Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Elaine Nesbitt (Artist Name: FAYBEL). We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Elaine, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
Growing up as I had, with so much uncertainty cast upon my own identity—misdiagnosed mental health where autism prevailed, a pain-struck and ravenously demanding physical-self that was treated with improper medical regard, to the extent of a shattered spine from lethally undetected osteoporosis at age 29—my body was my betrayer and my voice, it was frequently disregarded, by those I trusted, by those I loved, by my own dismissive inner monologue, frequently to terrible consequence.
Misunderstandings of my physical and psychological health supplanted me in a glass house, fissured by fear. From this early life, I had and still have an immense and most instinctive need to please and an immense and most instinctual lack of self-belief in kind. Yet, with acknowledgment and understanding of this Achilles’ heel, I have learned to steadily revoke others the sole power to proctor my life decisions and step by methodically-assured step have waived their ability to inform me of my essential needs and acceptable desires. While acknowledging guidance from family that I trust, I learned to bolster my innate self, my dampened inner voice, and to transcend needless self-sabotage, for the sake of status quo, with a melody of my own making. My creativity was a song born from silence.
My confidence is more ill-perceived illusion than present truth—my seemingly insurmountable challenge, a glacial mountain with cutting, sharp incline. For me, to believe in my own capabilities is, to today, a monumental ask.
Confidence, self-esteem, self-image: each is first built upon a foundation of raw emotion: we cannot control what we instinctually feel, though we can decide how to adapt to those feelings and underline our personal strengths with action.
We as a people do not require pillars of indomitable confidence to survive, nor to garner societal success and, more pivotally, personal content. The greatest grievance I could cause was by standing motionless and docile, being immovable, non-adaptive and unaware, loosing precious moments in an indeterminable lifetime to rancid inner monologues of unfounded fear. The greatest danger in many a scenario for me was and yet is inaction over needlessly extensive allotments of time, underpinned by spiralling, feebly evidenced narratives of self-inadequacy—these paths lead to a guaranteed lack of follow through, a guaranteed undoing.
To remain in the arena of a task is to keep one step above failure—one might say that this step, this act of “staying” achieved in itself is the greatest success worth dignifying. Progress can be as seemingly ethereal as knowledge gained or self-awareness earned, though you must first stay within the bounds of the arena to risk furthering your purpose: keeping both feet firmly pressed to the course earth—this is a test of perseverance, of resilience—something any of us can succumb to through shift in perspective.
If I wanted the opportunity to achieve beyond expectation, I had to omit the concept of leaving the arena, with minimal exception. The greatest feat of showing up to attempt, to devoutly try and trial in tandem each day—this needs no great confidence to benefit from, nor succeed.
Having an honest outside party—a family member or friend, a qualified medical professional, preferably several such positively influential people—to help establish an accurate self-perception, to discuss logical facets of personal performance and ability, drawn from constructive, accurate data and collective experiences: this type of camaraderie—this type of care—can be invaluable, though it is a modality of thought that can be established independently and, I believe, this ought to be accomplished alongside. Having a methodical inner voice—my personal brand of positive self-talk and resonant reassurance—as a grounding baseline has helped me to orient and understand my position in the arts and to navigate seemingly indomitable trials with my physical health. Through such talk, I continually redefine personal limits and potentials. Perhaps this is where an illusion of confidence might arise or where it gradually transcends to truth in time.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
The fine art world is a realm where digital art is almost universally disregarded: it is the Hollywood “go to” medium, the art of movies and advertisement, known for its accessible speed, perceived cheapness and intangible value. The inundation of generative art on online platforms has further defamed the perceived merit of digital, strengthening poorly proposed, ingrained notions of its artistic inequity.
As a gallery artist working in the digital medium, my aim is to gradually circumvent this decades old stigma. Medium is merely a vehicle for creative expression: whether a piece is digitally or traditionally accomplished, the core of human experience shared is constant, unchanged.
With museum grade printing, archival fine art papers and gallery caliber custom-framing practices, I create tangible, 1 of 1 digital original giclée for exhibition viewing from my narrative, digitally painted artworks. Digital mixing techniques and traditional medium mimicry are used without generative (AI) assistance in Adobe Photoshop to paint highly expressive, sensory stimulating, artworks, each with hundreds of hours of conceptual analysis, intricate design and technical execution. Artworks are painted in the supine position with a suspended monitor and Wacom Intuos Pro M tablet, within a grey-curtained enclosure, due to severe spinal injury (see image: FAYBEL’s Studio Space – One).
