Local Artist Spotlight // Samantha DaSilva

Since moving from Brazil and then building a tiny house in Hawaii, Samantha DaSilva has found herself in Park City to be closer to family and other artists, but also because she became a lava refugee when Kilauea volcano erupted last year. Her and her partner were forced to abandon the tiny house they were building and change directions in their lives.

DaSilva was originally born in Brazil, where she was inspired from a young age by her family to pursue the arts. She quit her corporate job at a law firm 10 years ago to pursue the arts professionally. She always listened to her creative urges’ and knew that while her corporate job gave her financial stability, it was not the best fit for her personality or heart.

DaSilva’s style has transformed over the years to change with her environment. During her time in Hawaii, she focused on blues and greens. Since moving to Utah, reds inspired from iron rich rocks and copper influence her artwork. DaSilva says there is inspiration everywhere. She even has a container to collect sand and dirt to infuse into her paintings with the surrounding environment and create texture.

DaSilva loves working with plaster and metallic and pigmented powders. She also loves to be outdoors, where she is inspired to create her own mediums using local newspaper and acrylics on canvas. While in Utah, DaSilva has found something profound about the space Antelope Island and how it has inspired her in her artwork. The last time DaSilva was there, she felt as if she was walking on the surface of one of her paintings because the natural surroundings offered such a peaceful, powerful and ethereal experience. She is sure to take tons of pictures while there to refer back to when she’s in need of inspiration.

Her artwork also has increasingly gotten bigger throughout her professional art career. She recently commissioned a 9 feet by 6 feet piece for Mountain America. While painting, she looked to the building itself for inspiration. The painting will live in the building in Sandy once completed.

You can find DaSilva’s paintings for sale at Root’d on Main Street Park City. You can also catch her at the Kimball Art Center in August teaching the “Fearless Abstract Painting” workshop.

Whether you are an expert or beginner, DaSilva always loves to inspire artists to evolve and get inspiration from their surroundings…

For further details about her upcoming workshop please visit our calendar. If you are interested in reading more about DaSilva, please visit her website at https://www.samanthadasilva.com/.