Manhattan Arts International Proudly Presents
“Art Inspired by Nature” 2026

September 15 – November 15, 2026
Extraordinary Artistic Expressions of our Natural Environment

A Message from Renee Phillips, the Curator: About Our “Nature” Exhibitions
It is a huge honor and pleasure to present this special exhibition. For more than 20 years I have curated exhibitions on the theme of Nature throughout NYC public venues and on our two websites. The purpose of the annual “Art Inspired by Nature” Exhibition is to promote artists from around the world who create superior works of art that convey the many beautiful physical aspects of nature as well as its emotive, symbolic, and healing qualities. Our “Nature” exhibitions also raise awareness about the importance of our responsibility to celebrate, respect and protect our natural environment.

Exhibition Presented on Our Two Websites
The main exhibition with 70 artists is presented in the “Art Inspired by Nature” 2026 Online Exhibition on our other website The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS. Simultaneously, 21 artists are featured here in the Manhattan Arts International “Art Inspired by Nature” 2026 Exhibition. They are from our Online Gallery, Art Reviews, Interviews and/or Articles.

Banner: Details of artwork by Karen Johnston, Lis Zadravec and Rajul Shah

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Visit the Artists’ Pages & Websites.
Contact them Directly to Purchase their Art.
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Do Not Reproduce Images Without the Artist’s Permission.
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Bren Sibilsky

Garden Friends, clay for bronze, 11″ x 10″ x 5″

My muse is nature. It feeds me creatively, physically and spiritually. My time with nature refuels me. It drives my artistic desire, creating visions inspired by the ultimate master artist, God. I enjoy the companions I meet there and spend time with birds, frogs, caterpillars, butterflies… and my cat likes to be the tour guide. I hope this nature connection is never lost for the future generations. “Garden Friends” heals the mind, spirit and feeds the body. It is where heaven meets us.

Visit Bren’s page on our website
Visit Bren’s website: brensculpture.com

Lis Zadravec

Rumspringa, colored pencil, 14″ x 11″

Rumspringa literally means running around, which fox kits do a lot of. In Amish culture it is a tradition before making adult choices. I feel there is a discussion in the eyes of these two, which way to turn. In the end, they are going to grow up into foxes anyway.

Read an Art Review about Lis’s art on our website
Visit Lis’s website: LisZadravec.com

Rajul Shah

Ascent from Cobalt, acrylic on Linen, 35.4″ x 47.2″

My art presents the philosophy of Kintsugi supported with chakric symbolism. This work represents the spiritual energy I have experienced while enjoying the sunsets around Santa Fe, NM. The warm hues of the setting sun interacting with the coolness of the moonrise fusing with the Terracotta earth present a prism of purples and blues. I have traveled many places and seen many sunsets. Santa Fe is the only place I have “spiritually experienced” a sunset.

Visit Rajul’s page on our website
Visit Rajul’s website: rajulshahart.com

Charles N. Murphey

Desertwave to Tranquility, photography, pigment ink on fine art metallic paper, 40″ x 30″

While on a photo shoot exploring slot canyons in Arizona, I came across this rock formation that immediately caught my interest for its curved textured walls along with hues of orange and lavender. It wasn’t until reviewing images just captured that I realized my subconscious attraction to the scene was due in large part to it closely resembling a cresting ocean wave. In this image, however, the wave happens to be in the desert southwest and is sculpted in rock!

Read an Art Review about Charles’s art on our website
Visit Charles’s website: artxus.com

Barbara Brown

Spider Web, oil on canvas, 12″ x 16″

A contemplation of spiders brings us to the symbolism of their webs—to mother spider in ancient nature-based cultures spinning the webs of life—and thus to the interconnectivity of all of creation. The slightest of touches anywhere on the finely spun silken strands is felt throughout the entire web, and we learn that this is a metaphor—the smallest of any of our actions will reverberate throughout the entirety of all that is.

Visit Barbara’s page on our website 
Visit Barbara’s website: barbarabrownart.com

Nancy Calef

Nature’s Stream, oil and found objects on canvas, 40″ x 40″

This painting was inspired by recognizing the impermanence of human life as the force of nature flows unimpeded through our circumstances and relationships.

