Last week, we addressed some of the things to keep in mind when selecting a photograph for a custom photo portrait painting. If a portrait isn’t what you’re in the mood for, you’re probably thinking about a landscape oil painting instead. Even without needing to check to make sure that everyone’s smiling right and no one’s got red eyes, there’s still plenty to consider when selecting your landscape scene.

Historically, landscape paintings have usually involved scenes of nature, often showing a long stretch of horizon with the emptier space of the sky given as much attention and importance as the verdant ground activity.

If a traditional scene is what you had in mind, a serine country landscape can help to transform many interior spaces into calming oases.

The landscape painting, as we know it today, originated with the Dutch in the sixteenth century. Prior to that era, painters primarily used landscapes as backdrops for religious, historical, or mythological themes and subjects. These paintings often held an almost pre-Romantic notion of perfection of nature. This naturalist impulse was a hallmark of landscapes in France, England, and America up to the nineteenth century.

However, in a world, however, where the “urban landscape” is a familiar phrase that defines our geographic reality, our understanding of what defines a landscape painting can be expanded to include city scenes and visually intriguing architecture. Instead of rolling hills and setting suns, the sharp, vertical, metallic lines of the city’s environs, as well as the reflective properties of the modern materials of glass and steel, can lend a pointed and urbane edge to any space.

Although cityscape painting also goes back to the Dutch (Vermeer’s’ image of what constituted a city was quite different from our own), cityscaping became widely popular with the eighteenth century Italian vedute painters, or view-makers. These painters, playing fast and loose with geographic reality, catered to tourists who wanted the famous landmarks of Rome or Venice contained in a single frame regardless of where they actually were located.

Obviously, these works were more concerned with capturing the feel and tone of a situation than depicting actual scenes in high fidelity. They were interested in representing a feeling – which is exactly what a custom landscape painting still does.

So what photograph should you choose for your custom oil painting? Favorite vacation spots—whether it’s somewhere you’ve actually visited or a dream destination—are popular subjects. A peaceful beach scene from a cruise port of call or a favorite snapshot of the Eiffel Tower on a rainy Parisian morning can provide a nostalgic smile. The burnt reds of the Grand Canyon or the silver art deco terraced crown of the Chrysler Building can also compliment and accentuate any room’s modern color scheme.

Something more local can sometimes be just as meaningful. For a newly married couple, the coffee shop where they had their first date or the park where they became engaged could be the perfect image. A college student leaving home for the first time could find an oil painting of home or the local high school football field to be the homesickness cure he or she needs.

Architects, builders and landscapers can find custom oil paintings to be a unique and remarkable way to document their achievements. Similarly, firms and businesses can use oil paintings to commemorate milestones in their history and growth.

Remember, any scene can be beautiful if the lighting and angle are working together well, so if there’s a place that’s special to you, you can find a photograph that captures beautifully how it makes you feel. Select an effective picture of a place that impacts you emotionally, and the resulting oil painting is one that you’ll love.