We were lucky to catch up with Sami Jacq recently and have shared our conversation below.
Sami, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
Growing up, I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do with my life. It changed on such a consistent basis. In my junior year of high school, I had decided to buy a van and drive around the country recording people’s stories and exploring different states. Then senior year came around and I discovered that I have synesthesia, a condition where senses are mixed up and sound reveals itself as color. A door slamming shut, a person’s voice, and songs all have different colors, textures, and movements. I was convinced this was widely experienced until I started painting songs that I loved and my friends and family were confused when I showed them my art and said, “this is what this song looks like”. A few months later, my favorite band reached out to me and asked me to present some of their songs at an art show that they were putting together. Showing hundreds of people my work and hearing the stories of other artists there made me realize that being an artist was a viable career option, and it was something I could see myself doing for the rest of my life. With the encouragement from the art show, I applied to the Savannah College of Art and Design. My first two years there were filled with me trying to find my style outside the realm of synesthesia. We had specific project that wouldn’t fit the mold of songs, so I was forced to expand my painting. I had convinced myself that I was the type of artist to make bright, fun, almost boisterous art, so I packed my book bag with neon paint and sparkles. It took me until my sophomore year to realize that I was not that person. I was innately more drawn to the darker, moodier tones. In my sophomore year at SCAD, a professor assigned a project with the only requirements being to paint a large flower on a self-made 50″ x 50″ canvas. I fell in love with painting flowers and blending the oil paint to make moody portraits of nature.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m an oil painter who focuses mainly on photorealistic flowers. I’m highly inspired by art history, especially 17th century Dutch still life paintings, and the hidden meanings and iconography from the past influence my work. I look at the beauty and frailty of flowers as a reflection of our own lives, including darker tones in my work to drive forward the idea of inevitable death. But my Christian faith plays a role in my creativity, and I can’t speak of the fragility of life without highlighting hope. All in all, my paintings are a conversation between death and hope.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
My mind immediately goes to “buy art”, but I think there are so many more ways to support an artist, all of which boil down to encouragement. Liking, commenting, and sharing posts mean more than people think. Social media is a great tool for people to connect, and its an even greater tool for artists to share their work. Getting feedback can be the push that an artist needs to create their next piece.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Before I went to college, I honestly didn’t know of any resources to view art other than Pinterest. Artsy is one of the best apps to view art. You can follow different artists and galleries, look at upcoming shows in your area, read articles about what’s trending in the art world, and more. I sometimes go down rabbit trails where I find an artist I like, see what galleries they’re in, find other artists in that gallery, and repeat the cycle. There is so much art in the world, and it really requires a devoted amount of time to search it out. I’m also an art-book-lover. Going to bookstores that carry secondhand books and finding art history books that are too large to fit on my shelf is one of my favorite things. It may sound nerdy, but the Google Arts and Culture app doesn’t get enough credit. My love for art history translates into a love for art museums, and this app helps me to lengthen my list of the museums I want to go to and organize what pieces I want to see most at each museum.
Contact Info:
- Website: samijacqart.com
- Instagram: @samijacqart