Jesse Lane is a coloured pencil artist who hails from Texas, U.S.A. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Visualisation from Texas A&M University, has studied at The Woodlands Academy of Art as well as in Santa Chiara, Italy. Lane shares his talents by teaching workshops all across the USA and through his own website.

When speaking of his inspiration for entering the art world, Lane revealed his dyslexia, his ability to only see what he could not do and his obsession with his limitations. Lane went on to talk about an incident at the age of 15 years old when he witnessed a friend of his drawing and felt, first envy, then anger and most pivotally determination. That very night he began drawing.

Lane summed up that first experience drawing beautifully by saying, “I put myself to work with more focus than I'd ever given anything before.  The next day, I finished my drawing.  I was amazed at what I'd done.  It was nowhere near what my friend had drawn, but to me, it was my first masterpiece.  For the first time, I felt a little proud of myself.  I wanted to know what else I was capable of if I really focused.  Today my drawings take from several hundred to over a thousand hours, but it's the challenge of exploring my potential that motivates me most.”

Lane works entirely in coloured pencil, and spoke of the benefit of its precision when he is working to achieve the photorealism he desires. He has spent years developing his own methods to layer the pencil markings in order to create rich colour and contrast. When asked to divulge the materials he works with, Lane said that he does mix different brands and types of materials together. However, he went on to say that he finds softer pencils better for base layering and the harder pencils he uses for detailing. As his go-to pencil when creating deep rich shadows and hair, Lane uses Derwent Lightfast pencils. When looking for even finer highlights, Lane will even use an X-Acto knife. But that does not stop him from using others, such as Derwent Coloursoft, Prismacolour, Luminance and Polychrome pencils.

As we went on to speak of Lane’s inspiration, he summed up the inspiration behind his current work as simply, contrast. He explained that his aim was to capture the mixing of both positive and negative emotions in a single piece. Lane added, “I mix whimsy and magic with fear and grief.  I think life often makes us feel a mix of emotions.  Being able to capture this has added a new dimension to my work, creating more mystery and story.”

When inspiration is gone and a creative block takes its place, Lane had this to say about overcoming it, “When artists create, they're outputting.  But in order to output, you must first input.  I think the best way to overcome a creative block is to take a step back and input again.  Keep your senses open and continue to see things. Also… don’t force an idea to paper too soon.  I mull over concepts for some time before ever creating anything visual.  This keeps my vision from becoming tied to a specific sketch.  My original idea may be a bit unoriginal or obvious, but my subconscious mind finds ways to bend it and develop it further.  Then I commit to paper with a sketch.” 

The last question we asked Lane was whether he had any advice to give his fellow artists and he responded with this.

“Embrace what makes you unique.  Don’t be insecure about it. Artists who leave their mark do so in part because of their uniqueness.  They own it.  I do coloured pencil.  While it would be more mainstream to use oil paint, painting is not what I do.  I stick to coloured pencil because that’s what I do best.  I want to challenge previous perceptions about my medium and do it in a way that adds intrigue to my work.”

To see more of Jesse Lane’s work visit :

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