Acrylic Painting
Lani Strangio
Lani embraces spontaneity and intuition in her artistic process.
Artist Profile
Lani Strangio is an abstract artist based in Melbourne, Australia. Known for creating vibrant, textured works, Lani embraces spontaneity and intuition in her artistic process. Her approach begins with an uninhibited exploration of colour, where dynamic shapes are formed through gestural marks and expressive brushwork. After this initial burst of creativity, Lani traces these organic shapes, refining and balancing them to create cohesive compositions. The result is a captivating blend of chaos and harmony, where texture and colour come together to evoke emotion and invite personal interpretation.
Artist Interview
What medium do you work with, and why have you chosen them?
I mostly work with acrylic and sand textures. I like acrylic because it dries quickly and it’s forgiving. If I put a colour down that throws everything out of whack, I can just erase or change it and keep going. I use a lot of texture too—sand, gesso—because I like starting with a surface that already feels interesting before any colour even goes on.
How does your artwork get from initial concept to exhibition stage?
I start with texture. I gesso the canvas and build up layers until it feels right—sometimes I’ll just stop and look at it blank for a while. Then I start playing with colour. In the early stages I just go for it, kind of disconnected from the painting. Eventually, something comes through—a song I’ve had stuck in my head, a memory, a feeling—and that’s when it starts to take shape. It goes from just being an underpainting to something I’m really building. I keep working like that, take breaks, move it around my space—sometimes in the studio, sometimes outside or even in the house. I live with it a bit until I get to the point where I feel like it’s done.
Can you tell us a little more about your creative working environment/studio?
I work from home. We’ve got a studio out the back of our property that we’ve fixed up into a nice space, but a lot of the time I end up working outside. I have two children, a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old—they’re usually out there looking for bugs or digging in the veggie garden, and I like being around that. Plus, the light’s better outside anyway.
Career Highlights
- Represented by Greenhouse Interiors. Shortly after deciding to take my budding career as an artist seriously, I got a message—right after dropping my son at kinder—offering to represent me. I nearly did a backflip in the car park.
- Leaping Into Full-Time Art Practice. I went from painting in the margins of my days to working as a full-time artist in just six months. It’s been intense and full of growth, but I’m doing what I love.
- Artwork That Becomes Part of People’s Lives. It’s a real privilege to have my work hanging in people’s homes. It becomes part of their space, their routines—sitting with them while they sip a cuppa or go about their day. Once it’s on their wall, it’s no longer just mine—it becomes part of their story. That’s the best bit.
