Artist Interviews 2022

Lisa Krannichfeld  
By Julia Siedenburg



Lisa Krannichfeld is an exceptional artist and a delight to talk to. I had the pleasure to get to know the artist at The Other Art Fair in the fall and I immediately fell in love with her work. Her artwork is fun, stylish, and full of life. The unique baroque-Esque locations and wardrobes that her female subjects are presenting are to die for. I very much enjoyed learning more about the technique, thoughts, and inspirations of this great artist and I hope you do too, dear readers.



What does art mean to you?

Aside from my kids, art means everything to me! It gives me a sense of purpose and power and is a different language I get to communicate with.



What is your overall process like, from the idea to the finished piece? Do you have to be in a certain mood to create?

I usually sit on an idea in my head for a good amount of time since there are so many technical aspects to my process. I have to work out the order of things to do in my head a bit first before I start putting anything down onto paper. I usually have several pieces going on at a time so there is always something to work on. Raising two young children, I have to squeeze in studio time any spare minute I have. Every piece generally starts out with a drawing and then I will do each art material subsequently in a certain order - ink/watercolor, collage, acrylic, more collage, resin.

I immediately fell in love with your pieces when I saw them. They are full of life and colors. So vibrant, comforting and so much fun to look at. Who are these people in your pieces and are the places in your “Undomesticated Interior Series” based on memories or made up?

I use some source images I find from various places as inspiration and a starting point but ultimately the pieces come from my imagination and begin to take a life of their own as I’m making them. I paint very loosely and prefer to not have a strict vision of how the piece will look in the end. I very much enjoy ‘discovering’ the piece as I’m making it. The scenes in my Undomesticated Interior series also evolve in a similar way but getting the perspective of the visual space of the rooms takes a but more precision. Fun fact - a lot of the hands in the pieces are my own hands since I am always available to myself as a model. I also like to depict a wide diversity of figures in my work because I want all kinds of viewers to see themselves represented in my art.



You are a female artist that mostly portrays women as your subjects. Women that are fabulously dressed I might add. On your website by your “Girls and Guise” Series you describe so beautifully and truthfully why female voices and characters are so important. Please tell our readers again why you think it’s so important for women to be portrayed by women.

I think authenticity is so important. Unrealistic expectations, and ultimately lies, are perpetuated when women’s stories aren’t told by women. The same is true for BIPOC and LGBTQIA stories. And when people find themselves trying to achieve unrealistic expectations or trying to fit into some mold blindly set out for them, no one wins. If something isn’t honest then it’s just propaganda used by one group to manipulate another.



How did you come up with the clothes in your images and are you thinking of maybe one day getting them designed?

The main thing I’m thinking of when I’m composing the clothing in my pieces is making elements that one would not immediately think would work together, work together. I love mixing odd combinations of colors and patterns as a metaphor for embracing all the diverse things that make up our personalities and identities as humans. I also try to come up with a lot of layered clothing designs because it gives me more opportunities to add in more patterning. It would definitely be fun to one day see some of the designs materialize into actual clothes but for now my energy will focus on painting.



Besides the series mentioned you also did a portrait study series that is simply amazing. Please explain why you created it and what you took away from that experience.

These pieces really were the catalyst for all the pieces that came after them. I really mastered how to mix the materials present in these pieces which are still the foundation of my current work. I also found while painting these that I really love painting honest and diverse human emotions as opposed to just faces and figures that were just “pretty”. I found expressions that were ambiguous, confrontational, and introspective to be the most interesting to paint which is still evident in my present work.



Tell us a bit about your childhood and upbringing. When did you discover your love and talent for art?

I honestly can’t remember ever not loving the feeling of creating things, so the love has always been there. My mom was always tolerant with my creativity as a single parent. I had free reign on however and whenever I wanted to paint my room and she always understood the mess of art supplies around the house. It wasn’t until high school that I had access to formal art classes and it was there that I discovered I was pretty good. I won an art scholarship my senior year and decided to major in studio art during my undergraduate years. After putting together my senior exhibition I knew I didn’t want to do anything else.



Currently, the world is going through a lot of horrible conflicts. Art has always been a creative way of discussing events and spreading the word. How much power does art hold in your opinion? Can it start a movement or end a war?

Art is very powerful, no doubt. I think the realm of conceptual work specifically can open a person’s eyes in ways that no other medium can. Art is a quiet but forceful way to inform someone which I think is where its power comes from. A viewer can have a deeply personal experience with art which I think easily allows for the changing of hearts and minds. As far as staring a movement or ending a war - I sure hope so.



I first discovered you at The Other Art Fair. Have you been attending a lot of shows and fairs with your work? How is the overall experience for you?

I have done several Other Art Fairs in all of their US cities including Brooklyn, Chicago, and Dallas however I took a several year break on account of having my two children and the pandemic. The experience has been invigorating thus far. It gives me a chance to ditch the isolation of studio life for a while and experience first-hand the impact my work has on people. Good conversations are always floating around at art fairs.



What is next? What are your plans for the future?

I have two solo shows I’m preparing for coming up in Spring 2023. Each is a totally separate body of work so I have my work cut out for me. One will be in my hometown showing a new body of work centering around themes of motherhood and the other will be in New Orleans at a new gallery showing my Girls and Guise works.