Feeling buffeted by winter storms? Mauled by the opening salvos of a threatening political season? Flayed and frazzled each time expenses collide with your checkbook?

There is a place of respite. The North Bend Public Library offers information, insight, and art as a vehicle for pouring oil onto troubled waters.

Literally.

Led by director Gary Sharp, library staff will research Pliny the Elder’s observations from the first century A.D. regarding the nature of oil and water: “Everything is soothed by oil, and this is the reason why divers send out small quantities of it from their mouths, because it smoothes every part which is rough.”

They will aid the curious who’d like to read about Ben Franklin’s 18th century experiments with oil and water: “I then went to the windward side where they (waves) began to form; and there the oil, though not more than a teaspoonful, produced an instant calm over a space several yards square which spread amazingly and extended itself gradually till it reached the lee side, making all that quarter of the pond, perhaps half an acre, as smooth as a looking glass.” (From a letter from Benjamin Franklin to William Brownrigg, 1773.)

And, staff will direct the visitor to five masterful paintings displayed in the library’s small meeting room, paintings that use oil to depict water.

William Allen Selden, a professional artist of more than 40 years, prefers to work with oils. “There’s something enduring about oils,” he says. “Both enduring, and endearing. Maddening, in some ways.” The NorthBend artist admits to owning a set of acrylics, and says he’s always wanted to try that medium but “acrylics don’t give me what I need.”

“Oils,” declares Selden, “are much more refined.”

Each of the exhibited paintings addresses light on water. Selden’s deft touch with his brush reveals waters that are by turns opaque, roiled by winds, or quiet and smooth as a mirror.

“Fair Winds – Blue Seas” finds the sun low in the sky and the action taking place on the surface of the water; below are the depths, and they are shielded from the eye by Selden’s oils.

“Peggy’s Cove – Nova Scotia” features a central image of slate blue waters, fronted with gray lobster traps tinged blue that loom in the foreground. Tidy, clapboard houses are arrayed across a treeless promontory. A flurry of gulls wheels across the sky.

Selden’s water in this painting reflects the white and red homes, while the rocks that spill into the cove at water’s edge pick up improbable reflections of yellow sunlight and a vividly vermillion boathouse.

The richly framed “Evening Light – Fishing Boats Moored at Florence, Oregon” highlights the mirror-like reflection of dark, scarred, and jagged piles. They punctuate this quiet seascape like damaged exclamation points, a line of demarcation between inky waters and placid, sunlit boats.

Bill Selden’s paintings are on display through January. On Feb. 1, library staff will begin directing art-seeking visitors halfway around the world, to the state of Andhra Pradesh in southern India.

North Bend artist Andy Charles is the featured artist for February, and will display his original paintings and photographs, as well as art objects from the region. On Feb. 9, he will speak to the public about his travels, accompanied by slides showing village culture and daily life.

The library opens at 11 a.m. on weekdays, closing at 8 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday. Weekend hours are noon to 5 p.m. For inquiries about current artwork or future exhibitions, those interested can call the library at 756-0400.

Teri Albert reviews art and artists for the Ballyhoo! page of The World. Comments on or story ideas for this column are welcome, and can be e-mailed to malbert@uci.net.