Samantha Natarian, formerly Samantha Smith, is a Baltimore, MD based painter working in a form of contemporary abstract expressionism. Samantha received her BFA in Painting from Maryland Institute College of Art. While working primarily with paint & wet media, Samantha also incorporates other materials like pastel & crayons into her work to create texture.  Her current source of inspiration stems from color, light & opacity, as well as a theme of self-discovery and reflection. Samantha aims to create a sense of depth in her two-dimensional paintings through the use of repetition, transparency and layering of mark-making. Her current body of work is based on experimentation and spontaneity where each mark she applies to the painting informs the next without prior intention.

My work has been heavily focused on experimenting with different marks and supplies to see what kind of effects I can achieve. I primarily use latex and acrylic paints along with a variety of tools to create the marks that I make. The imagery in my work is imagined and formed mainly by the brushstroke or impression which is made from whatever tool I’m using. The work is concerned with color relationships and the interaction of different colors based on the properties of the paint as well as a new theme of introspection I’ve started to develop. I’m interested in creating a physical and emotional depth within a flat surface by using a repeated mark in an almost obsessive way. I’m currently focused on color, light, contrast and the relationship between transparency & opacity and how it affects our understanding of color. My hope is for viewers to create their own perception of the work without a preconceived notion and to encourage introspection.