How long have you been an artist? 

Depends on how you define 'artist!' I started making art in 2005, exhibiting in 2006, and doing it full time since about 2013.

Who/what are your biggest influences? 

Pretty much everything and anything, including nature, Georgia O'Keefe, and farms or the produce aisle!

Briefly describe your process for creating a work of art. 

My art making process begins by cutting or tearing open ripe fruit and capturing the juicy inside with a macro lens. I manipulate the fruit and lighting for maximum depth and contrast. Sometimes I create sketches or painted studies from the fruit still life or source photographs to work through ideas, color, and composition for prospective paintings. 

From there I use a common approach to oil painting. I typically work from the background to the foreground and dark to light. Fruit pulp can have such a high water content that painting it can be similar to painting a container or body of water. For example, while I paint pomegranate seeds, I keep in mind the color of the juice suspended in the seeds, what can be seen within or below the seeds, the surface of the seeds, and refracted and reflected light. 

I spend a lot of time mixing paint. Color is an important aspect of my work so it's important for my paintings to look rich, deep, and vibrant. I tend to create many, many layers (when I last tried to keep track, it was 40+), which is why my paintings take so long to complete.

What do you listen to when you work, if anything? 

I'm all over the place! I guess I usually start with podcasts (Imagined Life, Hyperallergic, Creative Mornings ATL), move on to music (most often a big playlist of rock and roll + soul + funk), and end my studio day streaming a TV show (working through The Sopranos now). Other days I'll listen to audio books or movies, but sometimes I just like listening to the birds singing outside my window. 

When do you know a piece is finished? 

This skill took SO LONG to learn! A painting is finished when I stop thinking about it and seeing it when I close my eyes... or when I hit my deadline! 

How has the current shelter-in-place order affected your work? 

A lot of my spring and now summer events have been postponed or cancelled, so all of my focus has shifted to studio work. Progress is slow, but steady. 

What is the one thing people would be surprised to learn about you. 

The insides of my sketchbooks are U-G-L-Y! 

AND JUST FOR FUN…

What’s your favorite color? 

I can't pick just one! Black, deep reds and oranges, pthalo blue, sage green...

What's your favorite song? 

Dazed and Confused or really anything else by Led Zeppelin

What’s your favorite movie? 

Probably Snatch, but I also love Pan's Labyrinth

Who is your favorite author? 

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, JK Rowling, George RR Martin, maybe James Patterson... I love reading

Where are you going to travel when we safely can? 

I can't wait to see my family in Florida! 

Angela Faustina’s sticky-sweet oil paintings transform glistening fruit into its own unique world. Capturing juicy, perfectly ripe pulp in each brushstroke, her artwork focuses on the beauty and vibrancy of life. The magnified imagery can echo other natural forms and textures, attesting to the interconnection of organic life. Although it’s presented in an original way, the common subject matter represents a shared experience that spans borders, religion, and culture. Faustina’s contemporary paintings are bright, lively, intimate, and bold as hell. Walking the line between realism and idealism, these are not your traditional still life paintings.

Due to her fresh take on the genre and the universal appeal of her subject matter, Faustina’s artwork has been internationally collected and exhibited for 14 years. In 2019 alone, her vibrant oil paintings were shown in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK, and the eastern USA. Her mouth-watering murals are on view in some of America's most vibrant southeastern cities, including Atlanta, GA, Marietta, GA, and St. Petersburg, FL. She has also worked with brands including Atlanta United, Heineken, and PeachDish. She is represented by Signet Contemporary Art in London, England, UK alongside her representation at The Loft.

Faustina grew up in South Florida but started calling the Atlanta area home in 2015. She graduated summa cum laude with concentrations in Studio Art and History from New College of Florida in Sarasota, FL, while completing additional coursework at Ringling College of Art & Design in Sarasota and Parsons: The New School for Design in New York, NY.