Paintings pop with bold colors
The artists who show at Hayley Gallery in New Albany earn a solo exhibit after customers purchase a certain number of their works.
Painter Chris Lucas reached the goal easily, and her “Colors of Fun” exhibit is a testament to why.
“She goes so easily between painting in acrylic and painting in oil,” said Hayley Deeter, co-owner of the gallery and its adjacent restaurant, Ella. “It’s like being able to write with both left and right hands.”
Years ago, Lucas was glad she had acrylic paint in her repertoire. She and her husband, Mark, returned home from an evening out to find the baby sitter frantically scrubbing purple paint from their bedroom walls — applied generously by the little hands of their son. It was acrylic, thank goodness; oil paint would have been far less forgiving.
Their two children are now adults, leaving Lucas with time to work with both paints and to explore subject matter as well.
“This is her life’s photo album,” Deeter said of the 32 works in the exhibit.
Indeed, many of the paintings are based on photos that Lucas snapped while on vacation — including Wedding Parade, from a trip to New Orleans. Some scenes, including The Attentive Barman, are from life in German Village.
Her works suggest impressionism, and her subjects seem familiar, even if one has never been to, for instance, the bar scene in Barely Legal Club.
The paintings are easygoing, even when moody. Texture-rich brushstrokes are all that a figure often requires. She gives viewers just enough information to make their own assumptions about the image.
Lucas’ color selections are noteworthy; indeed, they inspired the exhibit’s name. For
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more somber images, she often covers the canvas in dark paint and works on top of that.
Easy Street is a lovely interpretation of a soft morning seen from a restaurant booth. Lucas manages to capture a sunrise from inside a dark cafe.
The muted realism of the background of Charleston Market draws the eye to all the movement in the foreground.
She especially excels when using variations of purple. (Perhaps her son was onto something when he redecorated the bedroom.) Her skies seem most comfortable when they are a dreamy lavender.
The most popular piece in the show, Deeter said, is The Girls, a charming acrylic painting of three chickens whose feathers wink with unexpected colors.
“I try not to make any line straight. When I aim for perfection, I paint myself into a corner,” Lucas said.
“People will know it’s a chicken no matter what color I use. Why not try something different?”