For as long as she can remember, Tahnee Lonsdale has needed to paint. “I’ve always had to work to feel normal", she says. “It’s very therapeutic. It’s a bit like journaling". On canvas, she uses layered oil paints to create a haven of emotional divinity. Her portraits are totemic, genderlessness and intuitive. Limbs and bodies entwine and entangle – the embraces are warm but claustrophobic. In all of Lonsdale’s work, there’s a push and pull between heaven and earth. Go lightly (2022) is one painting that shows a group of figures that could easily be a gaggle of fallen angels. Their heads reach...
Bio
Tahnee Lonsdale (she/her) was born 1982 in the United Kingdom and now lives and works in Los Angeles.
Inspiration
When Lonsdale moved to LA one thing in particular captured her attention – sofas discarded on the streets. She loved the shapes they made all stacked on top of each other. As she painted them on canvas, the sofas turned into shapes of bodies.
Did you know?
When Lonsdale was born, her parents gave her and her three sisters each their own colour. Yellow was given to her, and throughout her whole life, it held a special place in her life and art.