Sundrip Journals
There’s snow on the ground but spring flowers on my easel.
This is Mary Spring in her white dress in a meadow of beautiful flowers.
This 11 x 14 inch collage is a work in progress created with four different art pieces and tissue paper.
Coming soon to the Sundrip Etsy shop. www.Sundrip.etsy.com.
Faith
The Invisible Children is a haunting and surreal scene of sunflowers at night, a full moon, ravens flying and figures in the flowers at the base of a large, bare tree. It is a dark, fluid piece, full of small details.
Art Title: The Invisible Children
Art by: Faith Magdalene Austin
Media: Acrylic paint, ink, paper
Size: 5.5 x 8.5, unmounted, raw art
Please visit me in my Etsy shop for original art, such as above, and handmade dolls.
www.Sundrip.etsy.com or contact me at SundripJournals@gmail.com for a PayPal invoice.
Thank you for visiting Sundrip
Faith
Title: Sunflower Visions
Art by: Faith Magdalene Austin
Medium: Watercolor and colored pencil on watercolor paper
Size: 9 x 10 inches,Â
Finish: Signed, dated, unmounted
Style: Surreal, Abstract,Â
Art details: Sunburst, faces, swirls, eyes and hands reaching out are just part of what you’ll see in this colorful, jam packed art piece. Lively orange, vivid purple, lime and sage green glow beside sunflower yellow. This is a visual feast, a mindscape, a surreal watercolor art piece.Â
“Sunflower Visions” and other original art can be found in my Etsy shop at www.sundrip.etsy.com. You may also contact me for a PayPal invoice.
Thank you for visiting SUNDRIP – Art for Life
Title: Wild Things
Art by: Faith Magdalene Austin
Medium: Acrylic collage on heavy cardstock
Size: 9×12 inches,Â
Finish: Sealed, signed, dated, unmounted
Style: Collage, Surreal, Abstract Figurative, raw
Art details: Cut outs of my own art have been arranged to create “Wild Things.” Sunflowers, koi fish, African faces, Asian faces and more have been mixed together in a wild collage. This is a visual feast, a mindscape, surreal art piece.Â
“Wild Things” and other original art can be found in my Etsy shop at www.sundrip.etsy.com. You may also contact me for a PayPal invoice.
Thank you for visiting SUNDRIP – Art for Life
Content: Suicide. Blood. Emotional angst.
Cruel Words was painted by several of us. What strikes me is how affected I was by the suicide of the CNA’s friend.
In the drawing there are heads blown off the people in the trees. That’s a first for drawings and hopefully the last. I know the kids inside were very affected by the suicide. Having her cry in our arms that way was very heavy.
I fired my regular CNA who had cruel words for me. Anxiety is already high for us, we don’t need to worry about the mouth of our CNA and what she will say that’ll hurt.
The grumpy CNA is pregnant with three weeks left. It is entirely possible that her change of attitude is purely hormonal, however, the irritability and weariness she caused couldn’t be tolerated. It is also true that I can’t justify asking an 8 month pregnant woman to lift my wheelchair and take me to the doctor. I feel horrible asking her to do my laundry or run the sweeper. The girl is tired and irritable! Dang!!!
I like her but the change in her isn’t safe for my personal issues, ya know? I talked to her about why I fired her and she said she knows she’s hormonal and understands. I even told her it’s about time to take maternity leave because she can’t be at my house when her water breaks. lol. I can’t handle that. I don’t know nothin about birthin no babies.
Firing my CNA was the right thing to do. I was walking on eggshells in my own home and that can’t be. So, on to the next chapter in the CNA Saga.
The art piece was created in watercolor and is 7.5 x 10 inches on 98 lb paper.
Robert
I feel uprooted. Everything is different. My home is great but I’ve not laid down roots here. Most of my possessions are new because the old got thrown out. The only photo of my father that I had was thrown away accidentally. It is gone forever and it hurts.
My dishes, terrariums, plants, shoes, bed, sheets, furniture, everything is different and new. My frogs are new, fish are new. No dog or cat anymore. Heck, my laptop and phone are even new. I realized I have few things that I am emotionally attached to because I’ve not had them long enough. It feels like everything has new roots, nothing is stable, consistent, long term, dependable.Â
I’m new. I’ve changed physically and emotionally. My eyes haven’t stopped watering since the amputation. They water nearly non-stop.Â
I feel like I’m complaining but all I’m trying to say is that laying down new roots at 47 is difficult.
Art supplies are new. Again, these are observations not necessarily complaints. I love my new art supplies, especially the Winsor and Newton watercolors seen in the photos. Winsor Newton puts out a superior product that I totally love and yet there’s a feeling of sadness because they don’t have longer history with me. It would seem their only history with me is the hospitalization.Â
It hurts my heart to think that what all the new things have in common is trauma. So I’ve got to try and change that view to one more positive, something like this: All the new things are associated with SURVIVAL not near death. They are evidence of life, of a future, of deep, deep roots that helped me walk to this very day.Â
Jordan
In the hospital I felt guilty for putting my friends through worry for me. I felt bad that they worried for five long months, especially around surgeries. When things would get harry I felt horrible for putting people through tears and worry.
In this art piece that expresses the guilt, I put hanging people on the shoulders of a figure standing behind a smaller faceless figure. Both figures have an amputated foot with darkened skin around the amputation site. The figure with the sunflower crown is holding a star in her left hand.Â
In the hospital I worried that the doctors would realize that they were putting forth a lot of effort for a nobody, and when they found out they’d stop caring for me. This piece expresses the issue of low self worth.Â
The painting shows a split face which is typical in my art anymore. It shows two faceless figures and a large sunflower at the bottom. Also of note is the yellow hair and orange face of the faceless figure with spike hair. Again, yellow symbolizes disgusting things and there were plenty of gross things in the hospital. For her hair to be yellow is very significant for me.Â
Both works were created after the amputation and are in watercolor and ink.Â
The painting above, where I express myself as No One is interesting to me since I had an alter named No One who always painted herself as faceless. That alter changed her name to Jordan and is interestingly enough, the main personality in the group. She is in affect, my face.Â
The No One painting is also the inspiration for art where there are two faces as opposed to just a split face. I’ve been doing that in art therapy a lot lately. Dr. D and I talked about that last Friday.Â
Faith
Monday was one of the hardest days I’ve had in a while. It started off with nightmares that stayed with me for much of the day. I tried to go back to bed to start over but had yet another nightmare. Then as planned, I got myself together, got on my horse (wheelchair) and left the house despite mega pain. I went to the shoe store and cried my eyes out in the store unexpectedly. I had no idea the grief would hit me right there in DSW but it did and there I sat crying in my chair in front of people. I felt like a fool.
Later I went to the post office to send out art only to discover that it was Columbus Day, no mail. That would have been fine except I was already at my max of stress and physical pain. Then later the big worry happened, I fell. Continue reading “Surviving to Eke out Gratitude”
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
Rise
Bright watercolor and colored pencil.
8.5 x 5.5 inches
98lb paper
This is what hope looks like. It’s hands raised and face to the sun. Flowers in full bloom and shoulders light.
Faith Austin
Sundrip