Tanya Yutkin was born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1962. Early on, Tanya began painting images from nature such as flowers and trees. Once, in pre-kindergarten while alone in the classroom, she spent an hour painting her favorite flowers on the classroom walls. When the teachers discovered the painting, she was sent to a studio for children who were gifted instead of being punished. The program was meant to develop artistic talents in youths. At age seven, she was enrolled in the Youth Creative Center.

Yutkin went on to the esteemed Repin Academy of Fine Art after an intense entrance exam. In 1998 she was inducted into the exclusive Artists' Union of Russia and has since been part of over 14 art shows conducted by the Union. Her incomparable technique in capturing the purity and charm of children at play provides a nostalgic insight into a viewer's own childhood memories.