Meet the Staff – Natalie Lane, Gallery Director

Back in May, we did a featured blog piece on Natalie.  At the time, she was our gallery manager. However, like the season, things are changing here at Maine Art, as well.

So…

We would like to reintroduce Natalie Lane, our new Gallery Director. She is still the same wonderful smile that greets you as you enter Maine Art, but her role with us will grow and change to feature her talent and skills in many different ways.

As many already know, Natalie has always been the brains and talent behind our framing counter.  With over twenty-four years framing experience, we are incredibly lucky to have her.  For the last ten years, she has shared her amazing eye for design, her color sense, and skills in the Maine Art frame shop and on the sales floor. She is an accomplished framer and manages to keep us all on task and organized, and helps keep the gallery running. This is something that won’t change too much. When you have an expert in the house, it is impossible not to utilize her.

Natalie Lane, Gallery Manager

Natalie was born at Portsmouth Naval Air Hospital in Kittery, Maine. Her father was stationed at Pease Air Force Base in Portsmouth. Being a military child, her travels started at a young age. One of her earliest memories is of Madrid, Spain, while her father was stationed at Torrejon Air Base.

“I think this is where my interest in art may have begun. There was a man in Spain, Suarez Gomez, who became a friend of my father’s.  He was an artist that used various mediums such as oil, pastel, and charcoal. Several paintings and portraits of his hung in our home for many years, even after we returned stateside,” says Lane. “Some of them hang in my home now.”

Homestead by Suarez Gomez

Natalie’s family returned to the U.S in 1969. Throughout her life, she has called many places in New Hampshire and southern Maine home. She is truly a New Englander at heart. She has a love for hiking, fishing, and gardening. Living in rural Maine with her wonderful husband, Jeff, certainly, helps foster these activities.

“I have a lot of artwork in my home centered around trees, birds, and botanicals, so I guess you could say I’m a nature lover,” says Natalie.  “Thanks to my 4-H leader, Mrs. Saltmarsh, I have also been sewing and designing with fabric since I was nine years-old. Project Runway is my guilty pleasure. On my days off, I like to poke around flea markets and browse through old photos. Yet most of all, I love spending time with family and friends. My husband, daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons are by far my favorites.”

The Grandbabies The Happy Couple Mother and Daughter

Natalie participated in various clubs and sports in school, but her favorite was Drama Club. She is always writing or composing something in her head, but it was the camaraderie and creativeness it required that drew her in. This explains why she is so at home at Maine Art.

“When I came to Maine Art, I was prompted to take on the challenge of original art sales along with running the custom framing aspect of the business. I enjoy welcoming new customers to the gallery, engaging in conversation, and introducing them to the works of all our artists,” says Lane. “I feel lucky to have a career in a creative field, and I am  privileged to work with such quality people.”

Art has always been a love of Natalie’s, even though she doesn’t draw or paint. Apparently, this talent was doled out to other members of her family but skipped her. Taking lessons is on her list of future plans, but so are a few other things.

“In the future, I want to travel. Honestly, anywhere. I want to see more of America, especially the Southwest and the Pacific Northwest. As far as what I want to be when I grow up,” Lane pauses and smiles, “I plan on becoming our beloved Miss Patty.”

Natalie and Miss Patty Taylor

Miss Patty Taylor is one of our former employees, who still visits often, and whom we all love dearly.  If anyone can fill Miss Patty’s shoes it will certainly be Natalie. Even though we have other shoes for her to fill, we have no doubt she will continue to emulate the wonder that is Miss Patty. This is proven in her final words of her last interview when we asked what was most important to know about her;

“I believe in the Golden Rule, Karma, and if I can help, I will.”

Natalie Lane, Gallery Manager

To read about other members of our staff click here.

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