“Through art, I’ve been able to find something inside myself that changed my life.
Growing up, I often felt alone. In school, I was struggling with the challenges of dyslexia. I desperately wanted to find a place in life where I didn’t feel inferior.
For years, I bottled up my feelings. Then I realized they could be a source of inspiration. I began creating images of personal struggle and intimate emotion.
What was hidden for so long became voiced and heard. For the first time, I felt truly seen. I took my weakness and made it my strength.
Along the way, I’ve discovered we all share these feelings. They are universal.
When people see my portraits, they’re surprised I work in colored pencil. I love the precision and versatility of colored pencil. This medium can be as rich and nuanced as any other. One of my goals is to advance colored pencil in the world of fine art.”
Jesse Lane (born 1990) lives in The Woodlands, Texas, near Houston. His earliest teacher was his father, Jerry Lane, a former illustrator, courtroom artist and underground cartoonist.
Jesse earned a degree in visualization from Texas A&M University. He also studied art in Italy, where he was greatly influenced by the lighting and drama of the master painter Caravaggio.
Since launching his career as a professional artist, Jesse’s provocative portraits have captured attention. “For collectors interested in a quickly ascending star in the art world, Lane is one surely to watch,” wrote Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine.
Southwest Art Magazine has recognized Jesse as one of the nation’s leading young emerging artists.
His numerous awards include top honors from the Salmagundi Club, International Artist Magazine, the Colored Pencil Society of America and the Hudson Valley Art Association. He’s also been a finalist several times in the International Art Renewal Center Salon.
Jesse’s work has been featured in publications including American Art Collector, Fine Art Connoisseur, Southwest Art, International Artist and The Artist’s Magazine.
In my art, I turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.
My work captures intimate moments and gives glimpses of an inner private world… providing a window to our own introspective thoughts and our own mystery.
My drawings capture emotions and stories wrapped into a single instant.
These stories are open-ended. I want the viewer to create the narrative, to feel the power and vulnerability of that unique moment in time.
My aim is to ignite the imagination and touch the viewer’s soul.
I call my body of work “Anatomy of Light.” My figures emerge into light and disappear into darkness… both literally and figuratively. Black backgrounds isolate the figures and put them in their own world, the world of their thoughts. Nothing is there except what they’re feeling.
At best, I hope my work continues to be both contemporary and timeless. If there is a theme, it is personal struggle. This struggle is universal, but also unique to each of us
2018
Grand Prize, International Artist Magazine “Favorite Subjects Challenge”
First Place, “Drawing 2018,” Gallery 25N
The Christopher E. Burke Fine Art Grant, Gallery 25N
Finalist, 13th International Art Renewal Center Salon
2017
First Place, “Labyrinth” Best Non-Member, Colourations, Australian Society of Coloured Pencil Artists
Finalist, “Labyrinth” Non-Commissioned Portrait, Member Only Competition, Portrait Society of America
Best in Show, “Labyrinth” Conroe Art League Fall Show
First Place, “Adrenaline,” American Art Awards
Ninth Place, “After the Storm” Member Only Competition, Self Portraits, Portrait Society of America
Runner Up, Southwest Art Magazine’s Artistic Excellence Competition
Honorable Mention, The Artist’s Magazine’s All Media Competition
Honorable Mention, Colored Pencil Society of America “ArtSpectations”
Honorable Mention, Colored Pencil Magazine 2017 Art Competition
Honorable Mention, Jerry’s Artarama National Self-Portrait Contest
Honorable Mention, Conroe Art League National Invitational Show, Gallery at the Madeley Building, Conroe, Texas
2016
Best of Show, The Salmagundi Club 38th Annual Juried Painting & Sculpture Exhibition for Non-Members, Salmagundi Club, New York, New York
Grand Prize, International Artist Magazine “Favorite Subjects Challenge”
Finalist, 12th International Art Renewal Center Salon
Mrs. John Newington Award for Excellence, Hudson Valley Art Association 83rd Annual National Juried Exhibition, Salmagundi Club, New York, New York
First Place Colored Pencil, The Artist’s Magazine All-Media Competition
Award for Exceptional Merit, Colored Pencil Society of America 24th Annual International Exhibition, The American Art Company, Tacoma, Washington
First Place, Jerry’s Artarama National Self-Portrait Contest
First Place, National Society of Artists 32nd National Juried Show, Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas
Finalist, The Hunting Art Prize, Friedkin Corporate Campus, Houston, Texas
Honorable Mention, Colored Pencil Society of America ArtSpectations
Best of Show, Texas & Neighbors Regional Art Competition, Irving Arts Center, Irving, Texas
First Place Pastel/Graphics, Richardson Civic Art Society 50th Regional Juried Exhibition, Charles Eismann Center for the Performing Arts, Richardson, Texas
