Biography

Lane DeWitt comes from several generations of cattlemen, his Great Grandfather
was a trail boss working the Chisholm Trail and his Grandfather established a ranch near Guymon Oklahoma where Lane spent summers working cattle when not in school. Born in Arizona raised in New Mexico and Texas, the West, ranching heritage and the working cowboy are in his blood and are the inspiration for his paintings. Lane started drawing when he was 5years old with early artistic influence from his mother Florene Wells DeWitt a landscape artist working in oils also his aunt Pat DeWitt a prominent Arizona watercolorist. High School studies in Albuquerque NM in painting and sculpture, fine art business curriculum at University of Texas El Paso and University of New Mexico. Classically trained at the Lyme Academy of Fine Art in Old Lyme Connecticut with 3 additional year’s private study in Portraiture under the schools founder, Sculptor Elizabeth Gordon Chandler. Lane’s paintings come from annual trips to the 6666 ranch in Guthrie Texas and the San Cristobal ranch in Lamy New Mexico just south of Santa Fe as well as other historic ranches of the west. “I take a lot of photos and create gesture drawings as well as breathe a lot of dust every spring but I Love it and it connects me with the land, cattle, horses and cowboys in a way that I believe is essential to create authentic quality work”. Lane and his wife Debra make their home in Santa Fe New Mexico an area known for the high desert light, art galleries and museums.

Artist Statement

I am a traditional oil painter of Working Cowboys, their culture, traditions and the Heritage of the West. My home is in Santa Fe New Mexico, an excellent location to be based out of, to work on historic ranches from Texas up to Montana and out to California. I also attend rodeos and bull ridings as well as pow wows and Native American gatherings to photograph and produce gesture drawings for use in creating my work. When staying at a cow camp on a historic ranch I am extremely aware of the cattle, horses, the lay of the land, the blood and sweat to incorporate these elements into my paintings which are composed at my Santa Fe New Mexico and Barstow Texas studios indoors under color corrected lighting. My work is first-hand experience from life at events where I have been physically present; nothing manufactured or made up, it is the real deal. I create paintings of cowboys working on ranches, stockyards and rodeos who love their way of life and live it with a high sense of honor and duty. I strive to portray what life is like for traditional cowboys of today. The cowboy way of life has been changing over the last 100 years and will continue to change but there will always be working cowboys. They are the ultimate environmentalists, stewarding the land responsibly and preserving the heritage of the grazing resources to sustain the environment. It is a privilege and a blessing to create paintings of the American Working Cowboy.