Meet the Artist

Candace, here.  I’m so glad you’re here! I am so excited to share my creative journey with you! 

I grew up in Richmond, Virginia, drawing cartoon and Sunday comic characters.  In high school, I had a booming part time job, painting album covers on t-shirts and canvas bags. I entered college considering an art degree from Hollins University in Roanoke Virginia, but got slightly rerouted and graduated with bachelor degrees in both Studio Art and Biology.

After Hollins, on advise from many, I abandoned my budding art career and studied Occupational Therapy at Tufts University, in Boston. Following completion of my training, I moved to Philadelphia where I practiced for a decade.  Along the way, I married my great guy. We welcomed 5 children, while my husband’s tech career, grew and grew.

In 2010, we moved to Utah, to be closer to a tech development hub, for my husband’s career. Little did we expect to fall head over heels in love with the vast vistas of southern Utah, the blue bird days of Utah’s ski country, or the verdant green of Heber Valley’s north fields. We made Heber Valley our home. 

In 2011, we moved my aging parents to Utah.  Shortly after their arrival, we realized the extent to which both where struggling with dementia; and so began a full year of caretaking of not just them, but also our 5 children. 

In late 2012, the caregiving, and grief of slowly losing my aging parents, drove me back to painting. I started painting regularly with a group of women in Kindra Fehr’s studio in Salt Lake City. Painting began to carry me, creating a meditative space to rest my mind and surrender my fears. 

In 2019, a friend encouraged me to try #the100dayproject, a global art challenge to create 100 days in a row, posting publicly the work created. In doing the project, I was quickly confronted by my thoughts and stories: stories about talent, time, relationship. I began to realize I’d been hustling for my worth for a lifetime.  As I continued to meditate and paint, I realized I didn’t have to be afraid anymore, I was born worthy. I was worthy of having my fine art painting career. It was time to share my work in the world. To read more about this 100 day project, visit https://candacemclane.com/blogs/news/artist-statement.

Currently I enjoy living on a small farm in Heber Valley, Utah, where I am surrounded by goats, chickens, peacocks, bees, my studio dogs, Maggie and Nala, a sweet husband and many children, home in the wake of COVID19. I work daily in my studio on our back hill overlooking the Wasatch Back. My days are filled with art, virtual art shows, ideas, oils and watercolors. There are no bad days!

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