Mary Salstrom
In oil paintings and pastel sketches from life, my perception of a place connects with my direct experience of that place. Responses to what is seen in the open air combine with inspiration and memory guiding both my choice of sites and approach. Through forms that are painterly, colors and shapes suggest light and motion in space. Landscapes are painted in northern Illinois, the place I am from; and southern Sweden, the home of my ancestors. Figures and architecture within the compositions become elements of geometry and scale while invoking the warmth and echo of human presence.