Further Into Something

Further into Something is inspired by a view taken from the side of the road during one of my many car trips around NSW. This particular trip was on the way to the Snowy Mountains a few years back.

I love the coast, but driving through rural areas with big sky, green and gold valleys, cotton candy clouds and clumps of trees has a completely different effect on me. It reminds me a lot of the Californian Hills of my youth. The top is down, and the sweet smell of grass and soil fills my senses, I find myself wishing I had a little farm stay with a small cottage and large garden. Just me, my paints and nothing but the sound of the wind through the trees. Dreams of something, as I travel further down the metaphorical road of life.

The technique I am using for this small painting is a charcoal base drawing. I add the paint in layers allowing it to pick up and mingle with the charcoals creating washes, building up the shadows, adding in the highlights and so on. I use a transparent Gesso to seal the board and paint the edges with a white gesso to further seal moisture out. The board is hand cut.

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Always fond of the subtle dynamic relationship between sea, sky and land, Samantha creates visual landscapes as a way to explore the depth of the soul's connection to our environment.

Growing up in California with her five siblings, Samantha began honing her painting style long before she graduated from the Academy of Arts San Francisco with a Bachelors of Arts in Illustration and Design. She had a career in the advertising industry as an Assistant Graphic Designer and Jr. Art Director. After a few awards and her second child, she left her advertising career and devoted her time to raising her two young boys and painting in her free time.

Leaving the Northern California coasts in 2007, she found yet another coastal haven on the beautiful Northern Beaches of Sydney. She and her two sons have called Australia home for over 15 years.

Her work is an expression of her soul inspired by the raw and beautiful locations in which she has been blessed and fortunate to live and travel.

Her paintings explore the the relationship between soul, sea, sky and land and her landscapes evoke from the viewer a deep and emotional connection, often enriched by a emotional journey and memories. Her medium of choice is Acrylic often underpainted with Charcoal and embellished with a mix of watercolour, pencils or whatever other medium is at her dispense that creates the mood for which she is striving to translate into her work.

Her work often is driven by a personal journey, emotional journey, and mood. She says, “I find it difficult to define my style as I paint what I feel and I paint first and foremost for myself. It is my means of expression, and development as a human. My work can change from day to day, and sometimes differs depending on the medium. What brings me most satisfaction is a buyer who opens up and share their personal connection to my work. Almost all of my paintings are apparitional, they transcend the constraints of an exact location and I find these creative and invented landscapes transport the buyer or viewer into their own dreams and memories. Sharing these stories with strangers, connecting through my art, is what inspires me.”