This is an oil on canvas at the National Gallery of Art at the Smithsonian. It is called, “Joshua Commanding the sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon.” The artist is John Martin.

I find art an amazing medium to help with stress reduction. The reasons seem obvious to me: you have to sit still and experience a work of art to appreciate it. It’s an intentional act of meditation. That is why I decided to start with this piece: I sat and just contemplated it for the longest time. It is overall visually stunning, but the details are what drew me in and forced me to take a seat in the gallery and visually walk through the scene depicted. The mountains, the storm, the army, the shining city above, and the Biblical imagery can take you down many different paths in order to interpret and understand the painting. Or you can just experience it.

I added this as a post to encourage you to take a deep breath and look at something beautiful. I believe it will help you relax, de-stress, and focus.

I’ll add a personal photo of cool art now and then for your viewing pleasure. Know that these are all phone or camera shots taken by me standing in front of the actual painting. Some will be tilted, some with a partial frame, and occasional shadow. But my intention is for you to appreciate and have a mindful attitude that will help your day. Hopefully you can see past the operator defects.

Note: in cases where I forgot the name of the painting, I used the Smartify Art app to help me name the piece. It works really well!