Freshman paints to relieve stress

A cottage and an old oak tree on a lonely island floating in a pastel sky. A cacophony of stars against the backdrop of far flung space. A sunken mountain beneath a vast blue ocean.

For freshman Quinn Wanzenried, painting is not only a hobby, but also something of a sacred refuge from the stresses of everyday life.

“Painting is actually like the only thing in life where I’m not nervous at all.” Says Wanzenried. “I’ve always been pretty anxious, but with painting its kind of therapeutic, like I don’t much feel any stress really when I’m painting.”

Wanzenried has been creating artwork as long as she can remember. She enjoys making crafts, and especially painting.

Paintings are a particular passion for Wanzenried because for years she has been painting works of art featuring surreal or natural landscapes. Her affinity for painting scenes of nature may have been exacerbated over the course of quarantine. Like most people, she could not travel many places during quarantine, and she compensated for this by painting scenes of natural beauty instead.

Another commonality that can be found in her paintings are scenes of not only earthly and surrealist nature but also extra-terrestrial nature.

“I had this phase that lasted for like ten years where I was into science, and so I was obsessed with like outer space and galaxies,” she said. “So, I did a lot of drawings of galaxies and stars and stuff.”

However, in so far as Wanzenried’s hobbies are concerned, it appears the apple has fallen far from the tree, as her passion for the arts is not shared by her parents.

“We love each other, but they can be kind of strict, and kind of hardcore with schooling and stuff. I mean we have a good relationship but it can get kind of stressed at times.” Wanzenried said.

Wanzenried hopes that later in life, art and painting will become more than just a passion for her.

“My parents want me to go to college, ya know 9-5 job kinda thing, but I think it would be really good to do a lot of crafting and painting, ya know get a good job that pays the bills, but also keep making artwork and selling that as well.” She said, “My parents want me to become a veterinarian, but I think it’d be really cool if I could own an art shop.”

Like the dreams of aspiring young artists all across the world, only time will tell if Quinn Wanzenried’s dreams, of working as a professional artist at her own art shop, will come to fruition. But one, thing is certain: She doesn’t plan to stop making artwork anytime soon.