We were lucky to catch up with Samantha Girouard recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Samantha thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I mainly want to talk about my art and why I choose to do pinup style artwork. Pinup, and really much of the art world and the pieces created, are very much centered to the male gaze and subsecyutly their fantasies. As an artist, I understand the want to show case how beautiful the human body is, and to almost worship it through my art. That being said, as a woman, I cannot ignore the fact that that is not really what is happening in many art pieces, especially in pinup. This form of art is specifically catered to the male gaze not the worship, and acknowledgement, of the beauty of the human body but to instead to oversexualize, and therefore dehumanize, it so men don’t feel bad about how they are looking at women. Pinup art is suppose to be a fantasy of your desires, desires don’t ALWAYS need to equate to sex, but not just for anyone, only men. I wish to change that. I try to combine my love for women, feminine rage and my love of horror all into one. I’m attempting to toe the line of embracing women’s sexuality, that sometimes even existing outside of men, while also embedding a sense of catharsis and feminine rage into my pinup. I want to acknowledge that women can also have sexual desires like anyone else, including men, but are still human beginnings with complex volatile emotions. We can lust, become enraged, or even love, however, typically in the pinup world women are only allowed to be a meat suit for men to sexualize to their heats content. If these women, drawn or real, show any emotion, or seem to have their own desires men get uncomfortable. Even if that woman or drawn images seems to want the same thing as him. I suspect that’s because he’d have to admit that women are human beginnings and can have the same desires as him. Considering all that I try to make my pinup art reflect more of my own desires, though as I hinted earlier that’s not always sexual, or at least, not entirely sexual. I love drawing demonic, witchy, bloody, or even as the living dead. My subconscious rage at how women around the world are treated seeping into my art. My pinup showcase my darkest desires of bathing in these mens blood while I, read as my pinup girls, stand triumphantly over them embracing the very thing these men seem to never want to acknowledge, my sexuality and the fact that the human body can be sexy but isn’t inherently sexy. That the human body can be absolutely disgusting just as much as it can be enticing. My meaningful project is attempting to reshape the pinup world to not just be about mens sexual desires but everyone diners even the secrete dark desires we might have. Obviously I’d never actually hurt someone or treat someone the way women and other marginalized groups are treated but that doesn’t meant mean that their isn’t a part of me that fantasizes about it to act as a cathartic release. I understand not everyone will like or understand my pinup art style, but that’s okay. In the immortal words of all my fellow chronically online people, “the girlies who get it, get, and the girlies that don’t, don’t”. Clearly my pinup art is more personal than one might think when first looking at it, and I’ll be honest, sometimes I just want to draw a scarily sexy women because I love women but even then, even drawing these naked women I can’t help but being reminded that I’m still not oversexulizing them the way the world dose. That’s sad and hopefully the girls, the gays, and the they can find some solace in my art.

