Tim Yanke was the youngest of six children, born in Detroit, Michigan in 1962. Experimenting with floor plan designs and fine art drawings at the age of six, he received words of encouragement from his father which gave him the confidence to continue pursuing his path in art. He stumbled across his interest in abstract art at the age of eight, when he originally planned to paint a photo of a mountain lion and became entranced with the shapes and colors he had put down for the background. He discovered that the unfinished work gave him an emotional reaction, and decided he would finish it as an abstract piece instead of the intended realistic depiction.


During his high school years, Tim attended a vocational trade school for teenagers interested in architecture, something he had been drawn to since he was a young child. During this time he found both architecture to be too precise and mathematical for his liking but knew he still wished to pursue art in some form. While attending the University of North Texas, Tim would use his open studio hours, which were intended for working on still life compositions, to face his easel away from the study, plug in his Walk Man and create abstract works by the handfuls. These pieces, along with his studies in the history of the Impressionist movement, deepened his love for working outside of realism. He graduated four years later with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in advertising and graphic arts.


In 1987, Tim and his wife held a booth at an art fair in Southfield, Michigan. This turned into his first brush with success, selling 22 of 23 paintings that he had brought along. In 1999, Yanke received his big break when he began working alongside Park West Gallery. When he held his first exhibition at the age of 23, he sold 23 of the 26 works available. Since then, Tim’s art has grown in popularity and is now collected around the world. Today, Tim lives with his wife and two children in Michigan, often traveling globally for his career, while creating in his studio in Metro-Detroit.