Todd Lane

About Artist:

Artist's statement: Regardless of the medium, I believe it is only art which speaks truth that holds a lasting resonance with the viewer. Therefore, I do demand anatomical accuracy from my work. However, since art is an interpretation, I also believe my work is enhanced by incorporating a judicious degree of exaggeration. These are my goals.

"...Todd. A fellow traveler in the world of wonders." -Walter Matia

Polymath Artist: I am an award-winning sculptor, illustrator, a former newspaper comic strip cartoonist and memoirist.

"Ostinato Rigore" (relentless rigore) -Leonardo da Vinci 

I received my formal art training at Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland. There I studied a myriad disciplines to include: cartooning, illustration, drawing (all levels), advertising art, design, and sculpture. In addition, I studied human anatomy, physiology and kinesiology for 18 months which has benefited me enormously in giving life to my work.

Following art school, I served an extended seven year apprenticeship under master wildlife sculptor Bart Walter. I also studied under master sculptor Walter Matia for over one year and briefly under artist Phillip Ratner.

As a result of my years of formal training, professional understudy and consistent work, I have come to understand that creating fine art is fundamentally about developing the ability to see your subject--any subject--with uncommon clarity. You will not be capable of imbuing your art with a true sense of life until you have learned to see in this way.

And to do so, you must consciously be thinking about: shapes, distances (i.e. positive and negative space), mass, movement and symmetry as you sculpt or draw. It's an ongoing exercise in problem identification and problem solving and the completed art is the result of that process.

In addition to my personal mentors, the artists that I've been most influenced by are: Jacob Epstein, Alexander Pope, Felix de Weldon, Henry Moore, August Rodin, Alberto Giacometti, Bill Watterson, Gary Larson, Jim Unger, Wiley Miller, John Callahan, Bill Mauldin and Berkley Breathed.

About Artwork:

"Readers shouldn't be deceived into thinking the cartoons are kids' stuff... his cartoons push the envelope and are not politically correct."

-Excerpt From The 2004 Interview of Cartoonist Todd Lane, Conducted By Montgomery Gazette Editor Judith Hruz

Proto: First

Blast: To burst forth

"PROTOBLAST" is a comic panel that I created in the 90's and for five years it was featured in multiple weekly Maryland newspapers, as well as viewed worldwide online for many years.

Although I drew all of my characters in black and white with oversized heads and noses intent on mainstream newspaper publication, I didn't care to create-yet another-of the more typical comic strips with reoccurring characters and storylines. From the beginning, my concept was to make each cartoon a stand-alone joke with American culture being the overarching satirical theme.

Following the standards adhered to by "Calvin And Hobbes" creator Bill Watterson, I was the consummate traditionalist when it came to my technique and materials. And even now I consider the use of newfangled devices like "HD Drawing Tablets" (and the like) to be the antithesis of true cartooning/illustration. My feeling is, that if you're not at risk of spilling ink on your carpet and you're not periodically brushing eraser residue from your drawing as you create, you are not really a cartoonist.

I was a cartoonist before anything else, and there was no aspect of the artform I didn't find completely fascinating. From 1992 to 2001 I focused virtually all of my creative energies into producing newspaper comics. Those efforts culminated in the creation of this single panel comic "PROTOBLAST." These select originals represent just a few of the cartoons that I devoted literally thousands of hours into producing. And this is the first time that I've ever made my original comics available for purchase.

It is said that "High Art" is appreciated by those with the most cultivated taste. While so called "Low Art" is widely accessible, unsophisticated and intended for the masses due to the fact that it's easy to comprehend. But I disagree.

If you consider the fact that in a technical sense, a cartoonist is a writer, editor, set designer, cameraman, wardrobe consultant and illustrator all in one, and must successfully convey his concept within a 4"x13" space, how can cartooning not be considered its own brand of high art?

The Technical Side of Cartooning:

"Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort." -John Ruskin

With a steadfast dedication to creating high quality artwork, I produced all of my cartoons on acid free, smooth surface 300 Series Strathmore Bristol Board which is made from cotton rather than wood. Historically, papermills would send their finest cotton materials to Bristol England in order for their paper to be produced. As a result of its durability, purity and permanence, cotton paper remains the choice for many artists worldwide.

First, I'd come up with a concept for a joke, write and edit the joke, then sketch out the illustration using either a 2B or non-photo blue pencil. Once I had everything visually arranged the way I wanted it, I'd dip a Winsor Newton Series 7 miniature sable brush into a small pool of Koh-I-Noor ink (that I kept in an unused contact lens container) and "paint" over my pencil lines. Then I would trace over my dialog lettering with a stainless-steel Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph pen that used the same type of ink. Afterward, I'd remove my underlying pencil work using a Staedtler Mars Plastic Combi eraser. Finally, I'd complete my cartoons by applying Letraset/Letratone shading and pattern film over the image and then I would remove the excess using an X-Acto knife. This gave depth and visual weight to my illustrations.

Although it was far more time consuming and expensive for me to produce cartoons traditionally than it would have been to produce them digitally, the end result are these completely handmade, physical, tangible pieces of original art that you can enjoy for years and pass on to your family or friends. To me, cartooning was an all consuming labor of love. 

"If you want to tell people the truth, you'd better make them laugh or they'll kill you." -George Bernard Shaw

Check out my other original fine art for sale on Artplode.