Principle Gallery to Host “Nature/Humanity,” a Two-Person Exhibition

“Nature/Humanity” is an exhibit of two new painting collections, one by contemporary impressionist Lashley and the other by contemporary realist Stuckey. This two-person show will be on exhibit September 4th to 30th, and relates how humanity and nature coexist—often in surprising ways.

For Lashley, the new work of over 25 oil paintings depicts courtyard gardens, parks, and the beautiful play of light on the odd angles of old buildings with many scenes of Charleston and Paris. Of special interest to Christine is how white and pastel buildings change colors with time of day, light intensity and atmosphere.

Christine states: “As I worked on my art for this show, the Covid-19 virus suddenly put a stop to all my travel plans. Travel and painting outdoors (plein air) provide so much inspiration for me, that I was very sad at first. However, I discovered that the act of thinking of places I’ve been was a powerful way to focus my intent for the art in the show. Memory of what once was (carefree world-wide travel) helped me create the best version of a scene and I was free to merge my references, edit, or embellish for maximum impact. Like most of humanity, I did not realize how lucky I was until my travel freedom was taken away suddenly. Fortunately, I was able to paint on location in Charleston in February 2020, although most of the art was created in my Virginia studio, including several paintings of my own garden. Nature and people have a tumultuous past. Parks and gardens can show a peaceful relationship; however, there is friction too. As my work for the show evolved, I realized I had moved from gardens and all-natural scenes to sharp juxtapositions of nature contained—such as dramatic angles formed with the Seine river tightly controlled within concrete banks in my ‘Along the Seine, Pont Neuf.’ Pont Neuf is translated, “The New Bridge.” As it is now the oldest bridge in Paris, this structure represents humanity overcoming natural obstacles.”

For Stuckey, the concept of Nature/Humanity coincides with his desire to paint people, places, and things that inspire him. The new collection includes marsh landscapes, flora and fruit still lifes, Charleston and Paris cityscapes, and a full figure. In addition, there will be a series of several tonal paintings.

Kyle states: “I enjoy the quietness of nature, but I also enjoy the busyness of people and cities, and those extremes play out a bit differently in my paintings. With nature paintings, like the Lowcountry marsh scenes in this collection, I want to play up the expanse of the natural world, the quiet space, so they tend to be more sweeping. My city scenes, on the other hand, tend to be personal, close-up snapshots of humanity, where the viewer gets to witness the intimacy of humans. For example, two of these paintings are nighttime café scenes in Paris. You see the glasses of wine being enjoyed, the conversations being had at one moment in time.

The tonal series came out of the extra time I had during the COVID-19 quarantine. I wanted to revisit the basics of the craft—like drawing, values, design—and by limiting my palette to only two paint colors (and no white), I could get down to the bones of great paintings while also ending up with a finished, sophisticated piece. You’ll see newer techniques that go beyond normal brushwork, like etch lines and wipe-aways, yet the style and subject matter are the same as the rest of the collection and my work in general.”