Tasanee creates single-line artwork and tells stories visually.
She uses paintings - or, as she likes to call them, "visual stories" - to empower women of color, uplift underrepresented groups, and help others heal from traumas. She has extensive drawing experience as a professional architect and has always had a passion for it. However she didn't begin drawing outside of architectural design until 2019. She did this to take a break from daily responsibilities and find serenity and joy in the things that she loves to draw the most - people.
Tasanee was raised in a single-parent home with her mother on the southside of Chicago.
Never having met her father, she was never able to see what a loving relationship looked like. As she became older, she realized that she was in an emotionally abusive relationship because she was unable to tell what was 'normal' from what wasn't. She lost a lot of weight, withdrew from her friends and family, and experienced the worst chapter of her life. She made one of the bravest decisions she could have made after hitting rock bottom: she decided to listen to the voice inside of her that kept telling her something wasn't right.
She found her passion for painting as a means to express herself and further let all of her suppressed feelings out, and over time she was able to heal. Now, she uses her artwork as a tool to empower others, to remind us all to love ourselves, and to emphasize that only we can determaine our relevance and worth.
"I believe that art can help us heal ourselves and each other - and I want to help make that happen. I've been creating art for years, but it wasn't until a few years ago that I really got into drawing portraits. Since then, I've been able to create meaningful connections with other people through my work."
Tasanee Durrett