Meet Bianca Youngers

I’m a self-taught painter in Portland, Oregon. I started painting in 2020, and honestly, it changed everything.

Before that, I had a different career and a very full, stressful life. My body finally said, “Nope.” I had to step away from the work I was doing, and not long after that, I had open-heart surgery.

Painting became the thing I could do while I was figuring out what came next.

At first, I was just making things. Then I started realizing I was kind of rebuilding my whole life at the same time. The paintings helped me do that. They still do.

I paint with acrylics and a lot of layers. I don’t sketch out a plan or really know where a painting is going when I start. I usually just get in there, put paint down, make a mess, cover things up, find something interesting, and keep going.

A lot of what I paint comes from places I’ve been and things I can’t stop thinking about. I grew up in the high desert, so I love that weird magic of rain in the desert and all the things that somehow grow there. I’m also a total water girl. I love being underwater because nobody can talk to you and it feels like you’ve entered a whole other world.

There are gardens, creatures, rocks with personalities, strange little portals, jungle sounds, underwater colors, and sometimes a big blue hairy spider.

I’ve been lucky enough to travel with my family to places that have really stayed with me - Borneo, Santa Fe, Orcas Island, the desert - and those experiences keep showing up in the work in different ways. Sometimes I’m painting a place. Sometimes I’m painting a feeling. Sometimes I’m not sure what I’m painting until it’s done.

I also do breathwork, which has opened up a whole new way of seeing things for me. It made me feel like there is so much more around us than we normally notice. That probably sounds a little out there, but it’s true for me, and it definitely makes its way into the paintings.

Anyway, I’m really happy you’re here.

This is a place to share the paintings, the stories behind them, what I’m working on, and whatever strange and fabulous thing comes next.

I’m a self-taught painter, a big-feelings person, and someone who is endlessly curious about the world around us. I love the way a place can stay in your body long after you leave it. The quiet under water. The smell of rain in the desert. The sounds of the jungle. The feeling that there is always something more happening beneath the surface.

That is where a lot of my paintings begin.

I paint intuitively, which mostly means I do not start out knowing exactly where a painting is going. I layer acrylic paint, follow the color, make a mess, change my mind, and let the work show me what it wants to become. Sometimes it turns into a garden. Sometimes it feels like a portal. Sometimes it is just a strange, wonderful little place that makes me want to stay awhile.

My work is inspired by travel, nature, healing, memory, connection, and the things we carry with us. I want my paintings to feel alive, like there is always something new to find when you come back to them.

I’m so happy you found your way here. Take a look around, get lost in the gallery for a bit, and if a piece speaks to you, I would love to hear from you.