A creative mind

Alana Barrell is not a typical artist. She has a mind like no other and the beautiful paintings she creates are an expression of her unique outlook on life. It’s in part due to being raised in South Africa, Singapore, Ethiopia, and Brunei throughout her childhood, but it’s in part due to the fact that she lives with schizophrenia. Despite being haunted by dark creatures and horrific nightmares, Alana’s work is surprisingly optimistic.

When her sister Liesl, a friend and client for many, many years, reached out to me to photograph Alana, I was beyond excited. I knew this would be an amazing opportunity to not only make her feel absolutely beautiful and glamorous, but also take some creative portraits that was true to her spirit. We had the incredible experience of working with renown make-up artist Marika D’Auteuil that did some editorial style face-painting and some couture flower appliqués on her neck. I’m so in love with how this photoshoot turned out and excited to follow Alana in her career as an artist. To see her paintings: https://www.alanabarrell.com/