119INTERNATIONAL ARTIST MAGAZINE AWARD WINNERtogether in my pieces,” he says, adding,
“I want people to feel something
when they see my art, and not just see
something. A lot of that is done using the
lighting, the chiaroscuro I use, as well as
the moments that I’m drawing, which are
private moments.”
Many of Lane’s pieces feature
compositions focusing on the face and
hands, as he finds them to be the most
expressive. Water is also incorporated
into the artist’s work in varying forms,
such as steam in the piece Reveal. “It
took a bit of experimentation to perfect
the steam and the trails of water running
through it,” he says. “I found the best
technique was going over areas with
white and gray pencils.”
In Lane’s newest piece, Riptide, water
also is found streaming down the figure’s
face. “The woman in the portrait is pulled
away by something mysterious we don’t
see. Her mind is traveling,” he says. “The
model has brown eyes. To make the eyes
a stronger focal point, I changed them to
green and created a vibrant, warm shadow
partially covering one eye.”
Other works, such as Drift and Echoes,
are full of dramatic lighting changes. Of
the former work, he says, “I drew Drift at a
time when I was going through a transition
and turning point in my own life, looking at
the unknown, which can be a bit haunting.
It is a transition from light into shadow.
Controlling the dark tones was a particular
challenge, especially creating the hint of a
shoulder in shadow.”
Echoes places the figure’s hands around
their face to create a circular composition,
and the tousled hair of the model adds to
that circular movement. “The pose didn’t
work until she turned her head to the side,
casting one eye into shadow and adding
drama,” Lane says.
“In my work, I try to turn the ordinary
into the extraordinary. What I mean by
that is, these are very ordinary moments
and I’m drawing their personal moments,
the private moments, and I take that and
create an open-ended story around thosemoments,” he says. “I begin to tell a story,
communicate an emotion, an intense
emotion. The emotion is also somewhat
mysterious and that gets the viewer to try
to figure out what’s going on and sort of
complete the story that I’m trying to tell.
The experience can differ from viewer
to viewer. In my series, I’m trying to
take colored pencil to a new level. It’s an
up-and-coming medium. I’m trying to
take it and communicate a voice through
it. It comes back to feelings; when you
experience art, the most amazing thing
is when you can feel something when
you see it.”
Lane is represented by RJD Gallery in
Sag Harbor, New York, where he had his
first solo exhibition, Face Reality, from
October 10 through November 10. He also
is a finalist in the 12th annual Art Renewal
Center International Salon.Lane was the Grand Prize Winner in
International Artist magazine’s Challenge
No. 96, Favorite Subjects.6