It’s been quite a week. When I woke up Wednesday to my radio telling me who our new president was going to be I was in a state of shock. Emotions washed over me and threw me into a turmoil of anxiety. I don’t do angry well. It’s one of the big reasons I prefer to work alone, quietly, in my studio. My usual reaction to things that make me angry is to shut myself away from the rest of the world. I’ll go to the barn and clean stalls- that usually settles everything. But on Wednesday I knew the only thing that would calm me down was to turn off the radio and paint. Something. Anything. But what?

My first thought was to tack a large piece of canvas to the wall, get out the darkest, ugliest paints I have  and with big brushes just paint my feelings. I would be Jackson Pollock for a day. But that doesn’t work for me. That would just make me angrier. And isn’t it the hate and anger that got us to this dark place? I needed peace. Love. Beauty. I decided to paint a scene of my happiest place. Being with my horse and my dogs in the beautiful countryside of Vermont.

So I turned the radio off and turned the music on and painted. All day. And by the end of the day I had relaxed. My life is wonderful. I live in a beautiful place and I have the best people and animals around me. I am VERY lucky. I could feel my appreciation for these things come out onto the canvas. When it was finished I felt empowered. Love trumps hate. Art had restored my belief that we will face this challenge, knowing that whatever we have to do is worth every moment and action of resistance. We must all strive for the good of everyone of us.

I painted a picture. We have to do what we love and pass our strengths onto others. My hope is that you will look at my art and feel something. I hope it will bring you some small sense of peace.