Raf Tarnawski was born in Wroclaw, Poland. His first passion was photography; he started taking pictures when he was ten years old. He then got interested in drawing and graphic design, and had his first solo exhibit (mainly self-portraits/drawings), while still in high school. In the late 1970s he moved to Lund, Sweden, where he graduated from a graphic design school, and then worked in photography, graphic design, illustration and advertising. In the late 1980s, he had his first solo exhibition of his paintings in Eslov, Sweden.

In 2006, he began studying as a free student in the sculpture studio of Prof. P. Wrona at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Since then, he has presented his sculptural works in individual and group exhibitions in Poland, Germany, France, Taiwan, Italy, Sweden and the USA. He now has his studio and works in Warsaw, Poland.