Tanya Gadbaw grew up in the rolling hills of Great Bend, NY and now lives in Mt. Prospect, IL. She completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting/drawing at S.U.N.Y Potsdam in 2008 and then completed her Master of Fine Arts in painting at S.I.U Carbondale, IL in 2011.
Gadbaw, as a storyteller, paints portraits using the power of personal object. She takes objects’ that belong to the person that she is painting and uses them to reflect and tell their story and identity. Emotions, events, and other symbols fill the picture plane, giving way to a narrative, as if the panel were a storybook. Intuitively painting, she grabs on to the personal stories of those around her and reflects this back on the surface. She believes this produces more intimate and relatable paintings.
Pulling at the heartstrings, inspiring, and motivating others to share them selves becomes important to Tanya Gadbaw’s work. Hearing, “That reminds me of a time when…” has happened more than once. She treasures those moments and hopes to continue on sharing.