 A delightful visit to the University of Utah’s new Helix Building with Gallery MAR owner Maren Mullein.
So excited to finally see my work installed in this beautiful space. Deeply grateful to the University of Utah, the Public Art Division of Utah Arts & Museums, and everyone involved for including my pieces in this meaningful project.  Every artist knows the blank canvas isn’t truly blank. It’s alive with possibility, vulnerability, and the quiet fear of letdowns.
In my studio, every new piece begins the same way: I write mantras across the canvas first: setting intention, tone, and heart into the surface. Later layers of texture and paint will slowly bury the words, but I believe their energy remains. Felt. Carried. Shared between us.  A Morning Poem
How can life speak to you in a way you will truly hear? Is it through the shifting clouds? The morning song of birds? The quiet trickle of water? A sudden sunbeam warming your skin? The empty center of a pot that still holds everything? The deep peace that arrives when you finally stop? Follow your soul’s quiet yearning. It is right. It is true. Listen. Feel. There is no denying this. This is real. You don’t have much time left. May 4th, 2026 Santa Fe, NM A heartfelt thank you to Maren and Gallery MAR for creating such a special container for connection, inspiration, and genuine conversation — and to the artists who so graciously welcomed us into their lives and studios: Georgia O’Keeffe, Siri Hollander, Maura Allen, Michael Kessler, and Jamie Burnes.  This diptych is heading to Texas.
The boots are officially jealous. Grateful to Gallery MAR for continuing to send my work out into the world. https://www.gallerymar.com/artists/samantha-da-silva  In my 18 years of teaching, this stands as one of the most meaningful experiences I’ve had.
These veterans reminded me of the power of memory, time, human connection, and the courage to create, regardless of age or circumstance. Celebrating the beautiful work from the Utah Museum of Fine Arts’ Creative Aging Workshops: Watercolor Memories by Mathew Brasher & Fearless Abstraction by Samantha da Silva Deep thanks to the William E. Christoffersen Salt Lake Veterans Home, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Ashley Farmer, and Laura Sharp Wilson for making this possible.  Took a finished painting to a shooting range on the Great Salt Lake and used it as target practice.
When in Utah.  Delighted to attend the student art show celebrating the Utah Museum of Fine Arts’ Creative Aging Exhibition for community members 55+.
It was wonderful to see several pieces by my students from the 8-week Fearless Abstract Painting workshop on display. Their creativity, courage, and joy filled the room.  Before I touch a painting with color, I pick up a paint roller and write the intentions across the raw canvas.
For example: “Let’s be friends. I love you.”  I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to work with our veterans, made possible by the Utah Museum of Fine Arts and Laura Wilson.
This experience continues to be profound. These men are so close to the end of life. Every visit feels like it could be the last, which makes everything they say carry extra weight. I don’t know if they consciously feel how near they are to death. Maybe none of us truly do, no matter our age. But I feel it when I’m with them — and that awareness makes every story, every small moment, feel sacred. Most of them had never painted before, yet they show up each week willing to try something new. That courage is incredibly inspiring. Today, one resident named Joe stopped me in my tracks. For seven weeks we’ve been using Utah landscapes as inspiration, but Joe keeps turning every painting into the desert of his Arizona home. Painting home. A quiet yearning for home. It choked me up. I almost cried right there in the studio.  Eyes closed again!
Fresh work delivered to Gallery MAR. https://www.gallerymar.com/artists/samantha-da-silva Some things never change. |