Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Katie Lane. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Katie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?

In the spring of 2021, I released my first collection of paintings. The collection was called SOFT. SWEET. GRIT. and it was a series of twelve paintings inspired by a short book of poems by Mary Oliver called “A Thousand Mornings.” Each piece was titled with a small passage from the book. Today, this series is nearly sold out with only one remaining piece that is still available.

Through this collection, I sold my first painting on my own without gallery representation. It was an extremely influential moment in how I viewed and valued my work as a professional artist and saw the potential of painting full-time. Since then, I have released two other collections of work, “Rock Candy” in 2022, and most recently, “Urban Jungle” in 2023.

Katie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Katie Lane, I’m a professional abstract painter based in Somerville, Massachusetts. I started painting my senior year of high school and continued from there to get my Bachelor of Fine Arts in college. Now, twelve years later, painting continues to be an integral part of my life and livelihood.

In the past decade-plus, my work has gone through many phases and transformations. I am not afraid to shake things up and try new media and techniques that interest me. In the past five years, I have been working more exclusively with collage and acrylic paint. Through my experience living in and around the Boston area, I’m inspired daily by the urban landscape. I find a certain poetry in a decaying wall, a rusting fence, crumbling gravel sidewalks, and the nature that reclaims these seemingly abandoned areas.

My work is colorful, and textural and certainly becomes a statement piece in any space it is in. My collectors tend to enjoy an eclectic or modern aesthetic in their homes and surroundings. I’ve worked with interior designers, curators, and art consultants to create meaningful and impactful environments through art and design.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I think the most common stigma to be unlearned by artists (and creatives) is the troupe of the “starving artist.” In a similar vein, that in order to be a “true artist”, you must be in the studio 24/7. In my experiences of having an array of jobs throughout my creative career, each requiring different time away from the studio, I’ve learned to value my time and worth that much more when it comes to my work.

Having a job, whether it’s full-time or part-time, doesn’t make you any less of an artist or professional. Much more patience, diligence, and persistence is usually required to juggle a day job alongside a creative practice. Most of the artists in my community are some of the most hard-working people I know and this point is something that gets lost in the messaging around being an artist.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The list is truly endless on how my creative practice has guided me growing up and enriched my life as a whole. I’ve always been grateful for and cherished having a space where I can tune out the chaos and dive into an idea. The act of expressing yourself through a physical object is so special and therapeutic in and of itself. When that translates and impacts another person, that is hard to explain. There is an unspoken connection between me and each one of my collectors, it’s a bit surreal. Additionally, the freedom and flexibility to create your schedule and how you spend your time is something that I highly value in having a creative practice.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ktlanestudio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ktlanestudio/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ktlanestudio

Image Credits
All photos taken by the artist