Visit Nancy’s page on our website
Visit Nancy’s website: nancycalefgallery.com

Karen Johnston

Healing Path, acrylic, 24″ x 30″

Robert Frost wisely noted, “The best way out is always through.” I believe this holds true in both life and art. Moving directly through the center of our heaviest challenges presents its own reward and sense of accomplishment. My painting, ‘Healing Path’, is a light-hearted celebration of that very journey. Created with hope and influenced by nature, it honors the beautiful, fluid spaces that quietly lead us toward personal renewal and ultimate healing.

Read about Karen in “Artists Who Practice the Art of Compassion and Generosity”
Visit Karen’s website: studiokarenjohnston.com

Sandra Belitza-Vazquez

A View from Deer Park, photography, available in various sizes

I visited Deer Park while on a photography tour of the Olympic Peninsula. Our small group arrived before sunrise, and we chose our spots to capture the rising sun and the glorious sky above the towns of Port Angeles and Sequim.

Visit Sandra’s page on our website
Visit Sandra’s website: sbvaz.com

Nancy Reyner

Horizon, acrylic and silver leaf on panel, 40” x 60”

This painting called Horizon, uses layers of acrylic and silver leaf on panel, worked and reworked until the surface held both movement and stillness. The water churns and catches light while the mountains sit quiet above it, dissolving into mist. I’m drawn to that edge between forming and breaking apart—how a shape holds together only for a moment before shifting into something else. The silver leaf lets the painting change with the light in the room.

Visit Nancy’s page on our website
Visit Nancy’s website: nancyreyner.com

Poul S. Nielsen

Atmospheric Probabilities #3 (Azul), pastel on paper, 30” x 22”

My work titled “Atmospheric Probabilities” is an expressive response to and celebration of the extraordinary light and colour that I experience on a daily basis in my unique prairie environment. The exceptional colour of the indigenous Blackfoot has influenced me and recent trips to Peru with its vibrant colouration has resulted in intensified and saturated hues.

Visit Poul’s page on our website
Visit Poul’s website: psnielsen.com

Peter N. Van Giesen

Hallelujah Morning, acrylic on canvas, 16″ x 20″

Each morning I am renewed in my spirit by the rising sun and it’s luminous warmth. On this day the brilliance of yellow captured my senses and strengthen my resolve to face the tasks of the day with renewed vigor. Creating art, for me, is a mystical process, a spiritual work, and an exercise of creativity. I am drawn to the mystery that is implicit in the natural world.

Visit Peter’s page on our website
Visit Peter’s website: peternvangiesen.com

Tom Hessler

Where the Path Leads Us, oil on canvas, 30″ x 40″

Nature feels inviting to me, and is where I feel a calm connection to my environment. A path always offers the possibility of adventure, and is also a metaphor for my life as an artist, exploring my own creative journey. I am inspired by the beauty of the nature that surrounds me, here in the wilderness of Northern California.

Read an Art Review about Tom’s art on our website
Visit Tom’s website: tomhesslergallery.com

Anne Morrison Rabe

Azalea, photography, available in various sizes

Nature is my inspiration and my studio. I am drawn to the quiet drama hidden within a flower — the way petals can resemble flowing fabric, sculpted forms, or even a figure in motion. By isolating the azalea against deep black, I aimed to transform something familiar into something mysterious and almost otherworldly. The layered petals, delicate stamens, and shifting shades of color suggest both fragility and strength, inviting the viewer to look beyond the flower itself.

Visit Anne’s page on our website
Visit Anne’s website: annemorrisonrabe.photography

Carole Claude T.

Not So ‘Wild’ Life, mixed media, 8.27″ x 11.69″

I was inspired to draw this interconnected scene, an octopus in the sky, a wolf, a parrot, a lizard on a rock, a giraffe, a kangaroo, under a shining yellow sun, because it feels true to our moment. These creatures don’t share a habitat, yet here they coexist, reminding me how deeply everything is linked. Bringing them together allowed me to imagine and hope for harmony in the fragmented world of humans on planet Earth – and greater protection of Wildlife.

Read an Art Review about Carole’s art on our website
Visit Carole’s website: caroleclaude.art

Tommy B. McDonell

Rushing, alcohol ink and mixed media, 6″ x 15″

I love the world, and not just one area. One of my biggest fears is global warming. I think it’s important to educate our citizens about the dangers of greenhouse gasses as well as the concentration of carbon dioxide which makes all of us vulnerable to rising waters. At one point, the melting of ice will affect each and every one of us. My greatest wish is for our country to work with others to reverse these trends.

