What Makes an Artist: Samantha Tipler
Inspired by the French Impressionists, this Adelaide-based painter has recreated her own colourful optical effects of light and nature. Samantha Tipler seeks to transfer energy of a place or time onto the canvas, using movement, texture and colour. Talking to Samantha you can feel the warm, effervescent energy she oozes, and see the spark in her eyes when she talks about the inspiration behind her work. “I really wanted to capture the energy and battle of day and night you see in a sunset,” she says of her recent work inspired by the energy of the sunsets at Henley Beach, SA.
Samantha with one of her recent paintings.
Growing up in England and moving to Adelaide at a young age may have subconsciously influenced the way she interprets and portrays the colour and energy of an Australian landscape. “I can definitely see the differences from here compared to England. The colours, smells and energy is different, so perhaps that experience did influence my subject matter. I’ve never painted a scene from England. I’ve always loved the sunsets here, the colours of the Flinders Ranges (South Australia) -even the details of shells inspire me.”
Before her career as a painter, Samantha studied education (specialising in art) at university, which ignited her passion for art and design. She never became a teacher, but went on to study design and worked in marketing, events and PR back in England. These days she has her own design and communications agency in Adelaide that fills her time between painting and life with her fiancé and “studio dog”.
‘Good Golly Miss Molly’ by Samantha
Her formal art training has allowed Samantha to consider the composition of her subject in terms of colours, textures and lines, and transfer this to the canvas as a base to then create vibrant, abstract depictions of nature. “You need to know what the rules are to be able to break them.” Samantha explains the process she uses to create a piece by taking photos of a place or moment to then paint from, however it doesn’t always work well. “I went to Uluru and felt such a strong energy being there. I took heaps of photos so I could remember the moment and paint it, but when I got home and looked at the photos I just lost the feeling. I really need to feel something when I paint.”
‘Flowing Delight‘ by Samantha
Samantha tries to recreate an energetic atmosphere at her exhibition openings too, with an array of activities joining the event. “For the opening of my exhibition at Adelaide Fringe this year I had Voodoo Art by Vanessa body painting live and sunset themed cocktails, which was the theme of the exhibition. I’ve also previously had a Cabaret artist playing a Ukulele, a comedian doing a set instead of speeches – and cheese, wine and tea tastings.”
When asked what we should expect from Samantha in the future, she replies with plans of her upcoming SALA exhibition at the British Hotel and her trip to Europe. “I’m hoping to get some inspiration while overseas, maybe even paint from the beautiful buildings in Amsterdam which is a bit different from my usual work. Other than that I don’t have much planned, I’m pretty open to just see how it all goes!”
‘Englishman’s Envy‘ by Samantha
Keep an eye out for Samantha’s upcoming SALA exhibition. View more of Samantha’s artwork and buy online here.
