Layers of light and land: Two artists explore connection at Local Color Gallery

Two guest artists with distinct but complementary visions are being featured at Local Color Gallery. Maggie Sanftleben and Karen Olson share work that reflects their respective journeys into the natural world, both its surfaces and its spirit. A reception was held for Fourth Friday Gallery Night on April 25, with artist talks.

After a 25-year career in Boston as a graphic designer and art director, Maggie Sanftleben relocated to coastal Southern Maine, where the interplay of light and landscape called her back to painting. The move not only changed her scenery but also her medium: Sanftleben now works with encaustic — painting with molten beeswax combined with pigments — layering pastels, ink, charcoal, graphite and photography into her compositions. Using a propane torch, she fuses these elements together, creating textured works that pulse with movement. The results are not traditional landscapes but impressions of them, evoking the rhythm, energy, and hue of natural spaces rather than aiming for exact depiction. Her works “Tidal Pool 1” and “Swirl and Swell” capture the essence of place through an alchemical balance of control and fluidity.

Returning to Local Color is Karen Olson, whose work exists at the intersection of art, ecology, and quiet reverence. A papermaker and paper sculptor as well as a lens-based artist, Olson engages with the land as both subject and collaborator. Her recent work utilizes Himalayan Balsam gathered from the wild edges of her home landscape. Transformed into golden-hued paper and delicate paper lace, the invasive plant becomes a medium for emotional and environmental inquiry. In pieces like “Mutual Presence” and “Deep Awareness,” Olson incorporates beeswax, handmade paper, and linen cord into sculptural prints that feel both scientific and sacred. “It was an imaginal time as I allowed the material to direct my heart and my hands,” she says of the process. For Olson, art is a channel for sensory communication and a tool for exploring how connection to nature can nourish both individual well-being and shared understanding.

Local Color Gallery is at 135 High St., Belfast. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Learn more at localcolorgallerymaine.com.