2015
Derwent / Conte a Paris – ColArt Americas Award for Exceptional Merit, Colored Pencil Society of America 23rd International Exhibition, Oglethorpe Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia
Best of Show, Colored Pencil Society of America Fall ArtSpectations
Best of Show, Pencil Art Society Member International Juried Exhibition
Second Place Other Media, Richeson75 International Figure/Portrait Art Exhibit, Richeson School of Art and Gallery, Kimberly, Wisconsin
National Finalist, The Williams Prize in Drawing for Emerging Artists, The Artists for Artists Project
Best of Show, ArTexas Competition, Salado Village Artists, Salado Civic Center, Salado, Texas
Honorable Mention, Colored Pencil Society of America Spring ArtSpectiations
Judge’s Choice Award, Richardson Civic Art Society 49th Regional Juried Exhibition, Charles Eismann Center for the Performing Arts, Richardson, Texas
Face Reality, RJD Gallery, Sag Harbor, New York, October 10 – December 15, 2016
2017
Conroe Art League, Fall Show, Conroe, TX
Richeson75 International Figure/Portrait Exhibition, Richeson School of Art & Gallery, Kimberly, Wisconsin
25th Annual Colored Pencil Society of America International Exhibition, Mansion at Strathmore, Bethesda, Maryland
84th Annual National Juried Exhibition of the Hudson Valley Art Association
No Boundaries, RJD Gallery, Bridgehampton, New York
Urban Revival, RJD Gallery, Bridgehampton, New York
Earthly Delights, RJD Gallery, Bridgehampton, New York
2016
Pieces of My Soul, RJD Gallery, Sag Harbor, New York
The Princess and the Provocateur, RJD Gallery, Sag Harbor, New York
Colored Pencil Society of American 24th Annual International Exhibition, The American Art Company, Tacoma, Washington
Salmagundi Annual Painting & Sculpture Exhibition for Non-Members, Salmagundi Club, New York, New York
Hudson Valley Art Association 83rd Annual National Juried Exhibition, Salmagundi Club, New York, New York
INDA 11, International Drawing Annual Exhibitions in Print, Manifest Drawing Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
The Hunting Art Prize, Friedkin Corporate Campus, Houston, Texas
Texas National Art Competition & Exhibition, Stephen F. Austin University Gallery, Nacogdoches, Texas
Richardson Civic Art Society 50th Annual Regional Juried Exhibit, Charles Eismann Center for the Performing Arts, Richardson, Texas
Texas & Neighbors 31st Regional Art Exhibition, Irving Arts Center, Irving, Texas
2015
American Artists Professional League 87th Grand National Exhibition, Salmagundi Club, New York, New York
Colored Pencil Society of America International Exhibition, Oglethorpe Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia
Pencil Art Society Member International Juried Exhibition
The Richeson75 International Figure/Portrait Art Exhibit, Richeson School of Art and Gallery, Kimberly, Wisconsin
Artspectations, Colored Pencil Society of America
National Society of Artists Juried National Show, The Center for the Arts & Sciences, Clute, Texas
Visual Arts Alliance Juried Membership Exhibition, 1600 Smith Street Gallery, Houston, Texas
Art Hop Juried Exhibition, Georgetown Art Center, Georgetown, Texas
ArTexas, Salado Village Artists, Salado Civic Center, Salado, Texas
Colored Pencil Society of America
International Guild of Realism
Portrait Society of America
Woodlands Art League
2017
CP Treasures 5, Colored Pencil Masterworks from Around The Globe, Featured Cover Artist
“Putting a Fine Point on Colored Pencil Drawings” Washington Post, July 13
American Art Collector, May 2017
The Artist’s Magazine, Cover, April 2017
”Strokes of Genius 9: Creative Discoveries,” North Light Books
2016
International Artist Magazine, “Precision with Pencils,” December Issue, pgs. 4-5
American Art Collector Magazine, “Anatomy of Light” December Issue, pgs. 116-119
American Art Collector Magazine, “Jesse Lane: Face Reality,” October Issue, pgs. 78-79
Southwest Art Magazine, “21 Under 31,” September Issue, pg. 97
“INDA 11, International Drawing Annual,” published by Manifest Drawing Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
DRAW Portraits in Colored Pencil: The Ultimate Step by Step Guide, co-authored with Ann Kullberg and others, pgs. 64-73
The Artist’s Magazine, “A Stroke Above the Rest,” July/August Issue, pg. 77
CP Treasures: Colored Pencil Masterworks from Around the Globe, Volume 4, by Ann Kullberg, pg 61
Color Magazine, Cover Artist, September Issue, pgs. 4-7The Woodlands Lifestyles & Homes, “Jesse Lane Now Represented by New York Art Gallery,” ” August Issue, pg. 101
2015
Colored Pencil Magazine, Featured Cover Artist, December Issue, pgs. 10-13
The 2015 Winners’ Catalog, The Williams Prize in Drawing for Emerging Artists, The Artist for Artists Project, pgs. 44-45
The Richeson75 International Figure/Portrait 2015 Book, Richeson School of Art & Gallery, pgs. 63-64
The Woodlands Lifestyles & Homes, “Colored Pencil Artwork Drawing Attention,” October Issue, pgs. 122-123
The Woodlands Villager, “Seeing Things: Local Artist Studies Abroad,” August 13, pg. 12A
Bachelor of Science in Visualization, Texas A&M University, 2014
Santa Chiara Study Center, semester-abroad art classes, Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy, 2013
