I can’t seem to get myself to truly paint. It’s as if I’m stopped up. All I seem capable of is painting shapes and simple figures or dripping paint down a page. I keep doing it though.
These are all watercolor and ink on 8.5 x 5.5 paper.
Filtered .
Category: Sketchbook diary
Journal Work in Progress
Journaling until I’m blue in the face. Work in progress.
“Someone Else” in watercolor and acrylic. All work shown is on 8.5 x 5.5 paper.
“Froggie Smiles”. These are photographs. I’m looking forward to scanning so these look right. This is much darker than the actual painting. I’m working on the details of all these pieces. Once I have the colors in mind it doesn’t take long to finish.
This last one was created for the sole purpose of testing out new paints. It’s a paint pallet sheet. Sometimes when I just need to draw but there’s nothing specific to do, I draw lines on paper this way and wait to use it later to test paint or clean brushes.
Faith
Saturday is moving day
I got the apartment and move in Saturday! I already have the keys and lease.
I’m excited and a bit nervous, mostly excited. I have to figure out how to fit my stuff in this place. One thing I know is I’ll have a 55 gallon aquarium in there! Somehow, some way, that aquarium WILL fit. I’m going to split it in half, half bedroom, half art studio w tea bar. I’ll keep the doll collection in the bedroom area. I’m sure my little studio will feel like home in no time.
To save energy, I’m buying stuff from Amazon.com and Walmart.com. It’ll be easier that way. I’m thinking of having them deliver a much needed recline. And there’s the cutest bamboo shelf that will display my teas. I’m so excited about that.
In addition to moving, I’ve been painting my head off.
My sketchbook is full of art and art therapy….. at this point I believe for me, art is deeply healing and therapeutic. There’s a flood of artistic expression recorded primarily in watercolor like the one shown. As soon as I get the studio set up to scan,, I’ll update my etsy shop with new art. The good news is my shop is still active while waiting for updates. www.sundrip.etsy.com
Tomorrow I go to the doctor to get fitted for the prosthetics. We’ll see how it goes.
For the apartment I’m getting something extra special for my wall. It’s a decal Scripture that says:
Do not be afraid, for I am with you.
Do not be anxious, for I am your God.
I will fortify you, yes, I will help you,
I will really hold on to you with my right hand of righteousness.’ Isaiah 41:10
Faith
The Lesson
The Lesson is an art story about the doctor telling me about my blood system. He explained that something about my DNA steers my blood wrong. Instead of living the normal 120-90 days, my blood lives 60-30 days then begins to break down.
When the doctor told me this I thought to myself, I have bad blood, that’s what makes me a bad person. This is why my mother can’t love me, I’m bad from the inside out. Yup, my head took me there. So how do I rewrite a very old message of being bad and bring my thoughts more in line with the times? I paint and talk to myself.
After some healthy ground techniques I pulled out my watercolors and began to paint symbols from the doctor’s visit. I painted a symbolic DNA strand and several levels of blood development.
I really enjoy painting like this. I take something medical and paint how it affected me emotionally. I’m going to keep doing this. Painting is healing for me and it allows me to process realities easier.
I apologize for the quality of the photo. All of this is still being painted, photographed and blogged from bed.
Jordan
“The Lesson” by
Faith Magdalene Austin
Watercolor and ink
8.5 x 5.5
98lb paper
Finished!
One of my recent goals was to finish projects I started.
I know where I was going with each piece when I stopped working on them so I just picked up where I left off.
More completed work is to come.
Faith
Art for art’s sake
I changed my tea painting and added a short
quote. I couldn’t help myself. I like it better this way. I think it would look great in an all white frame but there wasn’t one on the framing program used.
“Where there’s tea there’s hope” is a small painting of 4 inches by 6 inches. It’s created in watercolor and ink and is on 98lb paper. The details on the flower and cup are easier to see in person.
