Lane Dewitt Studio

Lane DeWitt was born in 1956 in Phoenix Arizona and raised in New Mexico. He comes from a long line of cattlemen with family roots in New Mexico and Texas. One of his Great Grandfathers fought in the Civil war and was a Medal of Honor recipient; the other, was a trail boss who drove cattle on the Chisholm trail to the stockyards in Fort Worth Texas. Lane’s Grandfather owned a Saloon in Phoenix Arizona with a pool hall in the front and gambling in the back to support the family thru the great depression. His other Grandfather Ralph Wells was a rancher in Oklahoma and an original founder of Navajo Missions, a charitable organization in Farmington NM that raises orphaned Navajo children in a Christian environment and provides them with a home and an education. His early artistic influences were his mother Florene DeWitt, a landscape artist, and his aunt Pat DeWitt, a prominent Arizona watercolorist. On weekends the family could be found exploring the pueblos of New Mexico or visiting friends on the Navajo reservation. Summers were spent on Grandfathers ranch in Oklahoma or at Navajo Mission in Farmington NM. While his grandparents were working, Lane would spend the day playing with the Navajo kids by the Animas river behind the mission. Growing up alongside American Indian kids instilled a deep respect for their culture, heritage and traditions. Thru art classes in high school in Albuquerque NM studying painting and sculpture, he found his calling, a passion in fine art. A neighbor near the family’s summer home outside Durango Colorado, the renowned western artist Oleg Stavrowsky, became Lane’s friend and mentor. Lane was classically trained at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts in Old Lyme Connecticut in painting and sculpture. Additionally, he completed three years of private studies under the school’s founder Elizabeth Gordon Chandler in portraiture. He is married to wife Debra and living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Most weekends are spent sketching and photographing American Indian gatherings, then during the week working on paintings in his studio. The nature of Lane’s work is figurative and portraiture of American Indians with a bold use of color and texture.

I am a realist painter of American Indians, their culture, traditions and their heritage. My home is in Santa Fe, New Mexico; with its galleries, artists, and natural light and beautiful surroundings which I consider the best place to create and live. Growing up here among the Northern Pueblo Indians has become my life, my passion and the subject of my paintings. For me it’s all about the figure, whether it’s a life size painting of an Apache Gann or a portrait of a Tribal Governor, the design, composition and execution of the work with the correct anatomy of the figure, the color and texture of the paint, all must come together for the painting to really work. My paintings are created by first attending native gatherings and powwows, where I make quick gesture sketches and take reference photos to create my final drawings. I work primarily on Russian or Belgian linen, unless the piece is very large, in which case, I use cotton canvas. After the drawing is complete, I begin the piece by working under color corrected lighting, filling in the dark areas first and working towards the light areas. I am constantly striving to treat the painting as a whole rather than concentrate on a small area, so that eventually, everything comes together. Currently I am working on 3 different series of paintings; the first is the Matachines of San Juan Pueblo in northern New Mexico. The Matachines perform a sacred dance that has been done consecutively on December 24, 25 since 1580 AD. The Second is the Apache Gaan from the Mescalero Apache of southern New Mexico and the Chiracaua Apache from the San Carlos reservation in Arizona. The Gaan are spirits that live inside mountains and caves in Apache territory and manifest themselves as humans. The third and last are Monumental portraits of American Indians from across the United States in a very large 4’x 6’ format. The purpose of my painting is to bring out the spiritual and overwhelming essence that I have been privileged to witness every time I attend these American Indian gatherings.