We were lucky to catch up with Carrie Lane recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Carrie, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I am a visual artist. I paint realistic subjects and scenes, lately middle distance portraits. Sometimes I work in mixed media, but that is usually reserved for exploring the world within my mind as opposed to documenting the world around me.

I learned how to draw and paint over the past thirty-one years by watching others draw and paint. There is only so much watching anyone can do though. When I was small, I would trace over cursive letters my mom would lay out for me. I watched my oldest sister draw and sketch. I took some art courses in high school. Art was never in my mind as my career during these youthful ages. Long story short, I decided to seriously pursue art as a career in 2019. I consumed hours of artists interviews from podcasts like “The Jealous Curator: ART FOR YOUR EAR”. I learned how different creatives carved out their paths. I watched hundreds of hours of YouTube from creators Lena Danya, Michael James Smith, Chuck Black and Andrew Tischler. I took an online portraiture class taught by Daria Callie. All of these resources were essential to shaping me as an artist.

I think the only thing I would have done differently is to paint more. With the internet being what it is, a vast and endless ocean reflecting all aspects of the human condition, anyone could learn forever. Overall we can not forget, consumption does not equate skill. The physical product of art is what makes original art so special. It exists in one space, no matter how many photographs get taken. Learning how to create pieces that are beautiful to look at in the real world with unfiltered eyes is all about dexterity. If an artist can not tell their hand what to do, then the piece will always lack.

The most essential skills in realism are being able to see, being aware of what the thoughts within are doing and being able to tell muscles how to move. If brain chatter overwhelms the mind, being able to judge the values and hues of an image will be nearly impossible. I still struggle with this, but the more I learn about how my brain works best the easier it is to redirect my focus to the task at hand. If I have interpersonal drama, I have to confront it and resolve the dilemma as quickly as possible. If there are things in the world and my life that are distracting, then the only way through it to me is through painting. Brain chatter informs how I see and my ability to move. If I cannot make a decision, I cannot manage my movements. As an artist, I must be self aware and make confident decisions.

The only obstacle I have is myself. If I neglect my priorities, the art suffers or is not made at all. I must recognize my needs, which include the nurturing relationships with my loved ones, time spent in nature, exercise, getting enough sleep, exploring humanity and, in the last slot, creating art. I learn more when I am happy and at peace. Using art as an escape is a way to live, but the art that comes out of me when I am miserable is not all I want to leave behind.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Carrie Lane and I am a fine artist currently based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA. I seriously committed to art as a career path in my mid-twenties after working in agriculture, restaurants, massage therapy and international logistics. I document the world around me through dreamy realism. Sometimes I work from photographs taken by myself or by clients, sometimes I do live sketching at events, sometimes art just bursts straight out from my mind. The clients I work with are often commemorating something, whether it is a loved one, special occasion or their favorite parts of life. I enjoy helping people bring their ideas into the visual realm. I love all of my pieces for one reason or another, but I will share the process of a few of my favorites.

In spring of 2024, I was commissioned to do a senior portrait for a family’s eldest son. The young man had earned a full-ride scholarship. I met with him and his mother, and took reference photographs myself. The image I ended up using was actually a still taken from a video. He was staring almost directly into the sun and had the smallest smirk from me making silly jokes. Somewhere in the painting process, I realized how perfect him staring into the sun was: staring into his “bright future”. We then made small prints of the piece and the family used them as graduation announcements. I signed each one as a limited edition print. Beautiful idea.

My more common commission works are painting based off of client provided reference photos. This does include pet portraiture. Capturing the personalities of the pets while capturing a true likeness is a fun puzzle to solve. I enjoy candid family moments quite a bit. A special one that comes to mind is of a woman reading a book to her small grandchildren. I feel so honored to get to document these intimate moments that give a life substance. There are so many of these types of moments I could describe. I will mention that I do not share everything I create on social media. If an individual or family does not want their personal images shared, I respect my clients privacy. I take my job very seriously in the respect that I am doing my best to create a sacred item. I want these pieces to be present in peoples lives and provide them with a physical reminder of what they truly value.

Another service I provide is live sketching. This is becoming more of a trend at weddings. My preferred method of live sketching is blending in with the group and documenting moments as they happen. Sometimes I write down little quotes that I hear from people. These sketches are highly stylized and while I can capture many likenesses, this is not photography. I can also take photographs of people as they come into the venue and sketch from the photographs. This method ensures all parties are documented. My favorite live sketching event so far has been hanging out with a family on vacation at Sandbridge Beach in southeast Virginia Beach, VA. It was so sweet to be part of their lives for that day. I filled pages for a couple of hours and the family kept all the art I created. It was fun to see which people wanted which sketches. Joyful.

The last type of art I provide would be non-commissioned original work. I often feel the need to document certain aspects of life. I enjoy wildlife photography and the paintings that result are living in some private collections. I also enjoy street photography, these middle distance portraits of people living their lives. I am currently working on a solo exhibition called “Greenhouses.” This group of pieces is a combination of my love of nature and street photography. Visit thegaragevb.com for more information about this show opening May 9, 2025.

I love the work I do. I love documenting how beautiful life can be. I love providing items of substance to peoples homes. I love documenting what society values so the future may learn something about culture in this age.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I love podcasts because they allow me to learn while I work. There are many art related ones like “The Creative Endeavor” or “Creative Peptalk”, but I mostly listen to psychology, history and true crime. “Hidden Brain” is a particularly good one for reflection and managing relationship dynamics. “Hardcore History” is a favorite for when I need to focus on painting for long periods of time because one topic usually spans ten to fifteen hours. I love learning about peoples motivations for doing things. True crime is a genre that shows how the decisions in peoples lives culminate. I particularly enjoy the historical ones and learning how forensic processes have grown and changed over time. People makes decisions, and they learn from them or they do not. Reminding myself of how society is always shifting and growing gives myself increased empathy towards myself and others. Biographies keep me inspired. There is no singular way to achieve a goal, and focusing on my own process is the best way for me. I do not want to recreate anyone else’s path.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My biggest creative goal is documenting culture. I have always been enamored with history; things kept safe in museums that people learn from today; items that provide society with reminders of triumphs and failures. The people creating these items may not have known the value they were providing to the future. My largest goal is to help document the things about modern life that will define it as an era. This time will be judged the same way the past is judged. I hope my work will help the future understand.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.carrielaneart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carrielane_art/