Toni Lance has lived on the island of St Croix, U. S. Virgin Islands since 1980. She has been photographing, painting and rehabilitating birds since before she came to the islands. Toni’s passion for birds was deeply ingrained from her father’s love of ducks and collection of carved birds. “My sisters and I spent many hours studying and drawing wildlife.”
Toni grew up in Pasadena, California and then moved to Laguna Beach in her high school years. She received a photographic scholarship from the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts to attend college. After studying Wildlife Management and Photography at Humboldt State University, Toni transfered to Long Beach State to enroll in a Biomedical Illustration program.
With her passion for wildlife and talent in photography and detailed illustration, Toni began creating life- like paintings of birds. After college she would paint from bird study skins checked out from the natural history museums. Toni taught herself the art of taxidermy and stuffed a few dead birds of her own to work from. She continued her interest in birds and took courses in falconry and became an avid bird watcher.
In 1980 Toni moved to St Croix where she continued her bird art. As time went on Toni became enchanted with the colors, architecture and people of the Caribbean, painting and showing many scenes of that genre. But her heart remained with the birds.
Having spent many years rehabilitating injured birds, Toni began again to focus her art work on her love. From 2003 though 2014 she has had a number of one woman shows consisting watercolors, oils and photography at the Walsh Metal Works Gallery on St. Croix. In 2012 Toni had a one woman photographic show at The Henle Studio in Christiansted. She continues to paint, photograph and run the St Croix Avian Sanctuary.

“Lance is well known for her boldly composed, highly detailed watercolors depicting St.Croix’s wildlife and birds in her care, local people, and island scenes. Photorealistic clarity pervades much of her work.  “Most people underestimate the intelligence of birds,” says Lance. “I work with them so much, I can see them express emotion.” The animals are clearly great inspiration to the artist.” Christina Gasperi

 

“St. Croix artist Toni Lance  is, above all, hardworking and dedicated. She is notably the only artist on island who has been able to consistently fill the large exhibition space at Walsh Metal Works in Peters Rest with new paintings on a regular basis.

The question has been asked about the power of art, “…can it cut through the white noise of daily life?” After viewing Toni’s latest work, the answer is “yes” her art does just that. Lance has been painting for over thirty years and much of her career has been self directed. She has had time and space to explore and combine the mediums of photography, watercolor and oils and she knows her subject matter.

Camera always in hand, Lance is able to capture what most of us never have time to see. Living and working on the site where she has created the St. Croix Avian Sanctuary, Toni photographs and paints what she sees every day. This includes not only birds, feathers and eggs and but scenes of everyday life here on this unique West Indian island. In the wild, the display of an egret’s breeding plumage will only occur for a fleeting moment and in our everyday lives there are rare moments of peace, humor and beauty. In this exhibition, Lance has captured such moments and has worked passionately to share her vision with the viewer.

After so much time spent painting watercolors Toni’s technique is masterful. Her painting of a flamingo “At Rest” reads like a dream with in a dream. It is hard to believe that it was produced by a human hand holding a paint brush laden with water and pigment. The subject of the flamingo goes beyond being ‘a good composition’ and the image becomes weightless. It surpasses being a beautiful bird and becomes a beautiful moment.  “

Tralice Bracy – Curator of the Monhegan Island Museum/Walsh Metal Works Gallery St Croix

“Mid-life is a time when many people begin to think about the legacy they will leave behind through their work. Despite successes with her earlier works and styles, Lance refuses to stop her own growth and evolution as a painter, which makes each exhibition exciting and new. Her works as an artist, wildlife rehabilitator and educator continue to build up a unique contribution to our islands.” The St Croix Avis