Being stressed out is so common in our corporate American culture -- which spills over into our "free time" -- that when we're not overworked and feeling anxious, we wonder if something is wrong.

 

There's never enough money; taxes don't go down; workplace woes, which are funny on sitcoms or syndicated comic strips, lose their shine in real life; and when the washing machine isn't making strange sounds, the interior of the refrigerator feels warm. Add to that our wondering if this is what life is all about, and are we living our one and only existence meaningfully or not? and you have stress.

 

But we weren't meant to exist like this, and waiting until retirement, or dying and going to heaven, for a relief just isn't the best option.

 

Stress Doesn't Like Quiet Speculation

 

Advice abounds on how to counteract stress, and because we are a corporate culture, controlled by those whose primary interest in us is monetary, there's always a pill to take. But there are small, creative actions we can take to counteract the stress in our lives. If you have a piece of representational fine art on your walls, you have the means of taking one of these small, creative actions:

 

Sit down in front of the painting, perhaps with a cup of tea or coffee (life slows down with a hot drink in our hands). Look at the painting -- explore the brushwork, look at the light and shadows, observe how certain parts of the work are crisp and defined, and others are brushier, more impressionistic, even abstract -- especially in the background.

 

(As an aside, just by doing this, you are performing an action that the elitist art snob community avers that "ordinary" people can't do -- you are looking at art with a critical eye and speculating upon the quality, skill, artistry, and meaning of the piece. If more people gained confidence in their ability to judge art, then not only would more regular, real people buy art, but they would do so assertively, secure in the knowledge that what speaks to their soul belongs on their walls.)

 

Back to the painting: your object, in sitting down in front of the painting to contemplate it, is not only to slow down and be quiet (in themselves actions that are the opposite to what we normally do when we're stressed), but also to pull yourself out of your mind for awhile, that mind where worries, thoughts, and anxieties are contributing to your stress. It is easy, in our society where there are so many things to do, and many more things to worry about, to allow our thoughts to run along the same channels over and over.

 

NOT Thinking about Your Worries

 

In contemplating the painting, you push your mind to think about something other than your worries for a moment, and in stepping outside of your worries and into the painting, you explore routes that you may not have taken before. For example, in the work Riverside Muse (above left), you could ask yourself, "Who is this woman?" "What is she doing by the river?" "Is she sad, happy, content, questioning, curious, peaceful?"

 

In exploring the background, where the river wends, one wonders, "What is way back there, in the background? Are those bushes? Does the river end there, or does it turn and go on?"

 

And from there, as your mind slows and gently begins to meander along with the river, you think, "What would it be like for me, if I were there in that picture right now? What if I were the woman in the painting?" -- And there you enter the magical world of finely done representational art, art that looks like a place or a person or an environment -- but not like a photograph, with little left to the imagination to fill, but like a place you want to be. It is a place that changes every time you look at it, because not only does the painting change with your moods, it transforms depending upon the light and shadows cast upon it.

 

Be Someplace Beautiful and Relax

 

That's what representational art does -- it invites you in to the place it depicts, and encourages you to stop, stay, meditate, reflect, wonder, daydream, and ponder great things -- and these very actions are a counteraction to the worry, anxiety, fret, and disquiet of stress.

 

Feeling stressed? Brew a cup of tea or coffee, find a beautiful painting, and contemplate it. Go someplace beautiful and find solace there.

 

Fine Art and Home Decor for Your Life, Home, and Office

 

Art belongs in all of our lives, and it goes so much further than matching our sofa and rug. The best fine art is that which speaks to our soul, encouraging us to think big thoughts and wonder at the world around us. Steve Henderson paints art like this, and in addition to selling original paintings and creating customized commissioned works, he also offers prints in various formats (framed, canvas, metal, acrylic, wood, poster) at Steve Henderson Collections.

 

Click on the images in this article to see them at Steve Henderson Collections, or click on the product images below, featuring a sampling of Steve's images, to be taken to the purchase page for those items. All products from Steve Henderson Collections come with a 30-day, money-back guarantee through Fine Art America. To read more about buying artwork, confidently, for yourself, please see our article, 5 Super Easy Tips for Choosing the Right Artwork for Your Home.