Lark & Key.

I am always delighted by the monthly exhibitions on view in the galleries of Charlotte’s Southend, and this past Frist Friday Gallery Crawl was the perfect chance to check them out. Ciel Gallery and Lark & Key on East Park Avenue were particularly enthralling. Ciel hosted a unique show, partnering with TreesCharlotte to help spread awareness about the importance of trees in our communities and to the environment, while Lark & Key continued their August exhibition, “of days gone by,” featuring new works from Endra Baird, Janet Eskridge, Elizabeth Foster and Duy Huynh.

“Tree Party” at Ciel Gallery.

“Looking Up” by Randy Leibowitz Dean at Ciel Gallery.

Randy Leibowitz Dean’s painting “Looking Up” at Ciel Gallery was a true standout, even receiving the Best in Show award from the exhibition juror Andy Braitman. Dean’s work offers viewers a unique but not unfamiliar perspective, looking up through the branches of a large tree, but it is the play on shadow and light filtering through the limbs and leaves creating this soft crystalline haze that really captures the essence of ‘treeness.’

“Mr. Red Fox McSneaky,” “Mr. Great Blue Heron Sr.,” “Mr. Bumble B. Bear” by Elizabeth Foster at Lark & Key.

Elizabeth Foster’s animal portraits at Lark & Key were whimsical inspirations, so personable that you wanted to take “Mr. Red Fox McSneaky” out for drinks and conversation.

“Stand Proud (Full of Pride),” “Thoughts of Absent Friends,” “Love Undiminished by Adversity” by Judy Klich at Lark & Key.

Judy Klich’s floral paintings were also notable at Lark & Key, even though these works were not part of the exhibition. Klich conveys a high level of depth and texture through a unique combination of photo transfers, color pigments and encaustic, an age old process that mixes beeswax and resin.

Lark & Key: 128 E. Park Ave., Suite B, Charlotte; Monday – Saturday: 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.; 704-334-4616 Ciel Gallery: 128 East Park Ave., Charlotte; Monday – Saturday: 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.; 704-496-9417