Artists and their work are, of course, affected by their surroundings. Artists paint what they see. The colors, shapes, and textures around them inform even painters of abstracts. How artists paint our surroundings affects how we picture it, as well. We are influenced by the art we take in—even causally. Art helps give us a sense of place.

Growing up in suburban L.A., the backyard swimming pool was as much a part of the domestic scene as the living room couch. But after seeing David Hockney’s paintings of swimming pools, I looked at the ripples in that over-chlorinated water and the pastel, concrete surroundings differently.

Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) 1971, Acrylic on canvas, (84 x 120 in); Collection David Geffen

Mr. Hockney was from England and his fresh view of what I took for granted changed the way I saw things around me. His view informed mine, helped me visually define the place I lived. When I think of L.A., I think of swimming pools. And when I picture swimming pools in my head, they have a Hockney-esque flavor.

A Bigger splash, 1967, Acrylic on canvas, 95.5″ x 96″

A few years ago, David Hockney returned to England. He’s been painting the English countryside around Yorkshire where he now lives. I’ve never been to Yorkshire. I don’t know what it looks like. But dang!, if his paintings of rural England don’t make me look at my rural surroundings in South Carolina differently!

Landscape Tunnel, Acrylic on canvas

In these paintings of the English countryside in summer, Mr. Hockney’s use of exaggerated color and pattern has attuned me to the colors and patterns in the country around me. And in the same way, his painting of trees in winter (below) has helped me recognize the singular shapes formed by entire stands of leafless trees against a South Carolina winter sky.

When you think of your environment, how do you picture it? What images come to mind? What artists or art has helped shape your visual memory?