Sweet Anna Bell – Ugly Girl

Sweet Anna Bell - Ugly GirlShe’s been a long time coming. I don’t know why it took so long to finish her but, here she is. I present to you, ‘Sweet Anna Bell – Ugly Girl.’

Scribbled on the back of the paper she’s painted on dated June 10, 2013, I wrote:

She’s tall, skinny and lanky. She’s wearing second hand clothes and second hand shoes. She knows she’s ugly. She doesn’t need to be reminded, yet they do, as if somehow it’ll change things. Sweet Anna Bell – Ugly Girl.

Verbal abuse is what that is and what this sweet child holds the bruises of. But notice this, her eyes look up, not down in shame. If you look at them closer you’ll notice hope shining. She holds her head up. She hopes. The edges of her mouth turn up in a slight smile. She hopes. Continue reading “Sweet Anna Bell – Ugly Girl”

Patience – in the works

Patience in the works

A few strokes here, a few strokes there and she’ll be done. I’ve got so many projects going on at one time. I love it though. I like working on a bunch of pieces at one time because it lets me leave a piece and come back with clearer eyes.

I wasn’t sure what to do with Patience so I sat it aside and worked on a few other projects. I’ve also been doing something I call freestyle where I simply put paint on paper for no reason other than to release tension. Here are a few of the freestyle art pieces that I’ve created recently. Continue reading “Patience – in the works”

My Sister’s Keeper

My Sisters Keeper - SOLD

I couldn’t decide how to display the painting in this entry. There’s so much to it that I worried I’d leave out an important detail. The reason I like this painting is because of the details. The children are the focus of the painting but each raindrop of color, each stream rains with importance to the whole of the painting. It was a very emotional piece to paint.

I wanted one child struggling and being lead but I wanted the leader to also show her weariness. Together they’d walk as sister’s and friends holding on … holding on. This is not about their suffering but their triumph. My Sister’s Keeper is about partnership, friendship and dedication.   Continue reading “My Sister’s Keeper”

Artist Thoughts: Waiting for new sight

I sometimes get stuck on a painting and put it up for a bit, then I take it out and hang it on the wall. I sometimes even frame the piece and look at it for awhile. There have been times I’ve passed a painting and thought, oh, I need a line here or oh, I should add this or that color, change this line, add extra texture here and there.

Stuck pieces

Putting the work away and out of my mind gives me a break from ‘worrying’ over it. Bringing it back out and taping it to the wall helps me see it in a new light and bring it to completion.  Continue reading “Artist Thoughts: Waiting for new sight”

Birds on Fallen Trees

Birds on Fallen Trees – 9 x 8 clay and wood sculpture created almost entirely with found items. The cobble stones in clay were found items, the twigs are from 5 fallen trees, the birds are from a recycled art piece, real Pekin duck feathers have been added as well as dried flowers.

When I’m anxious I paint. When I’m anxious I walk. The other day was a walking day. While walking I decided to explore an area struck by last spring’s storms. In that area there are at least 5 trees uprooted. It’s as if they were effortlessly plucked and left on their side. Sad though the sight may sound, nature has created its own art piece. It’s the kind of art you only find in nature, the stuff artists  like me can’t come close to mimicking. Continue reading “Birds on Fallen Trees”

A New Woman Original Painting

A New Woman by F. Magdalene Austin *** SOLD *** **SOLD ** I began tearing the wall paper remnants from an old craft table when I thought, this would be fun to paint on, so I did. A New Woman is a romantic, abstract figurative painting with ethnic overtones. It is medium textured and has been painted on pulled, up-cycled wall paper. There are even tiny pieces of tape still stuck to 11 x 7  finished art piece.

The profile figure of a young woman stands in the midst of dripping paint, torn walls and gold. She is painted in turquoise and pink with flicks of color as accents.

What I enjoyed about doing this painting is putting all the tiny little drops, spills and smudges together to form something tangible. The wall paper was splattered with paint from various projects and stripped or cut from mounting other paintings. My new canvas had its own story and a full pallet before becoming A New Woman. Continue reading “A New Woman Original Painting”