“Key West is an architectural epicenter,” says Greg Sobran, an acclaimed impressionistic painter who travels extensively to capture his subjects. His newest exhibit— “Recent Paintings from Near and Far” – opens Saturday, August 6 from 6pm-8pm at SALT Gallery, featuring more than a dozen new oil-on-linen vistas of our island and select others from Sobran’s travels.

Sobran began his journeys to Key West in the 70s when he “was a hippie and it was a dusty old town,” he jokes. Lured by the island’s tropical weather and lush landscapes, it didn’t take long before he and his wife Wanda loaded up their rusty station wagon in Ann Arbor to head south for the winter, making and then selling paintings out of Bagatelle Restaurant and Little Palm Island while here.

The former commercial artist continues to relish painting on location—be it standing in view of the Saddle Bunch Keys, Stock Island shrimp boats, or the island’s narrow lanes— and appreciates the year-round opportunities the island provides him in doing so.

“Greg understands the unique quality of tropical light and his Key West paintings speak the language of summer on our island,” says gallery owner Jeffrey Cardenas, who traded Sobran a fly rod for a painting some 30 years ago. “There is a dreamlike exchange of light and shadow that is at once seductive and constantly changing.”

While the light might change from one location to another, Sobran’s growing audience of collectors will at once recognize his work from the sweeping, tactile strokes, dynamic form, and signature bold color play that have remained consistent throughout the four-and-a-half decades of his professional career.

“I’m not one to change style,” says Sobran. “I like to think there’s a slow evolution, but nothing stylistically or radically different for me.”

He is also keen on revealing what he deems “a celebration of the beauty of the world.”

“I’m not interested in confronting people with social commentary,” he says. “I’ll leave that up to other people. The world is a beautiful place, and it’s my joy to go outside and paint it.”

Sobran’s work will remain on display at the gallery throughout the month of August. For more information, call 305.896.2980, or stop by SALT Gallery at 830 Fleming Street in Key West.