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Samantha James

Samantha James

Studio Art

Artist Biography: Samantha James was born and raised in Jacksonville, Arkansas. Growing up, her family encouraged the pursuit of creative hobbies so she was always surrounded by arts and crafts. Her older brother used to draw comical illustrations. He would be so excited about his drawings it inspired James to keep drawing too. Taking after her brother, she started drawing characters inspired by her friends using graphite and colored pencils.

As she grew, she continued drawing and exploring other mediums. Eventually, she pursued her bachelors in Studio Art and Design at Southern Arkansas University. While there, she was introduced to acrylic paint. At first annoyed by the new medium, James eventually was won over by its flexibility and variety of techniques as well as its compatibility with other mediums. Once accustomed to the medium, her paintings evolved to be more abstract in nature exploring symbolism as a way of conveying messages. This is due to her being inspired by the figurative abstract work of Richard Diebenkorn as well as the symbolism of Frida Kahlo’s work.

Artist Statement: My artistic journey has always been influenced by my life and state of mind.  I’ve worked with a variety of mediums but my current favorite is acrylic painting and chalk pastels because of their flexibility as well as their compatibility with other mediums.

The two artists who influence me the most are Richard Diebenkorn and Frida Kahlo. Diebenkorn’s paintings of abstract and simplified figures inspire me to experiment with painting more abstract and painterly. Frida Kahlo, through her self portraits and her symbolism, inspires me to look at my own life for subject matter and also to take on a more symbolic approach to my paintings.

Mental states and emotions are concepts I explore in many of my paintings. Emotions are confusing and working through the concepts on a tangible surface such as canvas or wood is cleansing.  The beauty of painting emotions, is that no two people experience emotions the same way and no two people process or express those emotions the same way either.  And yet despite these differences, emotions connect all of us.

Samantha's Work

Peace of Mind
Peace of Mind

Weapons of Peace

Muted Rainbow
Muted Rainbow

The Heaviness of Happiness

Fly Away
Fly Away

Release the Butterflies!

Confusion
Confusion

Mandela Malfunction

Woven in Place
Woven in Place

The Ropes That Bind Us

Senior Capstone Presentation of Work