Columbia artist creates image of Faye Swetlik to ‘capture her essence’
Faye Swetlik’s love of bright colors and her spirited personality captivated Columbia artist Gracie Newton.
Those vibrant qualities inspired Newton to create a vivid and energetic portrait that began circulating on Cayce’s online community this week.
“I wanted to create something to memorialize (Faye),” Newton said, “to capture what type of person she was from the articles I read.”
Newton, like most, came to know these characteristics of Faye’s because of the tragic and public circumstances of her death.
Faye went missing while playing outside near her mother’s home on Feb. 10. After an extensive search by police, her body was found Feb. 13 in a wooded area in the neighborhood where she lived. She was killed by a 30-year-old neighbor, who died by suicide, police said.
Faye’s death brought anguish and heartbreak to the Cayce community, a feeling that also hit Newton. She saw herself in Faye.
“I remember playing outside with my brother and sisters when I was little,” Newton said.
She read all the stories about Faye and took in people’s remembrances of the “bubbly” girl who loved dresses and was loved by her teachers and classmates. She saw the photos of Faye being carefree and playful.
Newton’s consternation over Faye’s death clashed with the image of the colorful, happy child she’d learned about. She wanted to turn the hurt into joy.
That’s how she came to create her portrait of Faye.
Inspired by a photo of a smiling Faye that showed off her blue eyes and red hair, Newton animated the image in a way that emphasized that toothy grin and the strands of childishly free-flowing locks. She set the rendering against a background of a rainbow in different hues of pink and purple, Faye’s favorite colors, and embellished the background with stars that are encircled with bubble-like textures, a reference to the child’s bubbly personality.
Newton added a flower for Faye’s girlish disposition and gave her wings “because I heard people say that ‘heaven really gained an angel when they gained Faye,’” she said.
“I thought that really captured her essence and how spunky people said that she was and how positive she was and uplifting.”
She made it just for herself, Newton said, to express the emotions she felt for Faye. She posted the illustration on the Instagram she uses for her art. Then people started asking to share the image on social media. WLTX, the television station, asked to use the image, and it was used by the City of Cayce when it announced that Friday, the day of Faye’s memorial service, would be dedicated to wearing bright colors for Faye.
If Newton’s name was never attached to the image, that would be okay with her, she said. She didn’t create the memorial for any social credit but does hope as many people as possible see the piece of art and that it brings joy to them, even for a moment.
But she hopes one person in particular see’s her creation and feels that joy — Faye’s mother.
Newton hasn’t spoken with or met Faye’s mother but she’s going to try to reach out after the mom has time to grieve.
She wants to give Faye’s mother a framed version of the illustration.
“I’d love to be able to give her something that she would be able to hang in her home forever,” she said.