Tatyana Alanis didn’t intend to put a face to the name French 75 Studios. Like many, the Fort Worth artist was just looking for a way to cope with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. While others began baking sourdough or took up gardening, Alanis started an Instagram account to anonymously share her drawings of the thing everyone had been missing the most: people.
A self-proclaimed people watcher, Alanis says the subjects of her drawings weren’t anything out of the ordinary from her typical work. She was simply posting what she sketched in her free time between rotting in the corporate world and dealing with the woes of being in her 20s. Although the reserved artist expected her work would reach only a remote few online, the 2021 Instagram algorithm had other plans.
“I wasn’t necessarily setting out to make anything of my art since I kind of thought how my life was then was just how it was always going to be,” Alanis says. “And then almost overnight, my Instagram took off. I’m still surprised with how instantly it happened, but I guess many people were at home in a similar place to where I was. And I’m glad we saw each other.”
Today, Alanis’ art is far from unknown, with a following of over 295,000 people on Instagram alone. Her talent and platform have helped her secure a range of commercial deals. Some of Alanis’ work still stays close to home, like her recent T-shirt design for the NHL Dallas Stars. But many of her recent clients have moved her art from North Texas to a national stage.
Her illustrations have been used by top brands Ban.do, Raising Cane’s and AARP. In January, her illustration was featured on the Google homepage for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Her collaboration with Coca-Cola welcomed visitors to Times Square in New York, and she recently had an entire digital clock built to display her work in Los Angeles for her Black History Month illustration for Wal-Mart.
The Artist Is Present
Alanis visited Los Angeles last year to see her work in person. As she walked up to the public clock, she noticed something she hadn’t seen when she visited her art in Times Square. Unbeknownst to Alanis, the Wal-Mart installation included a large portrait of her face crediting her for her work. It was a new form of recognition and public praise she hadn’t anticipated to receive.
“A lot of times when I look at or visit my work, I see it myself while knowing no one else knows I did that, and I’m OK with that,” Alanis says. “But with that picture there, there was no way for me to hide from it — I was hard launched. And so, because I’m reserved and feel like I’m finding my footing in the art world, it’s been a lot to take in. It’s good, but it’s still so new to me to see where I’m at.”
As she deals with her decreasing anonymity, Alanis says she’s still figuring out a lot of things in her line of work, like how to create a work-life balance and navigate her national art platform. She’s also getting used to the stark contrast between what her art means to her and how others continue to interpret it.
Inspired by a love of comic books since childhood, Alanis creates illustrations that capture scenes of everyday life. Well-practiced in her people-watching ways, she often portrays figures in coffee shops and on public transport. Other pieces depict cityscapes and people’s periods of solitude in their homes, often accompanied by a record player or book.
The artist's upcoming Fort Worth exhibition, Primavera Gallery Show, opens March 23. The gallery will celebrate the changing of seasons, Alanis' interpretation of color and what it means to her practice.
Alanis says others often compliment her on the “brightness,” “warmth” and “happiness” of her art. But within her warm-toned, human-focused illustrations, Alanis channels her own feelings of solace and solitude.
“That’s still kind of funny to me, because when I’m creating my art, I’m usually channeling from a place of sadness or somberness,” Alanis says. “Right after, it makes me happy because I was able to have that outlet, and I’m able to make people happy themselves. But I think there’s something there that says something about how people always interpret things differently. No one piece of art, no one person will look exactly the same to everyone, and I think it’s very special and beautiful that I get to bring those conversations out.”
Despite the melancholy inspiration behind her work, Alanis is sure she wouldn’t be nearly as happy as she is now were doing anything else. After all, French 75 Studios is what got her out of the mundane constraints of her previous corporate 9-to-5 life. As a full-time artist, Alanis says she’s been able to explore the kinds of freedom she wasn’t able to find in herself before.
“I know it’s super corny to say that if you get a job you love, you’re not working a day in your life, but that’s honestly how it feels,” Alanis says. “There are still always obstacles I’m working through, but coming back to my art always grounds me because of how I can express what I need when I need to. I’ve never felt this validated before.”
As shown by the figures in her work, Alanis says her art has always been closely tied to other people and communities. Whether her work brings feelings of joy and outward connectedness or helps others feel seen in their solitude, she hopes her love and understanding for people shows through each illustration. For Alanis, creating is all about finding herself in her own time and individuality. But she says getting to connect with others around Texas and in her own local art community is a big part of what really makes it all worth it.
“Finding a sense of belonging, whether it’s with yourself in your own room or in a crowd full of others, is huge,” Alanis says. “I’m fortunate enough to work on both ends of that, and have truly loved the framework and sense of community I’ve built here. The Texas art scene still seems so massive, so I’m honored to even be a part of it and have so many people follow my journey.”
Tatyana Alanis' Primavera Gallery Show will open March 23 at Zona 7 (404 Houston St., Fort Worth) and run through April 27.
