 I feel deeply grateful for the opportunity to have a Solo Gallery Exhibit at this stage in my life.
'The Illuminated Desert' is the culmination of my 13-year professional arts career consisting of 27 original paintings which embody my 5 key principles for art-making: 1. Overcoming fear & experiencing freedom continues to be my primary impetus for making art and being a full-time artist. 2. Art is a tool for transformation & personal empowerment. I am living proof. 3. Infusing the environment into my work is a means through which I gather information about place & makes me feel like I belong to where I am. 4. We can’t help it. We paint who we are. The canvas is our mirror. 5. Aligning my consciousness with a “higher power” transforms art-making into a meditative practice of surrender vs control. A huge & heartfelt thank you to all the family & friends who continue to encourage & support my work. A special thanks to Susan Bonosconi for having the faith in me to bring this dream to reality. 'The Illuminated Desert' October 21 - November 11 Alpine Art Gallery SLC, UT  Since I infuse the Utah environment into my paintings, I think it’s only right to give back to organizations advocating to protect the lands we love.
This painting just sold & helped to raise funds in support of Utah Open Lands It was created as an homage to the Utah landscape using: iron-rich Utah dirt, salt from the Great Salt Lake, foraged sawdust from the 2020 Utah windstorm, local newspaper, acrylic paint, plaster & copper pigments to the painted surface. ‘Transcendence’ acrylic & mixed media on canvas 24 x 48 in.  Somatic Painting is an embodied art making practice that explores the relationship between the psychophysical experience of corporeal structures & artistic gesture.
Using the body as a tool for art making through mindful movement and the breath to remain present and grounded in each moment. The process is greater than the outcome. 'My Body Of Work' acrylic & mixed media on canvas 6 x 9 feet  Flat, polished, smooth. Raised, rough, coarse. Cut, incised, pitted, scratched, uneven. Hairy, sticky. Soft, hard. Shiny, glossy, reflective. Semigloss, satin, silk, frosted, matte.
By this point in my career, I have done just about everything to the surface of the canvas. This is precisely why this might be the most difficult and perfect painting I have ever made.  "In contrast to the etherealness of emotion, Samantha also infuses the concreteness of place into her paintings by using local, natural materials. “There’s been a lot of movement in my life,” says Samantha. “Another theme that has been constant in my work is home and belonging. Incorporating the environment into my pieces is a way to feel like I belong to where I am and to tell a story on the canvas about place.”
To celebrate and connect to the Utah landscape, Samantha uses the area’s unique red dirt, local sawdust, and salt from the Great Salt Lake to add texture and interest to her paintings." Danielle Vigueria, Western Home Journal | Park City, UT  'Wish Believe', 'Under the Stars', 'Divine Feminine' & 'The Light Within'
acrylic & mixed media on canvas 12 x 12 in. each |
