Today we’d like to introduce you to Faith Danielle.
Hi Faith, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Creating is an integral part of who I am. Even as a young person, I was drawn to artistic pursuits. Whether it was designing collages for my walls or experimenting with photography, I had a passion for making things.
However, I eventually set aside this passion for more practical pursuits and studied Landscape Architecture at Colorado State University. After graduation, I settled into a management job to pay the bills, while continuing to dabble in crafting as a hobby.
When 2020 arrived, my husband and I began to make some big changes. We adjusted our lifestyle to allow me to stay at home with our children full-time. This transition was initially difficult, but the extra time gave me the opportunity to rediscover my creative side. I started experimenting with watercolors and drawing, which led to hours of joy and creativity.
Soon enough, I had turned my hobby into a business selling my art on Etsy. My artwork was published as a book cover for Southern Atheist: Oh, Honey, linked here https://a.co/d/hFW7KoS. I was getting commission requests and had several pieces auctioned at the HeARTfor Hope Auction in 2022. I was succeeding as an artist.
However, I soon realized that my focus on success and selling was not what I truly wanted. Instead, I craved the freedom to create without the pressure of making a profit. Today, creating is a part of who I am. It allows me to tap into childlike wonder and find a flow where thoughts stop and just being takes over. Whether I am painting, writing, or taking photos, it’s all an exercise in creativity. It’s a way to slow down and be present with the world around me.
For me, creativity is not just a hobby, but a way of life. It’s about setting aside what I know to be true and creating my path. When I am in the moment and immersed in painting, I am not thinking, I am just being. That meditative place, that practice, is something that I prioritize and work to exercise every day. Seeing the world as an artist has given me a new perspective, enabling me to find gratitude for the abundance in my day-to-day life. It has healed past versions of myself and given me room to be my most authentic self.
As I continue to grow as an artist, I hope to inspire others to let themselves be free to play and explore their passions. Creativity is a gift and has the power to save you, as it has certainly saved me.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
For anyone pursuing an artist’s life, the journey is never smooth or easy. I have faced countless hurdles, with my mindset being the biggest challenge. I had to unravel all the limiting beliefs that I had held throughout my life. Although I have always been creative, I never felt comfortable calling myself an artist until recently. Imposter syndrome weighed heavily on me, especially since I started my art career later in life.
The belief that artists are born with innate talent was daunting to overcome. To succeed as an artist, I had to claim that title and believe in myself. I had to create. For years, I explored different mediums and experimented with various techniques, from watercolor to acrylic, lino printing to collage, and detailed to abstract. It was only in the last year that I felt confident in my style. Consistent practice, play, and exploration helped me find my authentic voice in my work.
Coming from an architectural background, perfectionism was always at the forefront of my mind. From the beginning of my journey as an artist, I wanted my work to be perfect. I would not sit down to create unless I had a plan, and if that plan was not executed exactly as I expected, I felt like a failure. It took years of trial and error before I could be loose and free while painting. I made my practice a priority, even if it was only for fifteen minutes and the result was a mess. This dedication to my craft helped me be more loose, capable of finding flow and taking the pressure off the desire for perfection.
Although the road has been bumpy at times, I believe that all of the struggle has pushed me to find my style and voice. I hope that I can continue to cultivate that voice and share it through my art. In 2024, I plan to get vulnerable and brave by sharing my story and my work through my website and exhibits.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
On any given day, you can find me working on detailed pieces with slow and patient painting, often botanical, or quite the opposite, putting paint on paper, and creating abstracts with collage elements. In a world full of talented artists, comparing yourself to others is easy and endless.
However, the idea that art isn’t for the audience resonated with me and helped me find my artistic voice. Instead of creating for selling, I began to create just for myself, what I wanted to see, and what I needed to feel. This made all the difference. I stopped comparing myself to others and started looking for inspiration in my day-to-day life. Flowers have always been a touchstone for me.
Regardless of what life throws at me, I can see beauty in the world around me, in all the flowers, their diversity, their cycles of bloom and decay, and their perseverance in all types of conditions. I have been drawn to photographing them for decades and always choose them as the subject for my paintings and collages. Initially, I thought that this would be perceived as generic and overdone, but in the end, I realized that it was what inspired me and what I loved to celebrate.
My paintings are often of imagined flowers drawn from real-life examples but with an imaginative twist. These pieces are where I get lost in the details and find a flow while painting. My abstract work is more about color, texture, and using flowers to accent and add to the design. This work is where I feel the most and heal the most. Abstract painting is meditative in a way that no other art form is for me. It is loose, free exploration while creating art that speaks to me.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
The pandemic proved to be a defining moment for me, as I was already at a crossroads when it first hit. After leaving the workforce in January 2020, I was faced with the daunting task of adjusting to a new reality. Although I saw staying at home with my children as a privilege, I had to let go of my preconceived notions of what my career path would look like. The pressure to reinvent myself was severe, and I struggled to find my footing as I was also adjusting to a newly diagnosed auto-immune disease.
Looking back, however, I can see that the pandemic forced us all to slow down and focus on what mattered. It wasn’t easy, but my family and I learned to adapt to a new way of living and discovered that we could thrive despite the challenges. I learned to prioritize self-care and redefine success on my terms. I also learned to trust in myself and the journey, knowing that if I kept moving forward, the right path would reveal itself in due time.
During this time of reflection, I felt an intense desire to create and become an artist. This longing had always been there, but it took the pandemic to give me the space and time to pursue it. Thus, Sunshower Designs was born out of a deep desire to evolve and grow into the person I was meant to be.
While the pandemic was a scary and strange time, it also brought about a positive shift in our priorities. It allowed us to slow down and reflect, and for that, I am grateful.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sunshowerdesigns.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/__sunshower.designs__/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063837531003
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@sunshower.designs?lang=en
Image Credits
Faith Parks, Look 4 Light Photography
