Pénélope Lenaerts currently lives and works in Oakland, California. Raised in Oklahoma and now based on the West Coast, she is a mixed-media artist whose practice is shaped by natural environments, storytelling, spirituality, and symbolism. Her work blends drawing and painting with soft sculpture, creating forms that evoke softness, familiarity, and the search for guidance in an often uncertain world. Materials such as natural dyes, raw wool, horse and goat hair, driftwood, and found objects frequently appear in her work for their symbolic resonance.

After earning her M.F.A. in Visual Art from California State University, Fullerton in 2021, she relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area, where she continues to be inspired by the region’s landscapes and artistic culture.

Lenaerts has sewn clothing for most of her life. Since 2019, she has integrated sewing with her drawing and painting practices to develop a personal approach to soft sculpture. Her textile work also includes experimentation with natural dyes, recycled fibers, and organic animal materials.