By Allison Malafronte
Emiliya Lane, Memory Lane, oil, 30 х 30.
Emiliya Lane is a Russian artist who has been living in America for more than 20 years and who has built an extensive résumé. Many artists discover a love of drawing at a young age but don’t pursue it seriously until they’re much older. Lane, on the other hand, was enrolled in an art school from the ages of 6 through 16 and had the advantage of an intense, integrated arts education throughout her youth, as is typical in many culturally rich cities in Russia.
Straight out of high school, Lane worked as an animator and illustrator at a film studio while simultaneously attending Ural State University in Ekaterinburg. She developed her figure-drawing skills through the continuous sketching required in traditional animation while learning about art history, literature, and language at college. After 15 years in commercial art, and with a master’s degree in fine art and art history to her credit, she immigrated to the United States with her American husband. Once settled in Seattle, she began working at a contemporary art gallery while pursuing studies with several top American artists.
Emiliya Lane, Red Chair, oil, 16 x 12.
Her first figure-drawing workshop in the U.S. with Robert Liberace was a game-changer. “I had always wanted to study with him because of his astounding knowledge of figure, character, and anatomy,” Lane says. “After this, the face and figure became a stronger focus in my work.” Additional workshops with such artists as Ovanes Berberian (who was a student of Russian master Sergei Bongart), Zhaoming Wu, Jeremy Lipking, and Daniel Gerhartz taught her the art of alla prima painting.
Emiliya Lane, The Ring, oil, 20 x 20.
For Lane, painting the figure is all about conveying emotion, and she does this primarily through color. “I consider my style Russian Impressionism, and in the classes I teach everything is about learning how to see, color mixing, color temperature, and paint application,” she says. “With the figure, there are a lot of abstract qualities, and I’m most concerned with shapes and how shapes can depict that amazing energy and excitement that occurs when painting a human being.” To learn more, visit www.artlanegallery.com, www.saatchiart.com, and www.artfinder.com.
Emiliya Lane, Midnight Bride, oil, 20 x 20.
This article is part of the Figuratively Speaking: Figure Paintings to Collect portfolio.