Meet Brittany Fanning | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brittany Fanning and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brittany, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
It’s possible I chose this path because I’m terrible at everything else. I don’t work well with others and I get very sleepy if I’m doing any type of mundane work. I’m only truly interested in a few things; food, crime, comedy, and art. I hate cooking. I’m too clumsy to rob a bank. I have terrible stage fright. That leaves art. When I was young, I would hop on my old windows computer and upload photographs into Microsoft Paint. Using the dropper tool, I would look for colors throughout the images I wanted to recreate by hand. It kind of felt like cheating and I’m a big believer in making things easier if possible. It blew my mind to see that an eye could have thousands of colors- or I suppose however many pixels the image had. Since then, I’ve always been crazy about color. Painting is now everything to me.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
After earning my degree in studio art, I moved to South Korea to teach English. It seemed like a good way to save money and travel. I ended up spending 7 years in Korea. While there, I kept painting. At first, I practiced by painting the neighborhoods around Daejeon, Bundang, and Seoul- the cities I lived in. I started gaining recognition for these and had a few small exhibitions in Seoul. Many of the neighborhoods I had painted were being torn down and replaced with high rise apartment buildings. Therefore, my paintings became almost nostalgic. During the pandemic, it was difficult to get out and photograph new neighborhoods, so I began working on more conceptual narratives involving my interests; crime, comedy, food, bad weather, plane crashes, Porsches, and cats. After that, I started exhibiting in galleries. My first solo exhibition was at Galerie BHAK in Seoul. Shortly after, I moved to Los Angeles where I currently work as a full time artist. I had a show in NY last year and I am currently working on several group shows in LA, and solos for Paris and LA. My current work revolves around garden scenes, inspired by the foliage of LA. They include sinister predators, graves, impending doom, hummingbirds, and snacks. I suppose the lesson I learned was to keep working and most importantly, experiment. I’m not sure what I want the world to know about me. I do enjoy when people relate to my work and sense of humor. It’s comforting even.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Naturally, I would start by driving my friends through Skid Row. Then we would go eat at El Coyote, the last place Sharon Tate had dinner. After that, we’d head to the Comedy Store. I’m not the most social person, so I’d probably encourage my friends to spend the next few days doing all the things they want to do that I don’t want to- like seeing the walk of fame or the wax museum. When I felt ready to entertain again, I’d suggest we take a drive along to PCH and get Thai food in Malibu or lobster rolls at Broadstreet. I have been amazed by the amount of pie options in this city, so we’d go to House of Pies or Pie Hole at some point. You also can’t forget Salt and Straw. Currently, I’m recovering from a boozy holiday season and LA art week, so I’m not drinking, but if I were, we’d stock up on large bottles of vodka at Costco and drink at home because cocktails are too small and too expensive here. Dino’s chicken and roadside burritos are a must. I almost forgot gallery hopping. Going to openings on a Friday is such a treat; art, friends, wine, and snacks.
We’d end with dinner at the Per La hotel. It is truly one of the best restaurants.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
While at the University of North Georgia, I studied painting, which meant I had to take several foundation courses. One of the first was color theory, and the professor was Paul Dunlap. He instantly became my favorite professors because of his critiques- they could feel harsh, but completely necessary and endlessly beneficial to the work. He helped me develop small color theory projects into larger works outside of class. His main discipline was photography. I was his worst student in that class. I just couldn’t wrap my head around anything with numbers. He was somewhat patient with me, but understood that painting was all I wanted to do. Throughout my time at UNG, he mentored me in several ways. He taught me about cooking, interior design, and a lot about gay history and the royal family. Paul knew I had an interest in southern Appalachian culture and he had a wealth of knowledge to share. He encouraged me to push boundaries and explore my sense of humor in art. After university, I continued to send him images for critique and he was always there for it. I really owe so much of my confidence in creating to him. As a professor, he went above and beyond. He’s now one of my closest friends and makes me chicken & dumplings every time I visit Dahlonega, Georgia.

Website: brittanyfanning.com

Instagram: @brittanynfanning