My work was recently in show at Poetic Tiger Gallery (online), acting as the venue’s inaugural digitally painted piece: artworks from my collections have been on exhibit from California to New Zealand at Nanny Goat Gallery, Curio Art Gallery (online), Quirky Fox Gallery (limited-edition series) and at Gallery Nucleus with the human activist group, the Concept Art Association, since early 2022. In the fine art community, my collections are known for achieving many firsts for gallery representation in the digital medium. Several of my digitally painted artworks have been recognized by the High Art Competition and have been further showcased online with the Women United Art Movement, Marvelous Art Group and Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory.
I am concurrently writing an in-depth exploratory piece on my digital practice for the figurative, folkloric artwork Dancing with Wolves, commissioned by Hyperlux Magazine, and am scheduled to spearhead a specialty issue of 365 Art + Magazine, “Art of the Phoenix: Path to the Inner Self”, acting as the publication’s lead cover artist and guest chief editor. “Art of the Phoenix” follows the tales of prolific artists and designers, persons who have used their creative works as an outlet to help overcome and emotionally heal from seemingly indomitable life situations. The inspiration behind this issue’s theme has been my personal journey with lethally undetected stage 4 osteoporosis, underpinned by the fracture of over one third of my spinal vertebrae, coupled with the visually-expressed neurodivergence in my creative works, directed by a highly sensory-averse vein of autism. Submissions for this publication project with 365 are planned to open after my spinal reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation in late 2026.
My paintings will be showcased in this summer’s publication of Women United ART Magazine. Timbretock, one of my most popular fantasy artworks, was recently published in Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Issue 49 and Klimt-inspired The Final Request has been awarded a position in the prepublication for this year’s best science fiction and fantasy art worldwide, Infected by Art Book Volume 13.
This September 18th, my wonderful family will be representing FAYBEL at Night of Art in Niagara Falls, Canada. My art business, FAYBEL, will be finishing 2025 with the opening of an online store, accompanied by a solo exhibition at Mahtay Café & Lounge in St. Catharines, Canada from December through to January 2026.
With fellow writer and digital illustrator Eli Birdie, I am working on an initiative to elevate aspiring creatives in this new era of AI influence, generative image inundation and digital innovation, a primer for artists with podcast to literary potential. Our initiative, JESSO, coined after the popular traditional primer and medium itself, has gradually come to fruition through the professional artist group DAE (Digital Artist Exhibitions): in 2024, I personally assembled a team of eight figurative digital painters to promote and establish standards of presentation for digitally painted artworks in the gallery setting and fine art community. Our current roster includes artists of folkloric, fantastical, figurative and pop art genres: the vibrant Sara Lee, whose bold graphic elements combine with soft, feminine forms; Eli Birdie, who provides the stage for narrative interpretation with her black and white illustrative scenes; Tero Porthan, whose monochrome works delve into the lush, otherworldly realm of Finnish mythology; the Iranian artist and model Farnoosh Aryan, whose comprehensive, (self-)portraiture explores an array of socio-political and culturally historic visual themes; Damjan Gjorgievski, who champions fantastical illustration with award-winning digital works, featuring filigreed, folkloric and mythological motifs; Dani Julian, whose punk-inspired, fantasy paintings—innovative giclée on canvas—are breaking through the Los Angeles art scene; and Justine Florentino, whose elegant, feminine portraiture graces an array of professionally published comic book covers.
As a team, we are actively reaching out to acclaimed galleries and institutions, preparing for a first in-person, brick-and-mortar exhibition for digital painters of its kind, with plans to initiate our pro-digital motion through a comprehensive members directory and virtual showcase accessible online through faybelarts.com this fall.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Perseverance, discipline and empathy are the pillars of my personal-self: three core strengths that I actively lean into to further my progress in fine art, activism for creatives and support of neurodivergence. These trait totems uplift interpersonal relationships in my life to banal daily tasks. They are my three fundamental threads of being and more simple to achieve than you might expect.
Perseverance is the staying-factor, the art of actively “not leaving”. Unless your personal health or that of another is at risk, your prerogative is to omit the mental construct of “the departure”. For this, you will need two primed personal assets: focus and motivation.
