Debra Lanning :: Traverse City Artist
Born in Grand Rapids, MI I feel as though my roots are in the mid-west. Though the path was not always clear I have always known that I was an artist. Against the recommendation of almost every responsible adult in the world I decided to study art. In 2001 I received my Bachelors of Fine Art from Grand Valley State University. As I finished up my degree I got very antsy, it was hard to stay focused; all I wanted to do was travel and learn how to sail. I was sick of being cooped up in an art school studio but I knew I had to finish.
After school, I started doing exactly what I had been craving. I moved up north for the summer where I learned to sail. I traveled out west for the winter and explored. I made friends and crisscrossed the continental United States. I returned to Northern Michigan to work on a sailboat for the summer. In the fall I was exhausted so I returned home to Grand Rapids to re-group. I ended up living there for a number of years, but I continued to travel. I took my first sailing trip to the Bahamas during that time. In 2006 I created a series of woodcut paintings.
At the end of 2006 I move to Florida for a job. I explored Florida and traveled extensively for work. I started sailing again, took multiple trips to the Bahamas and started working on my 'Horizons' series. Ultimately I found that Florida didn’t suit me, I yearned for Northern Michigan. So in 2008 I headed north. I didn’t know how I was going to make a living. I just knew I wanted to live in Northern Michigan. I ended up working remotely for a small software company. The remote job enabled me to live wherever I wanted. It also gave the option to travel and work at the same time.
In 2012 and 2013 I spent the winter in Hawaii. I fell in love with the Islands it was an amazing experience. I am thankful for the opportunity to travel there and the friendships that I made along the way. The first time I went I didn’t expect to paint, something just clicked and the 'Submerge' series was born. I created more than 80 paintings on my trip and continued to explore the series after I returned home.
In the spring of 2014 I started a new body of artwork call 'Soul Surfing'. I turned this collection of watercolor paintings into a series of prints. In this series I wanted to explore what is meant to follow your bliss and striving to be the best version of yourself. In addition to my personal exploration into art, travel, and sailing another of interest started to develop over the years. The job I worked in Florida sparked my interest in website design, in my next job I started to learn html and css. In the fall of 2013 I started working towards a web developer certification. My career has been evolving ever since. Combining my art and design skills with website design and development has been a wonderful twist. It is mentally and artistically challenging, like putting puzzle together.
In 2014 I launched LaLa Projects. It was established as a creative space for me to work on my website development projects. It has turned into a thriving website development firm with a focus on Website Design, Development and Digital Marketing. At the end of 2015 I completed a web developer certification through NMC. I am not sure what the future brings, but I have a feeling it will be full of all the passions that I have been exploring for years: art, design, traveling, sailing and technology.
After school, I started doing exactly what I had been craving. I moved up north for the summer where I learned to sail. I traveled out west for the winter and explored. I made friends and crisscrossed the continental United States. I returned to Northern Michigan to work on a sailboat for the summer. In the fall I was exhausted so I returned home to Grand Rapids to re-group. I ended up living there for a number of years, but I continued to travel. I took my first sailing trip to the Bahamas during that time. In 2006 I created a series of woodcut paintings.
At the end of 2006 I move to Florida for a job. I explored Florida and traveled extensively for work. I started sailing again, took multiple trips to the Bahamas and started working on my 'Horizons' series. Ultimately I found that Florida didn’t suit me, I yearned for Northern Michigan. So in 2008 I headed north. I didn’t know how I was going to make a living. I just knew I wanted to live in Northern Michigan. I ended up working remotely for a small software company. The remote job enabled me to live wherever I wanted. It also gave the option to travel and work at the same time.
In 2012 and 2013 I spent the winter in Hawaii. I fell in love with the Islands it was an amazing experience. I am thankful for the opportunity to travel there and the friendships that I made along the way. The first time I went I didn’t expect to paint, something just clicked and the 'Submerge' series was born. I created more than 80 paintings on my trip and continued to explore the series after I returned home.
In the spring of 2014 I started a new body of artwork call 'Soul Surfing'. I turned this collection of watercolor paintings into a series of prints. In this series I wanted to explore what is meant to follow your bliss and striving to be the best version of yourself. In addition to my personal exploration into art, travel, and sailing another of interest started to develop over the years. The job I worked in Florida sparked my interest in website design, in my next job I started to learn html and css. In the fall of 2013 I started working towards a web developer certification. My career has been evolving ever since. Combining my art and design skills with website design and development has been a wonderful twist. It is mentally and artistically challenging, like putting puzzle together.
In 2014 I launched LaLa Projects. It was established as a creative space for me to work on my website development projects. It has turned into a thriving website development firm with a focus on Website Design, Development and Digital Marketing. At the end of 2015 I completed a web developer certification through NMC. I am not sure what the future brings, but I have a feeling it will be full of all the passions that I have been exploring for years: art, design, traveling, sailing and technology.