We sat down with Wilmington, North Carolina artist Daisy Faith to talk about her creative journey, what inspires her, and... her acting career! (Read on to see if you've spotted her in on TV!)
What is your earliest memory of being creative?
My mom always said there was never a clean piece of paper safe in our house because I’d draw all over it. I remember an assignment in art class in elementary school was “what do you want to be when you grow up” and I created a drawing of me painting at an easel and I was painting a self portrait (very meta)! This piece was selected to hang in the local bank which was a pretty big honor for my kindergarten self.
Did you always want to be an artist?
Yes! It’s really the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do. Of course, to me artist is a broad term. I’ve always loved creating art with my hands, painting furniture, decorating and designing. I’m also an actor and improviser and even lived in Los Angeles for many years. I feel like all these artistic avenues feed into one another.
Who inspired you to become an artist?
My mom is very creative. She was always decorating, painting, sewing and crafting when I was growing up. We even built a dollhouse together from sticks when I was a kid and then decorated it with gorgeous dollhouse furniture and created art for the rooms and little rugs to really bring the space together artistically.
How do you want people to feel when they look at your art?
Happy! I always say I create happy art and I got motto from listening to those around me who viewed my art they always beamed about how happy, colorful and cheerful the work is so I created the tagline, “colorful art for your happy home.”
Walk us through the steps you follow for your paintings.
I collect inspiration images but I don’t like to over plan a painting because then it makes me tight and anxious so I like to create an improvisation relationship with the painting. First step is making a abstract mess as an underlay because I just like to get paint on the black canvas. This takes away the sense of being too precious with the piece. From there I’ll sketch in with paint the large shapes. I then tend to paint dark to light and scrape into the paint with a palette knife to let some of the underpainting show through. I also like to all for drips and imperfections since this makes the painting more interesting. As I layer the paint from dark to light I start to get a lot of interest within the paint. Towards the end I’ll add details but I’m really not that interested in tiny details. My final steps are added with pastel and a finalize applicator to create more interest and dynamic strokes.
Favorite music to listen to while painting?
Music is so important to set a tone to create. I am a highly anxious person so I like calming music to get me centered. One of my faves to play while painting is First Aid Kit. I also love Brandi Carlile and the earlier work by Jenny Lewis. I’m also a later adopter of Taylor Swift but I guess I get why everyone likes her. I’ve loved her last two albums!
Do you have a secret talent or hobby besides painting?
I’m a improviser and perform weekly doing improv comedy. I was also in Los Angeles for 11 years pursuing comedy. I can be seen on How I Met Your Mother, Pretty Little Liars, Nashville, Conan and Days of Our Lives.