Written by Anna Itkonen
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Townsville-based visual artist Sam Askin draws inspiration from his local environment and creates expressionist canvasses that exist where nature ends, and people start making their mark.
“The idea of the picturesque landscape without human influence doesn’t seem real to me. It is about where they meet,” Sam described. “The more I paint, the more I notice these moments in life. I want to keep the moments as a reference and not let them pass by.”
Beach, bucket and spade | 41 x 312cm, Oil on canvas
Sam has described his creative process as somewhat disorganised and unplanned. While there might not be definite plans, there are physical directions. “I start at the top and work my way down the canvas. I have tried working the other way, but it just feels wrong.”
Kites at the beach 3 | 30 x 21cm, Soft pastel on paper
Sam doesn’t generally paint an object. He paints what he sees once he stops seeing the leaves or the waves, the object. The canvasses are split into colours, shapes, layers and blocks, side by side and on top of each other and an image becomes the result of its colours and shapes, the way they have been layered and juxtaposed.
“I don’t underpaint as I use so many layers that the underpaint would not serve a purpose. I am not good at using colour theory; instead, I mix until I am happy with the colour. More often than not, my colours look more enhanced this way.”
Sunflower in Blue Jar | 26 x 31cm, Oil on canvas
Sam works with pastels, oils and charcoal. At an early age, he discovered his ideal mediums and style, which have remained consistent to this day. The subject often determines the mediums. Seascapes and skies tend to take form in oils, while charcoal lends itself to more emotionally charged subjects. Soft pastels, then again, regularly look like oil paints to blur the lines of mediums and subject matter.
Kites at the beach 2 | 22 x 30cm, Soft pastel on paper
Sam has described himself and his art as notoriously “goal-less”. He does something for as long as he enjoys it, and when he doesn’t, he moves on to something else. Art is a matter of building, improving and seeing growth.
Beach Sunset 4 | 76 x 51cm, Oil on canvas
Through his canvasses, Sam takes the viewer to a moment and a place in time but also invites them for an analytical journey of the painting. The deliberate choice of not painting the sides of his canvasses allows all the layers and the process to remain visible.
Beach Sunset 3 | 76 x 76cm, Oil on canvas
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