promote a sense of well-being.
They can also invoke that sense of endless horizons & the dawning of something new.
Finding A Genre To Suit Your Home Office
Landscape art & photography, like other art, has different styles & genres.
This is great, because it means you can find a style to suit your home office décor as well as your personal or business style.
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Panoramic
When thinking about panoramic landscapes, usually photography comes to mind.
But there are also panoramic paintings & nature scenes.
Photography lends itself well to panoramas as we've discussed, but paintings can be a little less dynamic, which can actually be a good thing.
You may want an image to fill a wide wall space, or create a focal point, but just don't want something too eye catching.
Minimalist
Following on from panoramic art, minimalist landscapes can be perfect for your needs too.
Even a panoramic photograph in a minimalistic style will be more subtle.
More minimal styles of landscape are less busy & more relaxing on the eye.
They can also consist of less colour too, which means you're able to accent other colours in your décor.
But a minimalist image can still convey a strong message or evoke an emotional response.
A single autumn leaf for example, speaks of the end of summer & heading into a new season.
Minimalist black & white photographs can be very powerful & use strong composition & leading lines.
Abstract
Although abstract landscapes may not be as true a representation of nature, they can still be very beautiful & thought provoking.
Abstract landscape paintings can range from being minimalistic to very bold & colourful.
Abstract nature photography tends to focus (excuse the unintentional pun!) on elements within nature as well as lines & shapes.
Painting Or Photograph?
There's just as many wonderful landscape paintings as there are photographs.
One art form isn't better than the other, & both have shown to have positive psychological & physical benefits.
So when it comes to finding the best landscape art for your office, it really comes down to what you're wanting to achieve.
Is it solely for your own enjoyment, or are you needing to brand your office space?
Will it suit the décor?
A Claude Monet for example, may seem out of place in a modern office & not representative of your business identity.
Original Or Print?
With landscape photography, you have the choice of mass produced prints found in many department stores, or buying from the photographer, either directly or online.
Some photographers will also offer limited edition prints, albeit at a higher cost.
But these types of prints do hold their value & like paintings, if it's a well known photographer the print can increase in value.
An original painting will vary widely in price depending upon the artist & more well known painters can fetch thousands of dollars for their work.
An original painting can be a good investment.
But there are plenty of print reproductions available of famous paintings which are very affordable.
Many local & lesser known painters often offer their work as prints too.
So I guess the question is .. how much do you like it & can you afford it?
Some Final Tips
Landscapes are also available on various mediums such as canvas, acrylic & metal prints.
There's also various ways to frame & display landscape art as well.
All sounds a bit overwhelming?
I've already written an article covering these topics in detail which relates to landscape art too.
But the main points are to make sure the art:
1. Ties In With Your Brand
Especially if you run a home based business which entertains clients, the colours in the art don't necessarily need to match your company colours, but the genre & style of the art should reflect your style.
2. Office & Artwork Size
The artwork needs to be proportionate to the wall space as well as balanced with the office space.
This doesn't mean you can't have a large landscape in a smaller office though, providing it's hung on the appropriate wall.
Too many artworks can make even a larger office space appear cluttered & too busy.
Sometimes one really nice piece can say more than half a dozen smaller artworks.
The photograph above was taken at Windy Harbour in Australia's south-west, you can buy it here.
3. Framing Your Landscape
Because frames come in so many styles a well as colours, they can be a great option.
An unframed canvas looks great, but add a floater frame & it looks very modern & contemporary.
Landscape photographs look stylish with a frame, especially when they're matted too.
At the end of the day, choose a frame that's not only going to enhance the image, but your office décor too.
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4. Which Print Medium?
Find a print medium that's practical for the location where your landscape will be displayed.
Generally, canvas prints are very durable , but if it's a high traffic area or exposed to lots of natural light, metal & acrylic prints are highly resistant to environmental contaminants as well as being UV resistant.
Every print medium has it's own qualities too & some suit certain images more than others.
You can explore this concept more here.
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Final Thoughts
I love getting out & photographing nature & landscapes, even if I don't come away with an image, it's very grounding just being in the great outdoors.
But the next best thing to being in nature, is to have a wonderful painting or photograph of a beautiful scene on the wall to admire.
If you use your home office for running a business, then you may spend most weekdays in that environment.
Even if you use your office for other reasons, having landscape images on the walls will help to make it a pleasant & uplifting, as well as productive space.
I hope you found value in this article & remember .. sharing is caring!