After putting her dream on hold for some 30 years, Terry Faith is well on her way to becoming  a professional fine artist. but it hasn’t been easy.!!  While working full time,  commuting four hours to and from work , and by taking care of her family,  Terry kept  her dream alive at night  taking  drawing and painting courses that  enabled  her to develop her  skills as  an artist.  Following her retirement from the US government, Terry established a highly successful face painting business and today  is in the second year of her art studies at the Aristide Atelier in the state of Washington

Growing up in Kensington, Maryland  in the 60s, Terry showed a strong interest in art.   In high school  she got accepted to Montgomery County’s Art Center, and,after graduating  high school, she  attended Montgomery College and the University of Maryland as an art major.   However, she was unable to finish her art studies even with a  Congressional  scholarship, and dropped out with only 15 credits needed to graduate.   She initially got a full time job as a hair dresser and went to secretarial school at night  to improve her job prospects.   She later  landed an entry level  job in the federal government which enabled her to support herself and two children.    She worked in the government for the next 30 years, and impressively rose to become  a G13 Program Analyst.

When her children were older, Terry continued her art training taking classes at the Delaplaine Arts Center in Frederick, Maryland.  One of her instructors was Lesa Cook, an Atelier trained artist.  After her retirement and during Covid, Terry studied oil painting with Carol Buswell and attended figure drawing classes with live models which Carol  organized. (Terry’s sketchbook on the left)  Carol Buswell also introduced her to Juliette Studies Online Atelier. Juliette is based out of Seattle, Washington and teaches classical art methods on line in an immersive program with two Masters instructors.  In September 2023 Terry will be entering her second year of an intensive three year program which she is taking via video. It consists of seven hours of instruction weekly, one and one half hours of open studio and 12 hours of homework.  Her work is regularly critiqued by Juliette Aristides and two Master instructors. 

While studying to become a professional artist, Terry  has been running a successful face painting business called Tigers and Unicorns she established in  2018 . Although she initially volunteered her face painting services to the Brunswick Recreation Council for holiday parties, she was encouraged by a friend to charge for her services, which she did.  She also began to market her services on her website  https://tigersandunicornsohmy.com  she established in 2018  and on Instagram and Facebook, and also  made cold calls to perspective customers.  Terry even went to face painting conventions in Washington, DC and  Florida, where she  took workshops on face painting,  marketing and balloon twisting.  She also signed up for a one year on-line program offered by the International Face Painting School  and graduated in 2020.  The business keeps Terry busy on most weekends with birthday parties, corporate parties, bachlelorette parties, and community events.   Face painting the way Terry  does it can be quite intricate, taking at least an hour.   See a sample  of her work on the right, taken from her website.  

To broaden her plein air experience Terry  joined the Loudoun Sketch Club last year and has participated in this year’s paint outs.  She produced this lovely painting  (left) last month at English Springs.    Hopefully, it will make its way to our upcoming Virginia Land Trust Show in September.  Terry clearly has the talent and determination to become a fine artist and we wish her the best in her career!