Personal Essay: The American Landscape

The recently installed exhibition, “Love of Life and Landscape: The Art of Edward E. Nichols,” is not only a posthumous retrospective of his superb painting, but evokes a sentimental attachment for many of us who knew him.

The inception of “Covers The Ground,” begins with establishing the setting of the city of Sacramento. Understanding the natural beauty of the city is best conveyed by establish vivid imagery and Snyder accomplishes this by describing the “blossoming almond orchard acres.” As the image of nature sparks into the reader’s head, Gary Snyder is

The farmhouses looked terrible - the dust was deposited clear up to the window sills in these farmhouses, clear up to the window sills. And even about half of the front door was blocked by this sand. And if people inside wanted to get out, they had to climb out through the window to get out with a shovel to shovel out the front door. And, ah, there was no longer any yard at all there, not a green sprig, not a living thing of any kind, not even a field mouse. Nothing (qtd. in Press 32).

Our yearly pilgrimage to our deer lease in Menard, Texas starts every year on the first Friday in November. To get there we head four hours north thru the sprawling metropolis of San Antonio, full of its traffic and impatient drivers. Upon leaving the city limits of San Antonio, we head west towards Kerrville and the landscape starts to change drastically. No longer are we driving on flat land but now the car is climbing small hills and the road winds. We drive in this direction until we reach the vast acres of ranch land located on a lonely farm road between the small cities of Junction and Menard. If you drive too fast down the winding road, you will miss the old metal gate that is almost hidden by brush trees. My husband is the hunter, yet I love to come with him, because this is the place, where I disconnect from the fast paced life of city dwelling and feel reconnected once again to nature and I find peace and rest here in this cactus and dirt oasis.

"Spring landscape with a creek" is an impressionist oil painting by a Czech painter named Frantisek Kavan in 1890. This piece of art is chosen because it portrays an image of a landscape in which a creek of water is running through the meadows. The golden sun seems like taking a bath in the water hedged by green fields where yellow flower buddings can be seen. This painting shows the time of year when trees are saying goodbye to the winter season and are ready for life to return with spring. It seems as if this painting is saying goodbye to the history and introducing the new impressionistic art of 19th century. This painting is a simple landscape but it depicts the basic elements of life that are needed by a human to survive rather than materialistic things. Anyone who sees this painting is absorbed in it as the artist has painted it fresh which shows an optimistic thought when the glance goes from deserted trees to the green meadows and the water creek and finally to the flowers . This picture resembles a strong feeling of the presence of a creator who rescues us from destruction to the spring of life when life is at its peak.

Looking across the pastures and gently rolling hills of the farm, broken up into rectangles by barbed wire fences, I see dots of black where cows graze. Farther away in another pasture two spots of chestnut makeup horses, sleeping in the bright sun. Another horse, whose gleaming copper coat spotted with brown and white shines in the light, is slowly walking around his pasture looking for the perfect place to eat. I take a deep breath of rich air and smell the earthy scent of dirt, manure, and animals. Tall, green grass gently dances in the warm breeze. Birds flit across the sky, landing in the branches of large oak trees and a white cat creeps through the fescue, searching for her afternoon snack.

An individual's relationship with landscape is determined by the impact of past experiences and environment. As a result of interactions between a landscape and evaluation upon the particular landscape, a relationship can both include enriching yet uneasy aspects. Frank Darabont’s film “Shawshank Redemption” explores peoples initial perception and thought as a response to their surroundings as a result of past experiences.However, these individuals are challenged to accept beneficial features of a particular landscape through this relationship. It is dependent on past experiences and thought which determines a relationship between an individual and a landscape.

In Thomas Cole’s Essay on American Scenery, the reader is able to appreciate Cole’s predilection and love for the American scenery. It is his belief this scenery is superior to the European scenery, since the latter’s “primitive features of scenery have long since been destroyed or modified … to accommodate the tastes and necessities of a dense population.” However, Cole presents his audience with a gloomy prophecy about America’s future, which he believes will be the same as Europe’s. Still, while acknowledging that industrialization could eventually take over many natural regions, Cole is hopeful that nature will remain victorious, since it will still be predominant. Because of this, he advises the American people to take advantage of

Sweat dripped down Alphonse’s face as he guided his father mule’s through the rows of dirt. While, digging it up for the growing season to start, he felt relieved when the heat lifted from his shoulders. It was awfully hot in Ohio, so he didn’t think much of it until the mule had stopped turning the soil. Deftly, Al leaped off the back of the mighty creature to find his hooves covered in vines. As quick as a flash, he whipped a hunting knife from his pocket, and cut the large animal free. Finally, Alphonse turned to the wake of his tilling, to see a wall of vines and plants. He heard a cry in the distance, shouting his name, but he had been fastened to the ground, both mentally and literally. Before he could do anything else, it all went black.

At home, the mountain overshadows our farm in the same way that the thirty-story apartment building a block north overshadows this park. They both recede as they rise, shadowed places standing out against sunlit sides, seeming to hold themselves back from too much involvement with their surroundings. This building stands behind a wall of brick rowhouses like the low hill of alfalfa fields blocks a view of the lower reaches of the mountain.

There wasn’t a lot to do in our small village of Seven Mile, but we had plenty to discover. And in that fateful summer of 1981, we ventured further into the depths of our sleepy town for something, anything to break up the monotony of each sunny day. Until the last streaks of orange and violet settled on the rows of cornfields behind our houses, there was promise. On beat up bikes, we maneuvered old paths and blazed new ones until the gauzy ribbons of twilight forced us to abandon whatever mischief we had found ourselves in and peddle home. Between the last house on the street and the rural farm land that lay beyond it, our road narrowed and crossed a small creek. It was in this creek that we came upon our very first mystery; a close encounter

It was a warm, fall afternoon in the peaceful state of Illinois. On my grandparent’s farm, I explored the land as much as I could. The various trails and wooded acres led me to creeks, caves, and historical tunnels. I would drive the four-wheeler to venture out into the landscape. The brisk wind rushes past my cheeks and the smell of birch wood and damp grass would smother nostrils.

I perched myself up in a tree stand overlooking a massive river valley. This is the place where deer come down and across in order to get to the fields for feeding. The towering tree stand soared over many small trees. I glanced over the railing, looking down at the snowy forest floor many feet below. It was a frightening height. “Pull your gun up. I’ll work my way back around to try and push some deer

A threshold of life and death, the swamp holds a length of trees in its standing waters up to its multi-layered canopy. Amid low-lying shrubs, pools coalesce atop seasoned earth. The saturated land keeps an enraptured meadow. I admire the wildness of its primordial nature, I can easily appreciate the outgrowth of its networks and wonder how far they stretch.

I looked out at the sky, it was a nice summer day. The sun’s rays were bursting out, small wavy clouds rolled by. I looked over my shoulder and saw Anish running towards the school bus, panting and whaling his arms.