Artists That Inspire: Samantha French

With temperatures rising I am starting to feel the itch to head to the sea.. Well any sort of pool of water will do. It's that time of year to go swimming, sailing, kayaking, and other water activities. My favourite memories are of that first plunge after a hard days work in my grandparent's pond. The cool murky water enveloping me, and finding silent peaceful state. I find that feeling of peace and contentment floating in water, as long as someone isn't cannonballing nearby! The painter Samantha French recreates those feeling for me in her painting of swimmers underwater. She says,

"My current body of work is focused on swimmers underwater and above. Using vague yet consuming memories from my childhood summers spent immersed in the tepid lakes of northern Minnesota, I attempt to recreate the quiet tranquillity of water and nature; of days spent sinking and floating, still and peaceful.  These paintings are a link to my home and continual search for the feeling of the sun on my face and warm summer days at the lake.  They are my escape, a subtle reprieve from the day-to-day.  At the same time, I am drawn to an idealistic time before my own, where swim caps and wool swimsuits were commonplace. This combination of memory, observation and photography (old and new) has allowed me to preserve the transitory qualities of water and remembrance."

                                             Samantha French in her Brooklyn Studio

"Surface Break"

"Breathing at the surface I"

"Twist; let go"

"Twilight"

I find these pieces very peaceful, like the gentle rocking motion you get when you float on the surface of the ocean. These works and others can be found on Samantha French's site here.