Category: Paintings

Watercolor Play

Posted on by F.Magdalene

As I said, I’ve been exploring watercolor. I haven’t done that well with proper techniques but I have played a lot. Here are some abstracts created in watercolor after a session of trying to do stuff right. Play is important. 🙂

Color Rush and Deep Purple Paper are my favorites. In a few of these I dipped stamps in watercolor and stained the paper then began to pile color until I was satisfied. I used a pallet knife to create texture and one had alcohol sprayed on it. That was fun. Three of these have an acrylic finish but two do not. They feel like they could be a small framed painting or even the background for an encaustic art piece.

All are roughly 4 x 6 and are on cardstock, watercolor postcard paper and sketchbook paper.

Faith

Adopted Art: Jane’s Flowers Bloom

Posted on by F.Magdalene

As you know, art without a wall of its own is sad, but today “Jane’s Flowers Bloom” was adopted. To celebrate this momentous occasion is the legendary Phil Collins singing, “In the Mail Tonight”.

Art Title:  Jane’s Flowers Bloom
Art by:  Faith Magdalene Austin
Media:  Colored pencil, ink, card stock
Size:  4 x 7 inches
Finish: Acrylic seal, signed on the front and back, unmounted.
Style: Primitive, African Americana, Ethnic Folk Art

Jane's Flowers Bloom - SOLDTake it away Phil!Jane's Flowers Bloom - SOLD

Well I remembah, I remembah orange flurries, flurries, flurries
How could I ever forget
It’s the first bloom,
the white moon
and an intimate moment.
But I know the reason why you kept your purse closed up,
Oh no you can’t resist me.
Well the love it shows
and the heart it rose
with a flower from you to me
(enter awesome drum solo)
I can feel it coming in the mail tonight, hold on
I’ve been waiting for a wall of all my own, oh Lord, oh Lord
I’ll be coming in the mail tonight oh Lord
for a wall
of my own. oh Lord  (end remake)

Me: Thank you so much Phil for coming to Sundrip to sing that classic song; a song for all time. What do you think Mary Jane, studio cat?
Mary Jane: That song chokes me up every time. He kills it on the drums. Amazing job Phil. Thanks for coming.
Me: Thanks to everyone who has given original art the only thing it’s ever wanted, a wall of its own.

Is there wall space in your home? Can you open your heart to grant the wish of original art? If so, please visit my Available Art galleries as well as my Etsy shop. Contact me and we’ll work together to stamp out homeless art.

Available Art. Available, too. Etsy shop. PayPalMe.

Faith Magdalene Austin
Artist
Mary Jane Austin
Studio Cat and Quality Control Manager

Art Adoption: Young Joker

Posted on by F.Magdalene

Young Joker - SOLDArt without a wall of its own is sad.  “Young Joker” waited a little bit for the right wall to come along and it did. Packaged ever so carefully, this special art piece will travel to its destiny via US Postal System. It’s a happy day when art gets adopted.

“Young Joker” is a rainbow dance around a patch of white flowers. Wrapped in the landscape are several who are finding their way through the meadow. A black bird takes the same path.

Art Title: Young Joker
Art by: Faith Magdalene Austin
Size: 8.5 × 5.5
Media: Marker, acrylic
Finish: signed on front and back, unmounted, not framed

Paintings that compliment “Young Joker” can be seen in the below gallery and are available via Etsy or PayPal invoice. See the sidebar for details.

Give art a home.

Feed a starving artist. Seriously, I could use a sandwich 🙂

Faith

DIY Encaustic Tools and Painting

Posted on by F.Magdalene

Awhile ago I did an encaustic mixed media piece created with Crayola and acrylic paint. Though I liked the way it turned out I thought it might be even better toned down a bit. I decided to go back and make it less abstract. The first step was to gather all my tools.

DIY Encaustic Art Tools

All you need is above and they are easy to acquire, household tools I used to melt wax and crayons for encaustic art. Since these are household used in encaustic painting, you will have to be careful to monitor the heat.

  1. Small glass jar or empty aluminum tea candle
  2. Coffee mug warmer or tea candle oil warmer
  3. Crafting iron
  4. Toothpick or small scraper such as clay tools
  5. Wax paper or Parchment paper

With those basics I was able to warm blues and greens then smooth them over the crafted canvas.

.Dollar Tree oil/wax burner .Small glass bottle of Crayola melted crayon

I mentioned in the original entry that the painting is on Viva Paper towels. Let me explain; the paper towels were layered with wax then gesso and Mod Podge until I had a nice surface. Continue reading “DIY Encaustic Tools and Painting”

Attaya and other cultural ceremonies

Posted on by F.Magdalene

Strawberry Kisses - available

Summer will bring kids and their parents to my home which means tea and more tea with painting and more painting plus some history tossed in.