Samantha, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Samantha Girouard, aka Sammy G, aka, SGG Studio. I am an illustrator and designer who specializes in pinup, cartoon, horror art. I’m 25, so just barely in the Gen Z category. I’m originally from Wisconsin but am currently living in Arizona. I have been drawing, crafting, creating and designing for as long as I can remember. My mom even told that sometimes it felt like if I stopped creating, I would die, as if art is my oxygen, my source of life. And she’s not entirely wrong. I dabble in anything and. Everything, from drawing, to painting, to DIY-ing clothes, making clothes, making jewelry or even crocheting. I love it all. However, my bread and butter is defiantly illustration. Early on I fell involve with all things alternative thanks to my parents exposing me to alternative music at an early age, and then falling in love with horror around the ages of 7-10 with the books Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, RL Stein and Goosebumps. So, it really should shock anyone that my art is a combination of my love of alternative music and horror. I feel it might be important to note that I am also a queer woman, which partially explains why I make pinup art. I am pansexual so I can see the humanity and beauty in men, women, intersex and nonbinary people. I try to showcase that in my art but I don’t always know how successful I am. I am very proud of my art specifically my take on pinup art. I have a complicated relationship with the pinup world and want to offer my thought and emotions to it. I try to brand my art as an empowering thing rather than dehumanizing, though I acknowledge not even would agree, and more inclusive. I of course am always working on bettering these aspects of my art and don’t think I’ll ever stop. My art is defiantly geared more to women, fem presenting people, and the queer community but that doesn’t’ mean straight cis-gender men aren’t welcome, it just means that if they wish to be in this community they must better themselves and treat all of us with respect. That’s it. I won’t tolerate bigotry and if I am ever doing something that is hurting people I would hope those how enjoy my art would respect me enough to reach out and tell me so I can better myself or at the very least agree to disagree and be more mindful moving forward. My art and brand are all about showing a more importing way to view the human body, specifically the female body, while hopefully proving some much needed catharsis as well. I wish to bring your dreams, or your nightmares true. Sometimes, maybe even both. That’s why I’ve started to use “pleasant nightmares” as a calling card or sign-off, especially on my TikTok. Again, I embed my love of horror and empowerment into my art, so doing my own spin on Elvira’s catchphrase just seemed right. Not only is she a horror icon, but also a feminist icon, and my icon, as well. I try to always embed all of this into my art and will continue to do so.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Something I think non creative types get confused about when it comes to artist is that art isn’t actually a NATURAL talent. No one knows how to draw right away. We aren’t born with a paintbrush in our hands. We are however born with a passion to learn and persevere. THAT’S are natural talent, are will and motivation to learn how to create. But, art and creating, isn’t easy, in fact its extremely difficult to do. It’s why I think some many of us creative types have a love hate relationship with art, we are constantly learning and practicing witch means we get more creative and are eyes get better at spotting what we want and don’t, sometimes faster than are muscle memory can catch up to causing us to feel like we are doing something wrong, even when we aren’t. It difficult to love doing something and learning about it while also understanding you will never perfect it because it’s an abstract thing that doesn’t have a right or wrong way of doing it. I hope if any non creatives come across this they can better understand artist and what I am saying. Along with creativity not necessarily being natural talent, I think some non creatives don’t understand that we don’t make art for others, or for monetary value, alone. Yes, there are certain times where we might make art for the purpose of consumption and money, but that doesn’t mean that the only son we are making art. If fact, I’d argue most art is made more so for the artist themselves and maybe 10% is made so they can make a living doing something creative. I mean, would you rather be stuck in an industry that you hate, or work in an industry that gives the time and options to incorporate something you love into it? I would advise that other artist try to do something that will not fully ruin your love of creation but has just enough elements of it so you don’t go crazy. But again, most art is made not to make money off of it but, for the artist to better understand and communicate with the world around them. To add their voice to the world when they don’t know how to, to create something they feel is missing. Of course, it doesn’t hurt knowing someone would happily pay you to continue doing what you love. I think anyone would agree on that.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think the absolute best way to support artist is to try and buy directly from the source. If they have a website or an Etsy store, or if you can reach out and ask for commissions, I’d advise trying to support them through those channels. If you can’t afford to buy art from them, because art can be expensive, then you can always follow, like, comment and share their art on social media platforms. If you do this make sure you are crediting them or directing people directly to their socials. And finally, in the age of technology and fast advancements, resist the urge to use AI. I don’t want to get to into it because I’m afraid it might lead me to go on a rant, but long story short, AI is incredibly disrespectful and destructive to the art world and creatives. It steals and belittles artist and what we don. It was supposed to be a tool we could use but it’s becoming more obvious that is not the real purpose. Please be a kind and an empathetic person and say NO to AI. So just to recap, the best ways to support artist is to buy from the source support them online and say no to AI.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sggstudio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_sggstudio_/?hl=en
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-girouard/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSRY_V91jC8CppeeOQMtFlg
• Other: https://sggstudio.etsy.com

Image Credits
CC Illustrations BY Samantha Girouard, aka SGG Studio