This March, the Portola Art Gallery presents “Faces,” a collection of portraits in oil and pastel by Linda Salter.  A reception for the artist will take place on March 2 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. Thet Gallery is located at Allied Arts Guild, 75 Arbor Road, Menlo Park.

The exhibit features portraits of friends and relatives, artists’ models, and subjects from her travels in foreign countries, and includes current work as well as a few early favorites. The artist uses a variety of styles and approaches, from classical to modern, and usually paints from live subjects to “better capture the true character of the person.”

“I’ve always found that of all the types of paintings I do, it’s the portraits that pull people into the studio,” she says. “Somehow people feel welcomed by faces. What I especially like to capture are the eyes, because usually a person’s eyes are what draw you in. I also love to have light and shadow captured on a face because the shadows define the structure of a face like nothing else does.”

Linda Salter works primarily in oils and pastels and has exhibited and received awards at community and college art shows; she has also exhibited solo at Avenue 25 Gallery in San Mateo, Esalen Institute in Big Sur, and the Museum Studios Gallery in Burlingame.

Salter spent more than three decades as an instructor and administrator in California colleges, serving as president of Skyline College in San Bruno and chancellor of West Valley-Mission Community College District in Santa Clara County. Since retiring as chancellor more than 15 years ago, Linda has studied with a number of artists who teach at local colleges, as well as at Gage Academy in Seattle, Scottsdale Artists’ School, and classical ateliers in the Bay Area.

“Maddie in the Pink (24×30”, pastel, 2018) is one of the featured artworks in Linda Salter’s March exhibit “Faces” at the Portola Art Gallery.

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