On this month's cover is Moonrise Over the Sandias (2015) by Charles Kaiman, a painter and a psychiatric nurse at the New Mexico Veterans Affairs Health Care System in Albuquerque. Kaiman says the painting technique he uses invokes a meditative approach that helps him cope with the stresses of his full-time job. He has been a nurse for 38 years.
Kaiman's technique requires him to carefully modulate the colors he uses in order to precisely reflect what he sees. "This activity is almost a meditation because it involves fully clearing my mind of all the 'baggage' of the day," he explains. "I believe this type of painting has allowed me to continue in nursing longer than I might have without it."
Kaiman notes that his wife, Cynthia-also a nurse-does needlepoint and crochet to achieve a similar state of mind. "I suspect that nurses who find some sort of relaxation, self-debriefing, or centering are able to withstand the extremely challenging work and emotional roller coaster that is nursing," he says.
For more of Kaiman's work, visit http://www.charleskaimanpainter.com and see this month's Art of Nursing.-Diane Szulecki, associate editor