Photo by Erin Nelson.
Mallory Lane, a contemporary artist, works on a piece at her studio space at the Orchard House. Lane, originally from Nashville, spent time in Brooklyn before moving to Mountain Brook.
Mallory Lane’s love of art bloomed while living in New York City.
She spent her weekends visiting galleries in Chelsea and the Lower East Side, where she was exposed to a variety of contemporary artists.
“That is what sparked my inspiration to start doing art on the side and then full-time,” Lane said.
While she did take some art classes in college, Lane said her main art education has been watching art videos on YouTube, visiting galleries and learning about other artists' methods.
She has been creating art on the side since 2019 and full-time since January.
“In college, I started to explore mixed media and I spent a lot of time with my friends hanging out and painting or creating,” she said. “I think it was a way for me to process my emotions during that time. That was a thread that ran throughout college.”
After graduating from the University of Alabama, Lane moved to New York City to begin her career. She worked for Microsoft in management information systems for five years at her office in Times Square. She said she loved her job and it combined her artistic style with the math and science part of her brain.
“I feel like that whole season of my life influenced what my creative outlook looks like now,” she said.
Moving to Mountain Brook
When she made the decision to pursue art as a full-time career, Lane knew her savings wouldn’t last very long in New York City.
“I had to start with a financial risk to be able to take time to improve my style, refine my craft and decide where I'm going to be and my family lived in the south,” she said. “Being closer to family was important to me. I'm from Nashville and spent time looking there and in Birmingham. I ended up driving on Cherokee Road in Mountain Brook and thought it was so beautiful, and I felt this sense of this was the right place to start my art business and the right next step for me.”
Lane said one of the things that drew her to Birmingham was the community’s support for the visual arts. She said she was surprised how many people in Mountain Brook and surrounding areas value having original art in their homes. It’s something people prioritize here, she said.
After the move, Lane knew there would be tradeoffs going from a big city to a small one. While she does miss the hustle and bustle of New York, she enjoys the slower pace of the South and has also reconnected with friends from college.
Since making her home in Crestline Village, Lane has been selling pieces through her social media channels and continues to grow her client base. She spends her days working out of her studio space in Avondale, creating pieces to add to her collection.
Her commission process begins with a client interview, where they discuss their life and what's important to them. Lane then reflects on the conversation and chooses a phrase or theme to encourage and affirm the client’s identity, then presents that back to them via a phone call.
“That process has been special and fun to do,” she said.
She describes her art as contemporary and builds her own canvases before adding color blocking and stamped text. She enjoys painting lots of layers and also incorporating florals. The colors are specific to the client — she loves bright and bold colors but also finds ways to make neutral pieces really interesting.
She recently participated in Birmingham Art Walk and her next stop will be at Magic City Art Connection, April 28-30 at Sloss Furnaces.
What’s next
After she wraps up at Magic City Art Connection, Lane plans to work on a project she started in 2019. She has one piece with a stamped subway announcement and has received good feedback on it.
“People who have lived in New York or just love the city want to incorporate something into their home that’s not cheesy or just the skyline,” Lane said. “I plan to do a series of pieces with different subway announcements on them. I plan to go to New York and finish them on the subway.”
Lane is targeting late spring or early summer to make the trip to New York, then plans to participate in more art shows.
“I think there's an interesting balance as an artist in exploring and learning between creating work for things like fairs and things like commissions,” she said. “It's great to have guaranteed clients and fairs give you an opportunity to expand your creativity and get outside of your typical style and in front of more people.”
For more information on Lane and her art, visit her Instagram page at @mallorylanecreative.
