The inner journey has always been a defining aspect of Jesse Lane’s highly detailed colored pencil drawings. He depicts humans at their most vulnerable and intimate moments, with the figure contemplating, finding and searching. In the past, Lane’s focused on themes of struggle, but his latest works are about recovery, self-discovery and stepping into the unknown. His upcoming exhibition Immersions – Revelations of the Soul at RJD Gallery in Romeo, Michigan, will include four new works and launch three limited edition signed prints.Witness, colored pencil on Bristol board, 30 x 20"

The works include one of the artist’s most common elements; water. In Ripple, water streams down the face of the model, while pieces such as Winds of Water and Undercurrents are more surrealistic in nature and show figures submerged in ocean worlds. Adrenaline, which is being released as a limited edition, is another, but where the standing figure is surrounded by a blast of water.Adrenaline, limited edition electronically signed print, ed. of 500, 29.26 x 20"

“One of the things I love about water is that it has so many roles that it can play,” says Lane. “It can be so expressive. In the portrait work, it’s running down the faces and there is a sense of recovery or renewal, and it’s soothing and slow…and in Winds of Water and Undercurrents, the figures are totally underwater and it’s their world. It’s this organic, timeless thing.”Abyss, limited edition electronically signed print, ed. of 500, 20 x 27.875"

In Winds of Water and Undercurrents, viewers will also notice an intentional push with more color through the plant life, reefs, fish and sea creatures that surround his figures. “I’ve been fascinated with color for years and years. I used to push and try to include all of them just in someone’s skin tone. If you look at it closely, it is loud and visible, you actually see [the colors],” says Lane. “I’ve come back to color after about a decade away from it and I’m still working with a limited color palette, especially in Winds of Water. It has a bold and loud, but limited color palette.”Winds of Water, colored pencil on Bristol board, 39 x 26"

He says, “So much color exists underwater. I think that’s really fascinating and enhances the unusualness of the underwater worlds. There’s also just a whimsical quality that exists with these very loud, saturated colors and I like contrasting that with the dark seriousness of the moments. In the people’s expressions, you see they are grieving and there’s still a struggle. It’s very serious and very whimsical with the colors. I like that dichotomy.”Labyrinth, limited edition electronically signed print, ed. of 500, 25.273 x 20"

Art collectors Jennifer and Jim Seale are drawn to Lane’s skill in creating color pencil works. They say, “Many art collectors tend to ignore pencil art—assuming it’s an entry level class of art medium. But there are artists working in that genre today whose skill at drawing, composition and the blending of colors rivals any of the art produced in other categories. Among the very top in his field is Jesse Lane. The level of emotional intensity in his subjects, his fervent attention to detail, the hours of painstaking strokes and dots of the colored pencil to produce a hyperrealistic piece of figurative art is only done by a handful, of which Jesse is a master. Certainly any collector wishing to diversify their collection of figurative art would be honored to have a piece of Jesse’s work. We were thrilled to include Jesse’s poignant piece, Face Reality, in our own collection and have placed it in a well-traveled part of our home so that we can stop and study its details again and again.”Ripple, colored pencil on Bristol board, 30 x 20"

Immersions – Revelations of the Soul will be on view throughout the entire month of January. Gallery owner Richard J. Demato says, “Jesse Lane continues to do the impossible—challenge, delight and inspire us with his exquisitely rendered photorealistic drawings created only with colored pencils. Each artwork looks as though it was shot through a lens, focused and perfectly lit, capturing with stunning precision a moment in time.” —

RJD Gallery  
227 N. Main Street • Romeo, MI 48065
(586) 281-3613 • www.rjdgallery.com 

Powered by Froala Editor