#MyVogueScandinavia: Gabriella Le Blanc paints intimate portraits that celebrate the beauty of all women

Gabriella Le Blanc approaches her painting like a modern-day salon, inviting women over for live portrait sessions. “I thought it would be a fun concept, because a lot of people haven’t had a portrait done of them, maybe ever,” she says. The 30-year-old Finnish-American artist is fascinated by bygone romantic eras. A session is often set to the tune of classic jazz or bossa nova.

Born to a Finnish mother and American father in Los Angeles, Le Blanc moved to Finland when she was 16. She already spoke the language from frequent visits to family on her mother’s side. The artist started pursuing painting actively quite recently, after an extended period of uncertainty. In high school, her creativity flourished, but upon graduation, one gap year turned into five. After being rejected from art school several times, she set aside her brushes and applied to business school.

Whilst under lockdown in Finland, she used her free time to return to her artistic side, painting prolifically and sharing her work on Instagram. Slowly her follower count grew and soon she was receiving requests to purchase her work. “Somehow it became my every day,” she says. “I painted every single day straight for that whole beginning of 2020.”

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Per her Instagram bio, Le Blanc describes her work as “capturing the female form and silhouettes with a love of fashion and illustration.” Her paintings take their cues from the early Art Deco era, where women were depicted with long, slim necks and short coifs. Rendered in oil paint, her works revel in beige tones – a characteristic that is distinctly Scandinavian – with occasional splashes of colour. “[Minimalistic colours are] more soothing to me than something that's super dramatic and colourful,” she says. “Although I have been experimenting with radical colours as well.”

It takes Le Blanc around four hours to complete a portrait. “It’s very personal, it's very intimate because they're inviting me into their space, either by me going to their home or them coming to my studio,” she says. ”It's a very special moment because they're just sitting there – it's hard sometimes to be studied.” Often depicting her subjects nude, her paintings highlight the beauty of all women.

The artist says she always feels a certain sense of nervousness when she ultimately reveals her work to her subjects. “But by the time we’re done, it’s usually wonderful,” she says. “Getting to see their expression, and me sighing with relief.”

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Le Blanc believes she offers her clients more than a self portrait, she offers them an experience. “In this day and age, when taking photographs is so easy, we have lost touch with creating a portrait in painting,” she explains. “For me, [painted portraits] feel more everlasting, sitting down for multiple hours and having a conversation about life and in the end being moved and surprised – that’s being in the moment.”

After being discovered via #MyVogueScandinavia, the artist created a painting specifically for these pages. When she speaks about the work, her passion is palpable. “You’re free when you’re painting,” she says. “It’s like you’re manifesting a piece of your soul into a physical space. I think that’s the most liberating feeling. That’s why I love it.”

Use our hashtag #MyVogueScandinavia on Instagram for a chance to be on our website or in the magazine.