Atlantic Sunrise
Christine Lashley's love for light shows in her work. As a contemporary realist, she capture the essence of a scene with vibrant colors and bold brushstrokes. Landscapes, still life, and portraits are painted with an eye for the unique beauty of what she is painting. She often works en plein air, capturing fleeting light patterns and atmospheric conditions on-site in oil or watercolor.
Growing up in New England and the Mid-Atlantic area, Christine was always painting or drawing in the woods and fields nearby. She studied in Paris at the Parsons Art Institute and the Sorbonne, and continued on to earn her Bachelor of Fine Arts at Washington University in St. Louis.
Travel and exposure to different cultures have always played an important role in the artist's inspiration. As a teen, Christine traveled to many countries in Europe, working for several years as a fashion model on the runways of Paris and Milan, taking art classes, going to museums, and painting at local ateliers when possible. After graduating college, she worked for several years as a muralist and designer, but turned her interest to fine art soon thereafter. She has exhibited her work in many cities including Washington DC, Seattle, St. Louis, Boston, and Paris, France.
Christine's work has caught the eye of noted jurors such as Mark A.Leithauser, Senior Curator and Chief of Design, National Gallery of Art. She also recently won the "Best of Show" $1000 cash award for her plein air oil painting at the 2009 Riverbend paint-out competition in Virginia. Her work has been featured in several publications including The Artist's Magazine and The Washington Post.
Christine is a member of several juried art groups, including the Washington Society of Landscape Painters, Oil Painters of America, and the Potomac Valley Watercolorists, where she served as President. She teaches art lessons at the Loudoun Academy of the Arts in Leesburg, Virginia, and at the Yellow Barn in Glen Echo, Maryland.
View additional works by Ms. Lashley on display at Ayr Hill Gallery.