Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Quarantine Travels.

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

On April 28, 2020, I decided to take a few hours for myself to paint. We were in the midst of “sheltering in place” and I needed to do something to make me feel truly happy. As with most people, much of my work had vanished overnight and was I was becoming increasingly depressed. As each day dragged on, there was no end in sight and I wondered if we would ever meet all of the bills. Although I write a daily blog, even that was not helping draw me out of my depression.

What became one painting, became one painting every day. All of my paintings were done in Golden liquid acrylics and ranged in size from 8″ x 10″ to 16″ x 20″.

I call them my “Quarantine Travels.” They are my daily escape from the reality of COVID-19. Each day I revisit one of the favorite locations that I have photographed over the years.

I am not done with the series, but decided to share my progress. Each day I post a final painting with process photos to my Facebook Page “Wendy Rae Waszut-Barrett.” This post is then shared to my Facebook Group “Dry Pigment.” I will periodically update this post to add new compositions.

Here is what has helps me weather the Coronavirus Storm:

I conclude the series with the painting “In the Weeds” on June 19, 2020. Some of my happiest memories of my childhood were swimming at my parents’ cabin on Lower Sylvan Lake near Pillager, Minnesota. At the time, it was one of the clearest lakes in the state, spring fed. Because of the water clarity, I could swim without goggles and look at fish and the aquatic jungle below the surface. Weeds never bothered me as they were so beautiful underwater. The sunlight that filters through water has always been magical for me.

This concludes my painting series of “Quarantine Travels.” I will still keep painting, but start a new series. While snatching a few hours each day to paint, my companions were Minnesota Public Radio Classical and Gov. Cuomo’s daily press briefing. It seemed an appropriate conclusion to my series as today signals the end to many things.

Stay safe!

I ended up starting two other series after this one. Here is the link to “Colors of Colorado” and “Mountains of Rock.”

Colors of Colorado

Mountains of Rock: Scenes of the Canadian Rockies.