Illuminate - Paintings by Megan Lightell

Megan Lightell

Claire Elizabeth Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition

Illuminate - Paintings by Megan Lightell. To “illuminate” is to make visible. In her newest collection, Lightell illuminates landscapes and waterways through the use of light and a limited tonalist palette. “Illuminate” will be on view Jan. 30 - Mar. 31, 2025.

Megan Lightell was born and raised in Ohio and received a BFA from the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York. After studying at SVA, she returned to the rural imagery of her youth highlighting protected land and watersheds. Lightell begins her creative process in nature taking a small easel or sketchbook into fields, along waterways and in environmental refuges to make preliminary sketches or Field Studies “en plein air”. From there, she returns to her studio transferring what she saw and more importantly experienced in an environment into a larger body of work. Working slowly and deliberately in oil pigments, Lightell seeks to convey not just a physical location, but the essence of place—allowing the viewer to look closely, observe and participate in a moment in time.

Lightell lives and works in Nashville and has exhibited throughout the United States. Her work is included in a number of corporate and private collections including Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Music City Center, FirstBank, The Turner Family Foundation, OMS Records and the Ritz Carlton, Dallas. In 2022, Lightell was selected as an exhibiting artist for the US Department of State’s “Art in Embassies” program, which has played a leading role in U.S. public diplomacy through the visual arts and artist exchange.

For questions about Lightell’s work or the exhibition, please, email us at claireelizabethgallery@gmail.com.

Portrait of Lightell courtesy of Glenn Rose

Megan Lightell

Oiloncanvasoverpanel,12x12in.,$1,100

Oiloncanvasoverpanel,40x60in.,$7,700

WideShoals

WideShoalsStudy

Megan Lightell

Note: As part of her creative process, Lightell may use a Field Study for inspiration and expand upon the composition with the help of reference photos as well as preparing a studio “Study”. In this