OklahomaHorses Magazine Nov/Dec 2020

22 OklahomaHorses • November/December 2020 EQU I NE ART I S T S P atsy E. Lane describes herself as a storyteller. Instead of ink and paper, her tales are told through bronze sculptures. Every one of her tales centers on nature or wildlife. Patsy’s belief is that all art invokes emotion, “whether that means you want to live with it or never look at it again.” But when it comes to her own art, she hopes it brings only a smile and that “people are happy to see it.” In the following Q&A, she shares more insight on her love for sculpture and all things wildlife. Q. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN CREATING ART? A. For 60 years, I’ve been making art. It started with drawing and then oil painting. I guess I was drawn to sculpture by going to the Prix de West art show at the then-Cowboy Hall of Fame and seeing all the Western and wildlife sculptures, both permanent collections and what was entered in the show. Q. WHAT INSPIRES YOU ABOUT WILDLIFE AND HORSES? A. I’ve always been a tomboy or outside person, and I was raised on a farm. I got my first horse probably when I was about 10 years old. So that interest in horses has always been there. We lived in Vernal, Utah, in the Uintah Basin—in the heart of dinosaur country—for over 10 years, so there we hunted deer. There were elk and wild horses in the area, and you occasionally would see a mountain lion. I was always drawn to that. I had no interest ever in making people the subject. I’ve been around cows and horses my whole life. We still have cattle. Q. HOW DO YOU CHOOSE A SUBJECT? A. These ideas just come to me, seriously, sometimes after I’ve gone to bed. I have never sculpted for a commercial market, for what I thought would sell. It’s always been some story, and that’s the only way I know how to describe it—a story that comes to mind. The next thing I visualize is the title before I do anything. I’ve never been interested in something life size. … You build a skeleton. You have a head, backbone, all of that; you start building around that with the clay. I do a lot of research and watch a lot of wildlife or Animal Planet type shows. Q. HOW DOES SCULPTING DIFFER FROM PAINTING, AND HOW DO YOU BRING THE PROCESS TO LIFE? A. It’s easier than painting because with painting, you’re starting with a flat surface. I don’t have to apply paint to make it look round. I can make it round with clay. I still like to paint and hang out with my buddies on painting trips. I’d love to be a much better painter, but sculpture is the thing I love to do. Cost is the biggest drawback in producing a sculpture, and retail prices reflect that—the cost of creation. I don’t even consider my time or clay or gas or trips to the foundry. Currently, I’m telling a story about a bear and her three cubs, but I’m having a hard time completing it because I’m about to start on a bull rider. It will be more of interest to breeding and bucking bull owners. It will be titled “Launched.” This bull is really gonna have the rider gone, bucked off! You’ve got to figure where the attachments are going to be, how to stand it upright and not tip over. I put a lot of thought into that. A hand attached here, maybe the bull’s tail going up to where the rider’s back is touching it. You have to engineer it. It’s hard to create dust, and stuff like that, out of hard metal. It’s an extra challenge, but I think I’ve got it worked out. I’m having trouble finishing my bear story because this is in the back of my mind, thinking about the bull. Q. WHAT DO YOU HOPE PEOPLE TAKE AWAY AFTER SEEING YOUR SCULPTURES? A. It tickles me to death for someone to reach out and touch my sculptures. My piece “Ladies in Waiting,” people have a tendency to reach out and touch. That’s great to get a reaction where someone connects with it and wants to touch it. Art is something that you want to take home and live with and look at it and feel. This sounds so artsy, but it’s something that you look at, and it brings a smile to your face. You just like it and enjoy seeing it every day. SCULPTOR PATSY E. LANE CAPTURES THE BEAUTY OF WILDLIFE IN BRONZE Patsy E. Lane “Asleep At The Wheel” “Scratchin’” WRITTEN BY: Anna Holton-Dean