LOOKING at the paintings by Laurie Meyer, it’s easy to see that light is her biggest inspiration: the effect it has on colors, the way it creates shapes and shadows. In all of her paintings, it’s something that she chases, carefully studying it to determine how to capture the magic that happens wherever light and shadow meet.

A professional artist since 1997, Meyer left a career in the pharmaceutical industry to fully pursue her passion, first in watercolor before finding her way to oils. Over the past 23 years, she’s honed her technique to become a beloved artist and a celebrated name whose impressionistic paintings portray Charleston at its core, from the people to the breathtaking landscape and architecture.

Further anchoring her to the Charleston arts community, Meyer is the co-owner of the Meyer Vogl Gallery, along with fellow artist Marissa Vogl and her daughter Katie Geer, which displays her own works along with those of dozens of other talented local and nationally recognized artists. Drawing on the experience she had as a teacher in her distant past, Meyer has been instructing art workshops for more than 17 years, offering her expertise in plein air and oil painting to students in Europe, Mexico and throughout the United States.