Tanja Truscott’s artwork is born from a fascination with painterly abstraction and the power it has to engage us visually and emotionally. She works intuitively and is inspired by sounds and sensations from the outdoors ... or just as easily by literature, poetry and music. Any of these can be the impetus for the colours and tools she chooses, the marks made and the shapes that emerge. Truscott enjoys layering and as the layers of paint build up, they simultaneously reveal and hide what is underneath – some things are covered up yet visible. 

Born in the Netherlands but living and working in Cape Town (South Africa), Truscott received a BA in Graphic Design from the University of Stellenbosch in 1984 and a Diploma in Secondary Teaching in 1990 from the University of Cape Town. She has taught art and after many years spent in educational publishing as an illustrator, graphic designer and art director, she turned to painting full time in 2017. 

In 2022 she was selected for the Nando's Creative Exchange programme which culminated in an exhibition at the AVA gallery, Cape Town and a presence at Latitudes Art Fair in Johannesburg in 2023. Her work is represented in private collections both locally and abroad.