John Lane was born outside Boston in 1970. He spent his youth making rock music and strange drawings before studying painting at Rhode Island School of Design.
Like our cover image “Shape of a Grape,” his paintings are primarily simple, yet transcendental compositions of women in various stages of dress and thought. Hard black lines lead you quickly into their psyche. It’s hard to look away.
Lane moved from Los Angeles to San Diego last year to become Artist in Residence at Herb & Wood. His studio is within the sprawling restaurant. Some Herb & Wood guests are inspired to have their portraits painted. Lane fancies himself a society painter like John Singer Sargent but more in the style of Modigliani or Matisse.
A catalog of Lane’s paintings from 2009-2017 entitled, You Can Love Me I Don’t Want to Anymore, is scheduled for release this fall by the Swiss publisher, Diogenes Verlag.
