An InvitationThe Art of Susan Bennerstrom

It is easy to fall in love with the work of Susan Bennerstrom. Her paintings, rendered in oil pastel, layer after layer, create a completely new world. These rich, luminous paintings of stairwells, hallways, beds, a lone chair in a room, strike me as gentle invitations – to come in, sit down, and revel in the mood of a space. I want to enter with a hushed voice, and wide-eyed, as if going into a sacred temple, church or cathedral of trees.

However, it is the light that is sacred here, and what it does to furniture, floors and corners of homes, architecture, and the outdoors. It is revelatory and satisfying to take in that glow.

And the color! So rich and deep and of the earth – seeming to pay homage to the colors of the Renaissance. This adds to the reverence that I feel when looking at these paintings – like a leak in time that brings the old world into the modern one.

- Storm Maxwell

Painting Titled: Waiting for News
To learn more about Susan Bennerstrom and her work www.susanbennerstrom.com