WHAT MAKES A LANDSCAPE PAINTING GREAT?

​2025 is my 25th business anniversary. Is hard to believe, but I started selling art via my Gallery without Walls in 2000.

Recently, a client lost her home and her lovely art collection in the Eaton Fire. Fortunately, I keep records of past sales and was able to create a spreadsheet for her insurance carrier with details about each of the 11 pieces she had acquired from me over 20 years ago. I also happened to have photos of her art collection (and not just the pieces she acquired from me) that I had taken after installing several paintings in her home.

Creating the spreadsheet and digging into my records was bittersweet but also very instructive. By looking at my sales from each year, I could see how both the recession and Covid-19 in those years adversely affected my business (which came to a halt). I also saw the impact of the deaths of each of my parents in 2004 and 2016 respectively, and yet over time (drum roll please) without a gallery I sold nearly 400 original paintings, photographs and sculptures. This number did not include selling prints of my father's work, nor the many prints, cards, puzzles and mugs I've sold in the past few years via licensing of my father's vintage watercolors through Fine Art America.

The majority of the paintings I sold were landscapes which happens to be the type of work (subject) that traditionally sells more than any other type of painting - which brings me to the following question:  

               WHAT MAKES A LANDSCAPE PAINTING GREAT?

A great landscape evokes a sense of time and place and draws you into that world.

A great landscape brings nature into your space - your home or office which is likely devoid of greenery with its electronic gadgets, hard surfaces and man made items.

As you evaluate a landscape, the three "Cs" apply namely composition, (Is it strong?) color/s (Is it pleasing to the eye?) and contrast (Does the interior lighting enhance the subject?)

Does the title of the painting add to your appreciation of it? Does it tell you the story or give you a sense of why the artist chose that particular location to paint?

Mainly, how does the painting make you feel?

What do you think makes a landscape great? (And I still have many available through www.danielakfineart.com) Let me know. I look forward to hearing from you.