Tanya Blong
“it is such a privilege to live an artistic life, where I can observe, study and process the most banal to the most interesting subjects and feels all the dots connect! For me being a painter slows down my world and makes EVERYTHING interesting! ”
Painting / Visual Art
WE LOVE…
The beautiful Tanya has such a way of working with colour and shadows, shapes and angles. Well-known for her swimming beauties, our focus with Tanya is on a selection of architectural and still life paintings - the love of mid-century, California - Palm Springs, in particular, takes you on a journey to swimming pools, bathing suits and cocktails. For me, she also connects me by memory to one of my first exhibitions that transformed my life: a trip to the Tate Modern, and David Hockney exhibition and all the postmodern glory that came with it. We really enjoy having Tanya’s work in the gallery, and have something pretty cool up our sleeves with her in a few months….
ARTFORM.
Feature
What drew you to this craft initially?
I like to create a narrative, set a scene, or suggest an emotive quality, paint is the most natural way for me to do this.
What does a typical day at work involve for you?
It always starts with a bush walk, to get ideas ruminating, to study light and shadow – how this falls on foliage etc, I am in the studio by 10am and working on a number of paintings, often researching images or topics of interest throughout the day. I break at 4pm for family time and return to the studio at 9pm till late.
What is the most rewarding part of your work?
The way it makes me see the world, it is such a privilege to live an artistic life, where I can observe, study and process the most banal to the most interesting subjects and feels all the dots connect! For me being a painter slows down my world and makes EVERYTHING interesting!
What is the most challenging process for you?
To be more loose, painterly, playful with my work, less is more is an ongoing elusiveness!
The best piece of advice I’ve received is…?
Slow down your work, exhaust all angles in one narrative, stretch your colour palette, follow up decisions you didn’t take in the previous painting, be intimate with your work, know it so well you get bored with it, that is when you will push new ground!
Can you give us a little insight to your creative process?
Images and stories inspire me whether fact or fiction, I like to create that dream quality where you can remember and feel it, but you can’t quite pinpoint the details… images, novels, music all inspire me, I magpie from all, making very quick sketches, and then layer paint, working intuitively, sometimes the work ends up nothing like the sketch or feeling I wanted to create.
How would you describe your work and what influences your style?I have a few different genres but they all stem from nostalgia, a time gone by… warmfaded memories.