I’ve also been playing with acrylic and rubbing alcohol. I cleaned my brushes of acrylic paint on a 4 x 7 piece of cardstock then went back and treated the paper with the 91 percent alcohol. I sprayed some it as well as dropped some. I swirled the paper and let it drip until I saw a pattern I liked.
I can save this textured abstract piece for later as pull art or for a collage. I could add a small cut out from my huge stash. Who knows what the cut out would be. I’ve got everything from figures to flowers to trees and animals, all from art that didn’t work out but that had parts worth saving. I use my x-acto knife and save what can be saved for projects just like this. The other thing is, I can leave it just the way it is and frame it as a temporary piece of art just to look at for a little while. I tend to do that. I switch up art on a wall in the living room making the wall an ever changing, energized display of color and texture.
Here are a few pieces in currently hanging in my living room on the art wall.
Faith
Paint Sketch and Alter
“She dreams of flowers”
“Her fullest potential”
“The Girl” in apostrophe earrings. Continue reading “Paint Sketch and Alter”
Soothing Tree Drawings in Watercolor and Ink
Drawing trees is soothing. I usually draw them bare. I love leaves. i like to see them up close and examine the cells. I recently learned that my sweet potato plant was holding water in the cells of the leaf because I watered too much and too late in the day. Leaves are a beautiful creation but I hardly ever draw them. I like them bare. There’s something so beautifully vulnerable about a bare tree.
I love to follow the designs on bark with my finger. There’s something so …. spiritual….about trees.
When it comes to art, I have a go to doodle. Â I think all artists have a certain something they draw in almost a self soothing kind of way. The self soothing art for me is to draw trees with the branches reaching out, twisting and breaking through the things we can’t even see. Branches break through the air, they hold themselves erect when gravity tries to pull them over. I love that they take their place in the soil and let their roots reach as far and deep as they desire.
I absolutely love above the ground root systems. Those are fun to follow, too. Of course I have to peak in the little crevices where moss grows. I admire spider webs and small bugs that scramble to get away from my curious fingers.
Available
– Available
When I was a kid I was told that if a person draws a tree it usually represents them. I was told that putting a scar on the tree represents personal trauma. I never forgot that. Despite the psychological reasons for drawing trees, doing so is soothing for me.
Two trees displayed in this entry are Pay it Forward art pieces. You can find them in the Community Grabs and PIF section in my Etsy shop.
The first entry on trees has been posted in the Featured Art Gallery. page.
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Fun with Scribbles and Watercolor
I started by drawing lines with my eyes closed, later I added watercolor.
Title: Get the Tom
Art by: Faith M. Austin
Size: 5.5 x 8.5
Media: watercolor, ink
Finish: unsealed, not mounted
Style: Abstract
You may ask yourself why the title is “Get the Tom.” Well, the answer is simple. I was watching a detective show where a criminal couple stole diamonds. The man thought the woman lost the diamonds but nope, she held up her hand full and, “I’ve got the tom.” I couldn’t call the painting ‘tomfoolery” now cold I? What kind of title is that? ……. As you can see, I struggle to come up with titles for my work.
Titles don’t come easily but fun art does. The fun thing about “Get the Tom” Â is that I took an art therapy project and turned it in to art for the sake of art. There is no back story, no profound meaning, it’s just enjoyable art using watercolor and ink.
“Get the Tom” is listed as a Pay it Forward item in the Community Grabs and PIF section in my Etsy shop. In its listing you will see close up shots showing details.
Thank you,
Faith
The Last Reign
“The Last Reign” is in the Visionary Original Paintings gallery as well as in my Etsy shop.
This 5.5 x 8.5 mixed media piece showcases deep colors and moody lines. It is truly a Sundrip piece in that I’ve painted edge to edge with imagery everywhere you look.
There are masks or what some may call face shields. There are people and washes of color. Blue, gold, black, and red shape images of human figures with history written on their faces. Continue reading “The Last Reign”