Yesterday I walked through the dunes near The Hague and caught myself ignoring the path entirely. I was watching colours instead. Sand shifting from cool grey to warm ochre. Marram grass casting watercolour shadows across the slopes. Nature paints all day long, and I was simply standing in the middle of her studio.
Why nature is the greatest teacher
As an abstract artist, I am always searching for shapes and colours that stir something. And honestly, no colour chart or trend report comes close to what a beach walk in June can do. The way light glides over wet sand, how rock formations draw patterns no human could invent. Nature has been making abstract art for millions of years. I am just trying to capture a fraction of it.
Earth tones: the colour trend that never fades
Terracotta, olive green, warm sand, clay and ochre. In 2026, earth tones are once again the foundation of modern interiors. Not as a passing fashion, but because they carry something primal. They connect us to the ground beneath our feet, quite literally. When I mix my palette with pigments you could almost dig from the soil, I feel that connection in every brushstroke.
Bringing the outside in
The trend is called biophilic design, but the idea is simple: bring the outdoor world inside. Not just with plants and wooden furniture, but with art that carries that same energy. An abstract canvas in the warm tones of a summer heath or the deep greens of a forest acts as a window to the outside, even when there is no window.
How I translate nature onto canvas
My process always starts outdoors. I take photographs, but more often I make quick colour sketches with my fingers in the sand or oil pastel on a loose sheet. Those raw impressions come back to the studio with me. There I let go of the subject and work with what remains: the atmosphere, the colour temperature, the movement. That is how a painting emerges that feels like nature without you being able to pinpoint exactly what you see.
Texture is the secret
Nature is never flat. Bark, driftwood, cracked clay: every texture tells a story. In my work I use thick layers of paint, palette knife and sometimes sand or pigment powder to bring that tactility back. Research shows that textured art makes a room feel calmer. Your eyes have something to explore, and that in itself is soothing.
Finding the right spot at home
A nature-inspired abstract piece feels best where you come to rest. Think of the living room above a linen sofa, the hallway as a welcome, or the bedroom where it becomes the last and first colour you see each day. Pair it with natural materials: a wooden frame, a jute rug, handmade ceramics. Let the canvas be the focal point and the space around it breathe.
Summer as a starting point
Summer is the perfect season to consciously observe nature. Step outside with the eyes of an artist: which colours do you notice that you have never seen before? What shapes do the clouds make? That is exactly the perspective I paint from. And the beautiful thing is: you do not need to be an artist to practise that way of seeing.
It starts with one choice
You do not need a renovation to bring nature inside your home. Sometimes it is a single artwork on the wall that changes everything. A canvas with the warmth of ochre and the depth of forest green that makes you pause, just for a moment, every day. That is what I create, and why I create it.
Curious which piece might suit your space? Browse the collection or get in touch to discover how nature can enrich your interior.
