Cheryl Washburn “Sheltering in Nature”

Six oil paintings begun and completed by Cheryl Washburn during Shelter in Place in Athens, Ga.

Covid-19 has affected us all in countless ways. Early in the Pandemic, I turned to nature as refuge from the isolation, the uncertainty, the fear of death of loved ones and myself, and the reeling from having one’s world turned upside down.

Three times since sheltering in place began, my father entered the hospital. The third time, he returned home on Hospice. I stayed by his side until I was diagnosed with Covid-19 and had to begin quarantine isolation. My father passed three days later.

Five of my project paintings depict scenes of nature I have immersed myself in. The other, titled “Corvid-19,” is symbolic. A stormy sky. A cut tree stump symbolizes a life cut short. You can count 19 crows (corvids) in this painting. The sheltering rabbits depict my concern for loved ones. The bleeding, starving horse, I expect, is me.