Instagram story viewer> @char.does.arttt> Posts

Char’s Art 👩‍🎨

@char.does.arttt

1.3K

followers

239

following

Drawing • Painting • Photography
Exploring the subconscious mind 👁️‍🗨️
3rd year BFA at NSCAD 🎨
@charlotte.salley @crystalcoreca

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

“You Will Travel Far and Wide” 1/3 🗺️📍 (checkout the other two posts for better photos and further descriptions of the symbolism ❤️‍🔥)

“You Will Travel Far and Wide” is my most valued artwork, a deeply personal reflection of my adventurous spirit and desire for expansion. Travel is my greatest aspiration — an endless journey of exploration, learning, and personal growth. How can we truly know ourselves if we don’t know the world around us? Beyond societal class and material wealth, what truly matters is who we are and what we offer to the world. 🌎 ✨

In this piece, you are drawn into the dystopian vision of my traveling dreams. The foreground blooms with a breathtaking wave of flower petals, each intricately detailed with swirling mark-making and warm hues of pink, orange, and yellow. I stand at the heart of this flower, symbolizing growth, transformation, and the act of blooming into one’s fullest self. 🌸 Each petal represents a different path of adventure and learning. As these petals extend into the middle ground, they dissolve into the background landscape, transforming into distinct destinations — each one a reflection of a journey yet to unfold. The flower’s intricate pattern continues into all of these paths, illustrating the deep connection between all experiences. ♾️

To deepen the symbolism of this piece, I received the fortune “You will travel far and wide” in a fortune cookie during my dad’s traditional birthday celebration, which is also Christmas Eve. At the time, I was working on this drawing over the Christmas break, making the message feel even more serendipitous. This moment ultimately inspired the title of the artwork. 🥠

✏️18 x 24 in. Pencil, Black Micron Pen 05, Gouache.

#artist #artwork #drawing #traveldrawing #halifaxnovascotia #gouache #micronpen taken in Halifax, Nova Scotia by @char.does.arttt

78

19

2 years ago

“You Will Travel Far and Wide” 2/3 📍🗺️ (checkout the other two posts!)

The Landscape: A Journey Through Civilization and Nature
The background is divided into two worlds, split by the golden sun at the center. To the left, civilization rises with architectural and cultural wonders from around the world. To the right, nature’s raw beauty unfolds in various breathtaking landscapes.

🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒Left: Civilization
On the left side, the journey begins with cultural landmarks and historic cities:

🇬🇷🧿 Greece – Recognizable by its iconic white and blue architecture, cobblestone streets lead into a Mediterranean dreamscape.

🇮🇹🛶🍝Italy – A canal flows beneath a Venetian bridge, complete with gondolas and a water bus, leading toward a vibrant mountainside village.

🇫🇷🍷🏰France – The path dissolves into the Château de Chenonceau, an elegant castle bridging across a river, followed by the medieval Carcassonne fortress in the distance.

🇮🇩🌴Bali, Indonesia – A traditional temple gate opens to a lush tropical setting, with rooftops among dense forests and towering palm trees.

🇦🇺 🏙️🏖️Queensland, Australia – The coastline meets the horizon, home to the world’s largest coral reef, with waves gently washing onto shore.

The transition between each location is seamless, bound together by the flower’s swirly mark making pattern that echo the connectivity of cultures and experiences. ♾️

🌞🌀The Sun: A Universal Constant
At the heart of the composition, the sun radiates warmth across the scene, casting shadows behind my silhouette and illuminating the vast world around it with yellow highlights. A spiral motif sits at its core, symbolizing the nonlinear nature of life’s journey. No matter where we travel, we always return to the same sunset — just as we always return to the core of who we are, beyond external constructs. 🧘‍♀️

#artist #artwork #drawing #gouache #micronpen #travelart #greece #italy #france #bali by @char.does.arttt

55

6

2 years ago

“You Will Travel Far and Wide” 3/3 📍🗺️ (checkout the other two posts!)

The Landscape: A Journey Through Civilization and Nature

🌱 Right: Nature’s Vastness
On the right, the landscapes shift from human civilization to nature’s various biomes:

🏔️Glacier National Park, Montana – A train rides the edge of a mountain, while a plane soars above, symbolizing Charlotte’s future travels.

💦Huay Mae Kamin Waterfall, Thailand – A mossy rock path leads to a turquoise waterfall pool.

⛏️Soreq Cave, Jerusalem – Stalactites and stalagmites rise as the path transforms into a cave.

🌋Volcanic and Canyon Terrain – Green mountains blend into desert landscapes, where a volcano erupts in shades of grey and yellow smoke, contrasting with the soft purples of a sunset-lit sky.

🏜️Grand Canyon, Arizona – Layers of vibrant red rock formations rise from a water-filled valley, each contour shaped by a distinct mark-making technique.

🌵Arizona Desert – A vast, cracked expanse extends from the canyon, representational of a common terrain in the American Southwest.

🐪Arabic Sand Dunes – The final path dissolves into an expanse of golden dunes, marked by swirling lines and deep footprints fading into the distance.

🌀🧘‍♀️The Flow of Mark-Making: A Meditative State

Each path is characterized with intricate lines, drawn with a black micron pen. Initially, I didn’t plan to include such an intense layer of drawing, but as I let the flow take over, the act of mark-making became a meditative experience. It started with the stalagmite cave, where small curved lines shaped the cave’s rugged textures. As I continued, I allowed each path to dictate its own pattern, reflecting the energy and emotion of that space. This intuitive process added another layer of depth, which allowed for more interpretation of the psyche and its involvement in this creative practice. Essentially, the flow of the mark-making reinforces the idea that creativity — like life itself — is a continuous, interconnected dance of exploration and discovery.