Depending on the country, the ceremony or party, the kids use traditional cups dated as late as the 1940’s. My number of countries represented in tea is down to 38 countries because my Kenyan Ceylon container is empty. It’s on my list of must have. We’ve got so many good stores around here but I can’t seem to find one that will order this tea for me. I want the loose leaf by Safari.

I let the kids use vintage and antique cups without worrying too much about them breaking but I went ahead and retired my English rose tea pot. I’m a bit more protective of that one. No one uses my daily tea pot either. I’m even more protective of it. I don’t fret a lot about the cups being broken but I do expect all to use them respectfully. If one should break then it’ll do well as a planter and I can go to Goodwill and search for a replacement. Goodwill is where many online shops get their tea cups for which they charge exorbitant prices.

Here’s a little article on West African tea ‘ceremonies’. I’ve also started a collection of African recipes on my Pinterest page.

Continue reading “Attaya and other cultural ceremonies”

Paint Sketch and Alter

Posted on by F.Magdalene

“She dreams of flowers”

“Her fullest potential”

Her Fullest Potential fma

“The Girl” in apostrophe earrings. Continue reading “Paint Sketch and Alter”

Fun with Scribbles and Watercolor

Posted on by F.Magdalene

I started by drawing lines with my eyes closed, later I added watercolor.

Get the Tom - available

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”  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

My beloved theme is BACK!!!

Posted on by F.Magdalene
Crystal - Let the Mountains Shake
Crystal : Let the Mountain’s Shake

I HATED those other themes. They weren’t me at all. I couldn’t stand it, but Twenty Twelve is back. Lets hope things go better this time. I so missed you Twenty Twelve. I don’t like change that much. This theme fits my needs. I like it and don’t want to give it up.

You may still have to come to my site to leave comments because the comment option may not appear on the WP feed. Just know you are always welcome to the webpage.

Now I can stop obsessing over this site. The comments on the WP feed may not get fixed. I have no idea how to do it and my web mistress isn’t available right now. Shoot. I was starting to wonder if it’s even worth going all out to get a nice theme and arrange it. If people basically read from WP then they can’t see updates to pages or that there’s new information on the sidebar. I’ll still update it though.

Continue reading “My beloved theme is BACK!!!”

Living Things

Posted on by F.Magdalene
She Flows -SOLD
She Flows -SOLD

I sold a painting that I figured would never, ever sell. What’s cool about this painting is that it may not be for everyone but I know the reason I created her. When I see her I think of a well rooted woman, fierce, natural and strong. Before putting her in the room divider with art, I had her in a wood frame with carvings on it. It seemed to fit her well. I’m happy she found a wall of her own. That’s very cool.

Moving from the art area to plants, I see my sweet potato plant is in need of a new pot. I like self watering systems because of how handicapped friendly they are. You can decide if the handicap is poor watering habits or Lupus, either way, it helps keep my plants alive longer when they sit above the water source.

My girl Jane decided it would be a good idea to sip from my Starbucks coffee. This means she slept 16 hours that day instead of 18. I couldn’t believe she just got up and started drinking from my cup. What on earth? Have you lost your mind? I could have sworn we had an agreement: stay away from my food.

Usually when I bring something in the house something else has to go but with the sale at Petco going on I’ve decided to break that rule. I really like the way the plant area is set up so when the new aquarium comes on Monday it’ll sit in a different spot. I’m staying with the Philodendron plant and a peace lily. Those plants grow crazy in a 20 gallon tall terrarium like the one I’m getting. Continue reading “Living Things”

Room Divider Art Display and My Own Infomercial

Posted on by F.Magdalene

So you have a room divider meant for family photos but you’d rather do something artsy with it, try filling the spaces with original art. In my room divider I’ve added such original works as the encaustic mixed media painting called “Fall Tree“. Beautiful blues are displayed acrylic painting in “Abstract Waves“. I’ve also showcased original watercolor paintings such as”Rich” and “Hush Be Still“.

Living room 2017

Can you spot “Bruised Reed II” or the painting “She Flows”?

Room Divider Art Display
Room Divider Art Display

I’ve fallen in love with “Blue Wonder” and “Altered #7” so I framed them until they find a permanent place to live. Also on the wall is “Landfall II” , “Purple Tree” and my favorite painting of all time, “Little White Dress.” Little White Dress is digital art created forever ago with my computer mouse.

The below gallery shows a few paintings up close. In a different entry I’ll discuss and show better images of the painting “Nesting Place,” a beautiful orange, gold and turquoise painting of birds and flowers. You can spot it here on top of “Nesting Place II”  Continue reading “Room Divider Art Display and My Own Infomercial”