Brittany Fanning

Brittany Fanning grew up in Florida, bitter from sunburns and fearing alligators. She studied fine art in Dahlonega, Georgia where she was heavily influenced by Appalachian artists and their painterly figurative work. She then moved to South Korea, where she began painting the neighborhoods of Seoul.
In 2020, Brittany began working on more narrative focused paintings. Sometimes pulling compositions from photographer Slim Aarons, Brittany juxtaposes serenity with chaos. Typically a figure sits in the foreground, enjoying a glass of wine or admiring her cat, while a volcano erupts or a fire tornado whirls towards her. Blissfully unaware or simply just used to it. Each scene contains a wry sense of humor and a guilty appreciation for luxury fashion.
Growing up in Florida instilled a particular fear of alligators in the artist. She began including them in her work as an object of alarm for foreboding danger in an otherwise tranquil setting. Overtime, she grew to appreciate the patterns and colors of the reptiles. Now they act as a more positive motif in her work.
After spending 2020 inside her Seoul apartment, it’s evident that much of Brittany’s work is heavily inspired by media consumed during the pandemic; Quentin Tarantino films, comedians, true crime podcasts and 90’s hip hop.

Could you tell us a little more about your background and how you began creating art?

I’ve been drawing since I was a child, and I started painting in high school and never stopped. My high school was in Dahlonega, Georgia, a small town at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, and I remember one of my first assignments was to paint “Appalachia.”  The night before we were given the assignment, the local Rite Aid burned down, so instead of painting a beautiful mountain scene, I painted a pharmacy on fire. It seemed to annoy the teacher, which delighted me. I guess the more my work bothers stiff adults, the more I enjoy making it. 

What does your art aim to say to its viewers? 

I don’t exactly have a clear message that I’m trying to get across. I think of my work more as entertainment, like a scene in a film in which the viewers can have their own takes. Much of my work has a juxtaposition of serenity and chaos. For example, in “American Landscape,” I used a composition of a Slim Aarons photograph (woman laying next to a calm pool, admiring her cat in this case), and added the impending danger of a fire tornado in the background. She’s blissfully unaware or just doesn’t think it will reach her. The viewer can decide the narrative; who she is, what will happen next, and how it will change her world. 

In “Flame On. I’m Gone,” I was directly inspired by the final scene of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Rather than Leonardo Dicaprio flamethrowing a hippie menace, a woman is burning some unknown person on a pool float. The victim is the viewer’s choice. I think it can be cathartic for someone who has had a rough day. 

Can you tell us about the process of creating your work? What is your daily routine when working?

I wake up around 6:30, have some coffee, hit the gym, and make a to-do list for the day. I usually start painting around 9am and that lasts for 5-10 hours. I’ve become very regimented. Because artists are essentially self employed, it can be easy to have a glass of wine too early or binge watch a series in the middle of the week. I'm very strict with myself.

As far as painting goes, I try to change my process 2-3 times a year. I may work on a single painting at a time, or many at once. Currently, I am working on a winter series “Whipped Cream Daydreams,” and I am working on all 14 paintings at the same time. I begin by using the same palette for all paintings so they are unified, then I give each one their own special time. For this series, I have also added an embroidery element. They need the warmth. 

What is the essential element in your art?

Currently, the contrast of calmness and mayhem is a major theme in my work. While I paint, I listen to comedy and true crime podcasts. Themes from both have made their way into my work. Color is also very important. Maybe the most important. Occasionally I’ll see a color palette out in the wild and create a painting just around that. “No Cream in My Coffee” is one of those paintings. I put together a quick concept just to get the colors together in a composition; in this case, a woman wearing a Wu Tang t-shirt, talking with her hands, having a cup of coffee. 

In your opinion, what role does the artist have in society? 

To be honest, I’m not sure and probably not intelligent enough to answer this properly. Lately, I have noticed the timeliness of artwork and how much I personally value that. I actually like seeing the face masks in work from 2020. Art is a timestamp and it's neat to see so many perspectives of 2020-2022 in artwork, whether its social issues or whatever clothing brands are popular now. I like to think that in 5,000 years, people will look at paintings in a museum and wonder what Miu Miu was. 

Website: www.brittanyfanning.com