To maintain focus, I use the psychological technique of sensory deprivation, which is as pivotal in the mind as it is within your venue of technical practice and physiological-self. By painting in a grey room enclosure, with a colour-calibrated, low-light monitor and 5000 Kelvin, daylight-semblance light-fixture, I translate my workspace into a mock sensory deprivation chamber. To declutter my mind and reduce chronic pain, I continually listen to fantastical fiction audiobooks in tandem. Finding methods to reduce sensory disarray is particularly pivotal for neurodivergent persons on the autism spectrum.
Perseverance requires positive motivation and, for this, I frequently find listening to Theodore Roosevelt’s powerful speech “The Man in the Arena” from 1910 as an affective assist—poetry and speech-craft, the written word, can be a potent tool. Being aligned with community groups, like the Women United Art Movement, Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory or DAE (Digital Artist Exhibitions)—with peers of similar purpose and progression—can be a further motivational boon. Isolate and avoid or, in time, overcome stimulations that spur thought-patterns of perceived inadequacy: if social media is this negative factor for you, then close it.
For discipline, clarity is key: establish firm boundaries, patterns of daily engagement and endpoints of execution and expectation. Listen to your body, your mind and debunk your physiological and psychological needs and limitations. I organize each day to exploit the region within these dual boundaries—that of body and mind—maximizing efficiency and productivity as a unit. Listen to family and friends you trust, they may notice if you are pushing much too ardently here. As a serial over-doer, I rely on my family and medical professionals implicitly: there is such a concept as “too much” and for each of us that endpoint can look and be exceedingly different. Schedule mental reprieves and adequately pace your long-term endeavours. If you need a calendar, a daily planner, then acquire one, if your memory is near eidetic like mine, then catalog your personal goals and notations within.
Of all three pillars, empathy is the catalyst: strong interpersonal relations can skyrocket your success. Being on the spectrum, I was a seemingly aloof child that lacked inherent understanding of the emotional experiences and subsequent behaviours of my peers. Since primary school, I spent ceaseless hours studying social patterns—societal nuances—to simply “make a friend”. Each person has their own unique behavioural signature—be attentive to the individual, anticipate their needs and professional desires, determine where their purpose aligns with your own work-path and direct your conversational progression succinctly there. Better understand the emotional core of your colleagues through shared experiences and observational cues of behaviour—express your intentions with clear, accessible language and make your interest apparent with body positioning, eye-contact and responsive, undivided engagement. Seemingly ridiculous, perhaps, but I respect individuality down to the emoticon and always aim for opportunities that are—for all parties—balanced and beneficial in execution.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Digital Artist Exhibitions (DAE) is currently seeking and tabulating a roster of galleries worldwide interested in supporting pro-digital (no-AI) notions and the online and/or brick-and-mortar showcase of giclée canvas and custom-framed archival paper art prints—1 of 1 digital original representations of painted artworks from a blank virtual canvas—both accomplished within programs the likes of Adobe Photoshop, Procreate and Krita. If you are a professional venue with avant-garde aspirations for digital group showcase or a gallerist interested in inviting myself independently through FAYBEL to an upcoming exhibition at your physical and/or online locale, please reach out to [email protected] for digital group showcase and [email protected] for myself specifically or DM @faybelarts on Instagram. Introductory information regarding DAE’s mission and members pool will be available on faybelarts.com this fall.
If you are interested in joining DAE as a professional digital painter, please reach out to [email protected] with a brief bio, artist statement and hyperlink(s) to your portfolio website and/or prime social media platform(s), preferably Instagram (no attached image files). Let us know why you feel your work experience and collection of digitally painted artworks (no-AI, fan art or unauthorized IP), would strengthen our team and its mission.
As an alternate note, if you are an editor interested in purchasing the partial licence to one of my painted works for short fiction magazine illustration, anthology cover work or otherwise, please reach out to [email protected] with your request and expressed interest.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://faybelarts.com/
- Instagram: @faybelarts (https://www.instagram.com/faybelarts/)
- Facebook: Faybel Arts (https://m.facebook.com/100080088589497/)
- Other: email: [email protected] BlueSky: @faybelarts.bsky.social (https://bsky.app/profile/faybelarts.bsky.social) Cara: @faybelarts (https://cara.app/faybelarts)
