Most people appreciate a landscape painting, such as the beauty found in Appalachian landscapes. We all like to be reminded of the beauty and wonder of the world around us. We all need to be reminded of our deep, intrinsic connection to the natural world. Artists journey to the depths of this relationship when studying a landscape. They seek to express the very mood that nature is expressing, and to do so, the artist must be keenly aware of their own emotions in response to what nature is saying. It is the emotional expression of the artist that gives the landscape painting life. It is not enough to merely copy the fields and mountains as one sees them. The seeing must take the artist deeper into how they feel about the light and color of the fields, the shape and presence of the mountains. What is the light, the shape trying to tell them? What does the color make them feel? Nature reveals the depth of herself with every landscape study. Each message of the mystery revealed connects the artist more deeply to nature and to themselves. Nature paintings provide the artist with a sweet exchange, which becomes a gift to you the viewer.