It was a quick rise for 28-year-old Tatyana Alanis once she started posting her artwork on Instagram. You know, it’s as if all it took was for people to see it. Since her first post at the end of 2021, she’s gained over 19,000 followers.
Her use of color and texture with a nod to the past gives her illustrations an effortlessly cool and modern feel. In her work, she covers a variety of subjects: music legends, stylish crowds, and classic buildings. It wouldn’t be far fetched for one to assume her scenes were taken from lives of New Yorker or Parisians, but they are actually taken from people in Fort Worth. We sat down with Alanis for a chat to learn more about what inspires her art and what other Fort Worth artists people should keep tabs on via Instagram.
How did you get started making art?
I started drawing when I was a kid. I had kind of like a tablet before a tablet. It was like an Etch A Sketch except you don't shake it. You would draw on it, and then you would slide it to erase it. I took it with me everywhere. I think I was probably like 2 years old, maybe even younger. As I got older, I started doing art competitions in elementary school, and I would always win. I've always just been really interested in art, and as I've gotten older, it's been something to really help me with anxiety and also just the day-to-day dealing with life and growing up. I really use it to calm down and as an outlet for life.
How would you describe your art?
I feel like whenever I look at it, it always looks like it's like a memory of something. It's very nostalgic. I like to draw personal scenes, because that's what I pay attention to. I was an only child, and I grew up around my mother, great-grandmother, and my family, like my great-aunts, my great-uncles. So, I was never around other kids. I think I spent a lot of time watching how people interact with other people, and I like to see small intimate moments that people have with each other that defines their relationship.
Your pieces involve a lot of street scenes and sometimes a piece of clothing or a view of a building. What influences those pieces?
That has to do with solitude. I’m always watching how people are since I live in Fort Worth and I primarily work from home, so whenever I'm out, it's like I'm out for the first time. I really look at these people and what they are wearing, because I'm in sweats all the time, so if I see people dressed to the nines I think, Where are they going? Is this just an everyday thing? I've always been really interested in shots like that. My mom was really into fashion when I was a kid, so I think that I've always seen it as a form of self-expression. I think it's a cool way for all genders to express themselves through clothes. Since I grew up with only my mom, depending on her mood, it would influence what she would wear. So that's also how I like to express how I'm feeling by how I dress a person in the illustration. Like, if I'm feeling a little bit pissed off today, she's going to be in a T-shirt and some jeans. It's subtle, but to me, that’s what it means
When I draw buildings, they're mostly cool spots here in Fort Worth. I'll take a mental photo and a real photo so I can remember and draw it later. There are a lot of spots that have a nice, classic look to it — like the old post office over by South Main. That’s one of my favorite places ever to look at or the inside of the T&P Station. It's stunning in there.
What would be your dream art project?
I've always wanted to learn animation and have my own cartoon about what it was like to grow up with my mom. She had me when she was 17, so we’re very close; so I think that I would like to see it portrayed on tv. Whenever I tell people, they're all really sad, but I never viewed it that way. I always viewed it as being very cool, and I got to hang out with this really cool girl, and the cool girl was my mom. So, I never viewed it that way. To be able to make my own cartoon would be some kudos to my mom for being so awesome. I think she’s a great mom, but I would like for everyone to know.
Who are some local artists you think people should follow?
Sarah Ayala, I think she's awesome. There’s an artist in Dallas that makes really cool, geometrically perfect paintings. Her Instagram is Made x Mom (@madexmom). She's also really, really nice. Charles Gray — I think his style of art is something I would never, ever be able to do, but when he paints, it looks so beautiful.
Do you have any advice for future artists?
That little voice in your head that says, “Don't do it” or “Who do you think you are?” — try not to listen to it. Even if you feel that it’s a thousand percent right, at least give it a go, because in the grand scheme of all things, you tried something, and it either worked or it didn't, and that's not the end of the world. That’s how I like to look at it. Within my life, I've gone through a lot of wild things. Now I am at the point where I'm kind of like, “Let's do it.” I don't even care if it works or if it doesn't work. At least I tried, and at least I tried my best, so give it your all and just give it a try. Why not?
