I am Tanya Langford, the granddaughter of John Dunkley, who is considered to be Jamaica’s first and finest intuitive painter. I am a first generation American, born in New York where I developed a keen eye toward artistic expression. By the age of 10, my family relocated to Florida where I poured my talent in to academic excellence and art.  I have always explored expression, even as an attorney; I found the most creative way to display demonstrative evidence as one of many ways to find creativity in this colorless field.  Nevertheless, I found that was not enough, and soon after being trapped in a legal field I would escape with my paint.  

I rely on color, contrast and texture to convey my feelings and make things visible. My canvases are a mix of purely formal elements and potential narrative. Images originate in fragments of personal and cultural history, in responses to travel, recollection of journeys. Traces of places once visited, of colors seen evolve as an introspective diary of history, times, moments, feelings, and places shared.

I spend a lot of time observing to absorb some details that I will use as a starting point for my abstractions. I love experimenting and am always looking for new techniques. Earth, Water, Sun and Wind are my favorite concepts to explore as they touch on every emotion that I experience.

My paintings are an extension of myself.  I work from within letting all the elements I have been gathering come back with my feelings.  My work examines layers, transparent and opaque as a metaphor for what is the human condition.  What is hidden is sometimes more revealing than what is seen.  It is this paradox that interests me, the interplay of where we have come from and where we can be found now.  

My method primarily involves the layering and layering of color, then breaking through to discover what is beneath.  Often the result grows organically, however the idea is usually well thought out.  My subjects can be a simple yet complex emotion, a memory, a figure or a landscape.  I strive to achieve a work that is compelling, meditative, insightful and also elicits thought. My focus is to achieve painterly beauty.

I am always striving to learn more and to become a stronger painter.  It is a constant practice for me.