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Bucknell Spring, oil on canvas, 2023 (sold)

Forgive me for starting out a bit dark, but here are a few things that happened in April: I saw two natural areas in my small town bulldozed for new construction, learned about record-breaking warm oceans and collapsing coral reefs, I met relatives who fled Russia because of the Putin regime, and followed the suffering in Ukraine and Gaza on the evening news.

Wow. After all that, there's a part of my brain yelling at me to DO SOMETHING!

Yet, another part of my brain is begging for a break from the stress of it all. These days, we all risk emotional overload.  

How to cope?

For most of us it all comes down to balance: staying involved while also trying to help. I’m excited to be turning more of my lawn into native wildflower beds, to be raising a daughter who is passionate about environmental studies, to be learning tofu recipes ("the new chicken”) and to be growing a vegetable garden.

But, by far, the most satisfying way for me to "do something" is to make art. While I’m painting, I forget all my troubles. It’s meditation with a paintbrush in hand. On a good day and with a little luck, I can make paintings other people can “escape into” as well.

I look forward to seasonal moments of beauty the way some people look forward to major football or basketball games. One of the main events of my spring is when the academic quad at Bucknell University bursts into bright pink blooms for a week or two. The mood lifts (despite final exams) and it's a place to escape to, get fresh air, and enjoy the feeling of community as people from town and campus come to walk under the trees.

This year I spent a sunny Saturday under the cherry trees. I wanted to travel lightly and move quickly from place to place so I used watercolor and ink instead of oils. The goal was to be spontaneous and see how many small moments I could capture as the light shifted from east to west.

Here are the first two paintings of the day. It's fun to see the difference between 9 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.:

Bucknell Cherry Blossoms, 9 a.m., watercolor & ink. Available.

Bucknell Cherry Blossoms, 10 a.m., watercolor & ink. Available.

In the afternoon I moved across the quad and faced the library:

Cherry Blossoms & Bertrand Library, Bucknell University, watercolor & ink. Available.

Later in the day, I stood facing north with Coleman Hall on my left and the library behind me:

Bucknell Cherry Blossoms, 3 p.m., watercolor & ink. Available.

By the end of the day, I was energized and relaxed, ready to face the evening news.

Also, I had enough information to be able to start several oil paintings later in the studio. (I'll write about those in my next blog post.)

I’d love to know your ways of coping with stress. Feel free to leave a comment below.