Astrological sign?
AL: Leo, raging leo.
Lucky number?
AL: All numbers!
Favorite Color?
AL: Red and pink. They make me feel alive!
Morning, Noon, or Night?
AL: I love them all. An infinite amount of wildness can happen during any of these times! I am a morning person though.
Uptown, Midtown or Downtown?
AL: Downtown. I am allergic to midtown.
Oscars, Tonys or Grammys?
AL: ALL. EGOT. I love all art forms!
Met, MOMA or Movies?
AL: I love MOMA!
Football, Baseball, or Basketball?
AL: I love all balls.
Green Tea, Black Tea, or Herbal Tea?
AL: Peppermint tea.
Sugar, Splenda, or Stevia?
AL: Truvia!
Red, White, or Rose?
AL: I love Pinot Noir a lot.
Spicy, Salty, or Sweet?
AL: I like these three together.
Sandwich, Soup, or Salad?
AL: I want to dip my sandwich in my soup 100%.
Black, white or color?
AL: CAMPY AND COLOR! But black when I paint. Also, I don’t wear shoes when I paint but I do wear gobs of jewelry and lately hats!
Is your closet messy or neat?
AL: I am VERY organized. It’s pristine.
What’s your favorite room?
AL: Any room where the neighbors can’t see me naked.
What do you collect?
AL: I love art, jewelry, crystals, books, and candelabras! I’m into tea sets lately and I LOVE huge vessels of orchids.
Dream dinner guest?
AL: Elizabeth Taylor.
Sunday ritual?
AL: Full frontal nudity and carbs.
Favorite flower?
AL: I love carnivorous plants.
Cheat meal?
AL: Chicken strips 100%!
Quality you want to be remembered by?
AL: Inspiring
Best thing about New York?
AL: Art and endless opportunity
What does Considered Luxury mean to you?
AL: I guess being a diversified self made entrepreneur: considered luxury is spoiling myself and never having buyers remorse. You gotta save more than you spend!
How did “YES” become the word that you embraced in your work?
AL: I am a fucking optimist. I have no time to be on a negative frequency. I mind my own business and work as hard as I can.
As a self made artist, rejection is part of the journey. What kept you going and what keeps you going today?
AL: I love me some me. I believe in opportunity. I don’t have a choice but to keep going. No one has given me a damn thing, I’ve had to earn it all… THANK GOD.
Your positivity is contagious…have you always been this way?
AL: I had to come into my own from being a young naïve girl raised in the south. That being said, I’ve always been true to myself. And if someone doesn’t like who I am or what do: that’s fine! I can only be me. I curse, I’m wild, I’m a free spirit. I am not supposed to fit in! The older I get the more I thrive on staying positive. My tits are touching my gut as I type this and I’m trying to enjoy the sensation… ya know? Shit like that!
Your portraits are so distinctly your vision of the subject, through an Ashley lens. Do you ever ask them what they think of your paintings?
AL: Andre Leon Talley called me a few weeks ago to tell me he loved the portrait I created of him. Diane Von Furstenberg told me she loved hers and Gloria Steinhem told me she was honored! Martine Rothblatt emailed me and told me she LOVES hers! I paint images that inspire me and fill my world with beauty and color and happiness. I would hope no one would be upset!
Anyone on your bucket list to paint, but maybe have hesitated?
AL: Hesitate? What the fuck does that mean?
Or do you just paint anyone and everyone you want?
AL: My job is to paint my thoughts. I only have a certain number of days to create. I’ll be dead one day… CARPE FUCKING DIEM!
