Balsam has explored the world of contemporary rural landscape paintings — some inspired by Western North Carolina barns and the landscapes around them. Balsam’s unique “take” on this subject is to mix her imagination with reality.
Barns are commonplace in rural America, but Balsam first encountered them while shepherding goats on her family’s farm in Lebanon. “When I see an old farm, I feel nostalgia for what I used to have,” she says.