#artist #artwork #drawing #halifaxnovascotia #gouache #micronpen #travelart #markmaking #landscapeart taken in Halifax, Nova Scotia by @char.does.arttt

61

11

2 years ago

neon tokyo cyber city escapeeeee hehehhe grand theft auto on draculaura shhh don’t tell 🧛‍♀️🤫✨🏁😈🫧🤐🧪💖⛓️🖤🧟‍♀️

stay tuned for this silly side quest… 💫

#monsterhigh #cybercity #drumandbass #neontokyo #productphotography by @char.does.arttt

39

2

a day ago

hiiiii I realized I posted this with no sound yesterday… pretend you didn’t see it… my bad 😅

snow.queen._.creeper x.˳·˖✶𓆩𓁺𓆪✶˖·˳.

#techno #psytrance #cyberpunk #y3k #trippyvisuals by @char.does.arttt

73

13

3 days ago

Product photography for lighting 1 last winter! 🫀

If only I still had my stop motion monster high youtube episodes :’)

Full circle. She was always a ghoul 🧛‍♀️🩷⛓️🎀💋👾🔮🫧

#monsterhigh #monsterhighdolls #halloween #productphotography by @char.does.arttt

167

27

9 days ago

Nude Model Painting Study - Intermediate Painting
Oil and acrylic paint on canvas
Winter 2026

I really enjoyed making this. We had two 3 hour sessions with the model, both felt super intuitive and free flowing. I also love the rich and expressive brushstrokes that working big allows you to make.

We were looking at famous portrait painter, Alice Neel for her exaggeration of the subject’s features, colour blocking and intentional white space. Finally, this was my interpretation. 🌟

#artschool #oilpainting #portraiture #portraitpainting #psychedelicpainting by @char.does.arttt

55

0

11 days ago

Live nude model painting study I did in intermediate painting last winter! Mix of oil and acrylic paint. We had two 3 hour sessions with the model. I really enjoyed making this. Felt super intuitive and free flowing. I also love the rich and expressive brushstrokes that working big allows you to make. We were looking at famous portrait painter, Alice Neel for her exaggeration of the subject’s features, colour blocking and intentional white space. Finally, this was my interpretation.

#artschool #oilpainting #portraiture #portraitpainting #psychedelicpainting taken in NSCAD University by @char.does.arttt

142

9

12 days ago

1k

51

15 days ago

Toy still life !! 🎀🫧📚🌈🦕🌟🐴 High-chroma/high-intensity colour vs desaturated colour! Which one do you prefer?

I did this study in my intro painting class at NSCAD :3

#oilpainting #acrylicpainting #stilllifepainting #dreamcore #artstudent by @char.does.arttt

192

12

17 days ago

Healing Lost Places With Light 💫
Photography and Post Production
April 2026

During my 2026 winter semester, for my final Lighting project, I explored the abandoned Upper Clements Park in Nova Scotia through self-portraiture, long exposure, pop-and-drag (speedlite flash), and light painting using a DIY lametta tinsel flashlight wand. This body of work explores the loss of time and the act of revisiting abandoned spaces through memory.

This series guides viewers through the partially demolished park, revealing the uncanny beauty of what remains. Throughout the photographs, the recurring figure of myself represents someone who once inhabited and experienced these spaces before they were abandoned, referencing the soul’s attachment to physical places and the ways we process memory and trauma. Clothed in white, the figure suggests an elevated or altered state of consciousness, one that mentally and energetically travels through these spaces. It serves as a light body, symbolically healing the environment through magical wands of light.

At the bridge, darker energies begin to emerge as a duality presents itself. The checkered floor became the battleground. A palo santo smudging bundle appears throughout the photographs and was burned between each scene to cleanse the space. Before photographing, I expressed peace, love, and gratitude for each location, not wanting to disrespect any energies that might have been present. I also spoke words intended to cleanse and dispel negativity from the space.

By exploring a piece of Nova Scotia’s history through nostalgia, the uncanny, and metaphysical themes, this project examines ghosts, trauma, and the persistence of memory. It reflects on our attachment to place, our longing for what once was, and our curiosity about what remains.

Ultimately, it asks how we revisit these spaces, both physically and mentally, and questions the relationship between the two. 👁️‍🗨️✨🌀

#lightpainting #longexposurephotography #urbanexploring #ghosthunting #liminalspaces taken in Upper Clements Park by @char.does.arttt

3

23

a month ago

꧁༒༺ 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑦𝑒𝑟 1: 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑦? 𝑆𝐸𝐿𝐸𝐶𝑇: 𝑌𝐸𝑆 𝑂𝑅 𝑁𝑂

𝒀𝑬𝑺 𝑺𝑬𝑳𝑬𝑪𝑻𝑬𝑫

Song 1: escape - jacal @jacalmusic
Song 2: DREAM - Romance Planet @romanceplanet
Song 3: FALL FROM THE SKY PT 2. - Romance Planet
Song 4: Mr. Saxobeat - Alexandra Stan

*ʸᵒᵘ ᵃˡˢᵒ ᵐᵃᵈᵉ ᶠʳⁱᵉⁿᵈˢ :)

#liminalspaces #dreamcore #shuffle #pleinairpainting #backrooms taken in Turret Arts Space by @char.does.arttt

3

16

2 months ago