Linda Rosul has lived in Chicago for 19 years and her husband Todd Wiltse for 25 years . They have lived in their Logan Square home for eleven years. Todd and Linda say that their house in west Logan Square felt like home immediately.

As we toured the home, Linda described their home as humble in its’ origin. The houses in that area and built at the turn of the 20th century were what Todd describes as original“tract” houses, homes without much detail for working class Chicagoans. Todd and Linda have been gradually rehabbing their home, the bedroom upstairs, later the main living space on the first floor, in addition to the front porch and front and back yards. The house is a labor of love for Todd and Linda, and it still in progress. In fact, when I asked them about favorite spots in the house Linda said her favorite place was the window looking out to the garden, which is part of a future planned renovation.

Todd and Linda feel rooted in their home and Todd described the honey locust in the backyard is as the soul of the property. Linda has carefully created the backyard to be a dynamic place, with things blooming at nearly every time of year. Very few of the plants that are there now were there when Todd and Linda moved in, the tree though is a constant, it is what Linda describes as “old man-ish”. I decided to paint this tree in the backyard because it seemed to a physical manifestation of way in which Todd and Linda are rooted in this place, it’s been consistent and seems a meaningful part of the property for Todd and Linda.

Special thanks to Stefano Vita for use of his music in the audio recording.