Alannah Farrell is first and foremost a portrait artist.
The artist, queer and trans-identifying, paints her loved ones – friends, lovers, neighbors – to create dark and tender images imbued with a very real sense of intimacy. These portraits often address historical questions of the art of gaze and identity, and engage in contemplations of the self and the psyche.
Farrell’s process is rigorous; they paint models from life and each portrait is first rendered in a classic grisaille undercoat before luminous color is introduced through layers of glaze. Creating the right comfortable collaborative vibe is key to this process, Farrell said, noting that their studio acts as a stage. “How much time we share in the studio influences my enthusiasm for getting the job done,” they explained.
But the artist does not work in a dedicated space, but rather paints in new and changing spaces as they move from city to city. For Farrell, the studio can be as compact as a backpack, if necessary.
For the past few months, they’ve been busy dividing their time between New York and Los Angeles in preparation for “Serenade» a personal exhibition which has just opened with Anat Ebgi, the artist’s second with the LA gallery. Space is essential here; two works in the exhibition represent the artist’s empty studio, in oblique self-portraits. One photographs their studio in New York while the other an airy studio in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles.
Before the show opened, we caught up with the artist, who told us about his favorite brushes under a dollar and the mantra that defines his practice.
Tell us about your studio. Where is it, how did you find it, what type of space is it, etc. ?
I could never separate painting from life. Over the past two years, I’ve worked in multiple spaces, meeting and working with people from different fields. In addition to a shared studio space where I work on large paintings, I work wherever I possibly sleep at night, hotel rooms, temporary shared areas, sublets, or any good nook and cranny of space that I can find in cities watched by space. I find them through other painters, friends and community. If I’m really on the go, I have a portable watercolor setup that fits in a backpack. Most painters raised in New York know how to haul all sorts of precariously sized gear balanced on bike handles, makeshift skateboard carts or cleverly twisted onto a rush-hour train car, much to everyone’s chagrin. the world. You have to be creative.
How many hours do you typically spend in the studio, what time of day do you feel most productive, and what activities take up the majority of that time?
With no clear boundary between studio and life, other than scheduled time slots for babysitters, hours are difficult to calculate. My best friend, the abstract painter Hannah Beerman, says a phrase close to my heart: “Everything is painting”. Therefore, I consider all of my conscious waking hours to be part of the job, the time shared with other people as part of the job, and the actual paint production will take place every day, either in the studio, at the home, or both. It sounds pretentious, but I don’t say it that way. I am very slow to work. It takes me hours to brainstorm and process ideas, to sit with visuals, colors and feelings, and to invent techniques through trial and error in painting. Most of the time we spend building paints in thin layers, changing and tweaking things until the job is perfect. How many hours I work, it’s sad how little painting I do, haha.
Courtesy of Alannah Farrell.
What are you working on at the moment? Please send us a few photos taken with your smartphone of a job in progress – or photos of different jobs in various stages of completion – in a way that you think will give insight into your process.
I am finishing the work for my next show with Anat Ebgi. I also experienced the queer and trans scene here in LA as much as possible. Meeting great people is where LA’s work starts. The paintings I do for this show are at opposite ends of the scale spectrum, a series of small watercolors painted from life with the individuals I meet here and several large, ambitious oil paintings. The tallest is 170 inches tall and is a little tight even for these spacious Los Angeles studios. AE set me up with a space downtown where I created a backdrop for all the people to come and sit for me, which is a continuation of something I started in several studios in New York.
What tool or art supply do you most enjoy working with, and why? Please send us a picture of it.
My favorite tool is a brush that costs 69 cents at my neighborhood hardware store in downtown New York, Dick’s. Their slogan is “Size Matters”, with a graphic of screws of different sizes. And it’s run (possibly owned) by this amazing butch lady. She’s a real New Yorker with a heart of gold. It gives me a little dopamine boost when she’s behind the cash register. I bought so many tiny bristle brushes there that they recently raised the price to 79 cents.
Courtesy of Alannah Farrell.
What atmosphere do you prefer when you work? Is there anything you like to listen to/watch/read/watch, etc. in the studio to inspire you or as ambient culture?
It depends on how I feel and if I’m with people. With people, ideally a comfortable private space where conversations can easily take place or music of their choice if talking isn’t the mood. When I’m alone, I prefer music but I switch to podcasts at times. These paintings, and perhaps all of my paintings, are a way to connect to the changing outside world, my changing mind and body, and the individuals I connect with. A place to put complicated feelings. Inspiration is lived and therefore endless until I kick the bucket.
How do you know when a work you are working on clicks? How do you know that a work you are working on is a failure?
I still have this naive hope that, given enough time, each piece has potential that I haven’t unlocked. It’s happened to me a few times where paintings that I thought were duds and struggled with for a long time ended up being finished and some of my favorite pieces. As I get older, however, I have less determination to end it all in a puritanical way. I’ll put it away or scrap it if I’m not emotionally attached to it. Sometimes I paint over things and start with a completely different image. I know something works when I have the willpower to complete it, which is a huge task considering how much time I often spend painting.
When you feel stuck while preparing for a show, what do you do to get out of it?
Take a walk, take a nap, talk to a friend, work out and shake things up somehow. A change of environment and headspace usually does the trick. If I’m still stuck, I put away the paints and work on something different. Sometimes a fresh look is the best approach to understanding how to solve the puzzle.
Alannah Farrell embraces the benefits of caffeine.
What was the last museum or gallery exhibit you saw that really stood out to you and why?
Greer Lankton and Jonathan Lyndon Chase at the Company Gallery in Tribeca. I’m a new Jonathan fan and a former Greer fan. To have cross-generational trans artists, living and dead, extremely talented in multiple mediums on different floors was overwhelming in the best way. I urge people to check it out and dive into both bodies of work as soon as possible.
Where do you get your food from or what do you eat when you’re hungry in the studio?
It’s another benefit of getting around, exploring the local bodegas nearby. Right now I’m working in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, and I’m addicted to this super affordable Japanese grocery store called Marukai. I have a terrible sweet tooth and love caffeine so it’s usually a bunch of snacks, caffeinated drinks during the day and something healthier with veggies at night.
Courtesy of Alannah Farrell.
How does your studio environment influence the way you work?
The studio is often a subject or a background in my paintings. I like to stage. Regarding the way I work, since I work with people, I want a space that is as comfortable as possible, a place where they can feel safe and free to relax. I feel lucky to spend time with people in the studio, and of course I want to do my best to create an image of them that they will like. A comfortable studio space is an integral part of a way to foster this environment.
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