Visit Tommy’s page on our website
Visit Tommy’s website: leap4artnyc.com

Karen H. Salup

Between Thought and Emotion, acrylic, 24″ x 36″

Florida’s summer heat brings me thoughts that evoke a dream-like landscape of memory and emotion. Soft washes of blush pink, misty gray and warm earth tones create a delicate landscape while black gestural marks weave across the canvas.

Visit Karen’s page on our website
Visit Karen’s website: karenhs.com

Dick and Rosanne

Colorful Coleus, digital photography, 43″ x 57″

This image is created from a beautiful coleus potted plant on our patio. The colors and textures are so striking they lend themselves to a deeper investigation. Through our process of mirroring, rotating, and layering, we uncover dimensions that aren’t always obvious in the original image. This transformation reveals the hidden architecture of nature – a kind of quiet, universe. It invites a slower gaze, a moment of reflection, a deeper breath.

Visit the Dick-and-Rosanne page on our website
Visit their website: dickandrosanne.com

Lori Horowitz

Piercing the Deep, mixed-media relief sculpture Patinated copper mesh and pipe, photography, aluminum, fiber and gauze, 40″ x 40″ x 8″

Created from images of live coral, Piercing the Deep reveals the vibrant movement of a complex aquatic ecosystem threatened by development and human intervention. Laminated photographs and diverse materials form sculptural organic shapes, merging nature with manufactured objects. Copper screen evokes the skeletal remains of dying coral, while the spiral symbolizes drilling and exploitation. As ocean-floor mining expands without meaningful environmental review or global standards, these irreplaceable ecosystems face even greater risk.

Read an interview with Lori on our website
Visit Lori’s website: lorihorowitz.com

Gail Bach

Coral Leaf Bathing, watercolor and acrylic on wood panel, 12″ x 14″

This painting is from my new work about Leaf Bathing, a subset of Forest Bathing, inspired by the Japanese idea of immersion in Nature and helping ourselves, physically, mentally and emotionally–reconnecting with our breath and forest/leaf energy.

Visit Gail’s page on our website
Visit Gail’s website: gailbachart.com

Alison Thomas

Winter Day, digitally manipulated photography, 12″ x 18″

When it snows it is beautiful here. I live near large farms with lightly traveled gravel roads and when it snows that is where I go. It is quiet in the crisp cold and I love seeing and photographing the reflections on the snow from the sky and the trees.

View Alison’s art in the “HerStory” Exhibition Video
Visit Alison’s website: serenityscenes.com

Jane Palliser

The Nursery, gouache and mixed media, 18″ x 24″

Fascinated by the nursing log laying bare on the forest floor and the metaphor of life and death , one begets the other. In death the decomposing log provides a fertile sanctuary for new growth creatively rooting itself in unexpected places planting a new forest floor.

Read an Art Review about Jane’s art on our website
Visit Jane’s website: lifespiritart.ca

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Quotes from Environmentalists, Writers, Poets, and More

“The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction. The question is whether any civilization can wage relentless war on life without destroying itself, and without losing the right to be called civilized.” ~ Rachel Louise Carson

“I never saw a discontented tree. They grip the ground as though they liked it, and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do.” ~ John Muir

Claude Monet, Water Lillies, 1908.

The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity… and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself. ~ William Blake

And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything. ~ William Shakespeare

The artist and the photographer seek the mysteries and the adventure of experience in nature. ~ Ansel Adams

We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. ~ Native American proverb

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. ~ Albert Einstein

The ground we walk on, the plants and creatures, the clouds above constantly dissolving into new formations – each gift of nature possessing its own radiant energy, bound together by cosmic harmony. ~ Ruth Bernhard

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. ~ Henry David Thoreau

The sun and the moon, the cedar and the little flower, the eagle and the sparrow: the spectacle of their countless diversities and inequalities tells us that no creature is self-sufficient. Creatures exist only in dependence on each other, to complete each other, in the service of each other.  ~ Pope Francis in his book “Enclyclical on Climate Change & Inequality”

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Also Visit “Nature in Art Expands Our Awareness and Appreciation”

Visit Our Online Gallery

Read Our Art Reviews

Learn About Our Exhibitions

Find Many Articles and Interviews

Visit “Art Inspired by Nature” on Our Website The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS

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