Lance Mumma was born and raised in the four corners region of the American Southwest. He spent a great deal of time in the outdoors; hiking, fishing and camping. Lance's father was a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Forest Service, and he helped instill in Lance a love and appreciation for the western landscape. Lance's grandmother was an amateur artist who spent many hours teaching Lance how to paint. It was her love of painting that started Lance on his art career. She took Lance on trips to art galleries and museums, which exposed him to examples of great paintings at an early age. Lance's mother encouraged his artistic development by paying for many art lessons while Lance was growing up. These early influences had a significant impact on the direction and focus of Lance's art career.
Lance studied art with local, regional and national artists during middle and high school. Jo Ashback, Bob Tommey and Lee Rommel were among the artists who taught and mentored Lance though his teens and early adulthood. These artists gave Lance a solid foundation in the fundamentals of representational art. He went on to study art at New Mexico State University and the Scottsdale Artists School. In addition,
Lance has traveled throughout the United States, Canada and Europe to study the works of the Great Masters. Lance has been fortunate to study with some of the best known artists in the country, such as Valoy Eaton, William Whitaker and Wilson Hurley. Lance eventually moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico in the late 1980s to be closer to his primary mentor, the late Wilson Hurley. Of all the teachers Lance has worked with, Mr. Hurley has had the most profound effect on Lance's work. He taught and mentored Lance for several years, providing insightful advice and critiques of Lance's paintings. Lance will forever be indebted to Mr. and Mrs. Hurley for their graciousness and hospitality.
Lance has been painting and exhibiting his work for 25 years. His paintings have been shown in galleries in Santa Fe, Taos, Farmington and Albuquerque, New Mexico, Durango, Colorado and Scottsdale, Arizona. His artwork has been shown in local, regional and national shows, including the New Mexico State Fair Juried Professional Art Show and the Oil Painters of America Western Regional Art Show. Lance's artwork has been profiled in the Farmington Daily Times, the Durango Herald and "Artists of New Mexico, Volume 2". While living in Albuquerque, Lance taught advanced oil painting classes at the Art Masters Academy. His paintings are in private and public collections throughout the United States and Europe, including several banks and colleges.
The magnificent landscapes of the American Southwest are the primary subject of Lance's artwork. The diverse terrain found in the four corner's states; from deserts and canyons, to mesas and the Rocky Mountains continue to inspire Lance's art. Lance often paints small, plein-air field studies that are used to create larger paintings in the studio. Wilson Hurley was the person who encouraged Lance to get out of the studio and paint directly from nature. This approach has been one of the most important factors in Lance's art education. Painting directly from nature has taught Lance to capture the subtle nuances of light and color that can only be observed with the human eye.