Lainie Turkish, the daughter of Karen and Lance Turkish, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.  She grew up in Metairie, Louisiana along the bank of Lake Ponchartrain with her parents, her older sister, Hallie, and younger brother, Evan.  Lainie attended Isidore Newman School for thirteen years before attending Washington University in St. Louis. 

Lainie became interested in art at a young age.  She was always doodling and making drawings, in school notebooks and on napkins.  At age 8, Lainie enrolled in after school painting classes with Carol Hart where she learned the basics of acrylic painting.  She continued working with Mrs. Hart until she graduated from high school.  In addition to these classes and art electives in high school, Lainie also worked closely with artist Beth Krebs.   With Beth, Lainie focused on basic and precise drawing techniques and materials with occasional experimentation and exploration of new materials and abstraction.  Lainie began working in oils when she was a sophomore in college. 

In the summer before her senior year, Lainie interned at a small interior design firm in New York City.  This sparked her interest in materiality, varying surfaces and textures, and the composition of a space.  Lainie's experience at Haus Interior allowed her to apply her appreciation of the intricacies of the everyday to a literal space.   

Lainie's work is comprised of still lives and expansive urban architecture.  She extracts elements from our surroundings that are often overlooked and uses them as her subject matter.  Her interest in architecture and the urban landscape relates to her recent travels.  In addition to her hometown New Orleans and her four years in St. Louis while attending Washington University, Lainie has recently spent time in New York City, Florence, Paris, and Israel.  She greatly enjoys exploring, traveling and sight-seeing.  Whenever she visits a new place, she strives to understand its essence- the architectural style, urban landscape, culture, and unique nuances.  This has caused Lainie to look more closely at her surroundings to find their beautiful and unique moments.  

Lainie graduated from the School of Art at Washington University in May 2009 with a Bachelor of Fine Art in painting.  Lainie currently is living in New York City.