We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sam Iaconi. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sam below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Sam with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
My mother and father have always been my biggest inspirations. They overcame so much in their life to provide for my brothers and I. They would pull long work shifts and still find the time and money for all of our extracurricular goals. My mother worked in the automotive repair industry for over 20 years as one of the only women on the team, and faced much criticism and push back from her colleagues and clients. Though work was tough for her, she always showed up for us all with a smile on her face and a home made dinner on the table. My father was a commercial truck driver, hauling large loads over state lines and then plowing snow in the winter months. He would be out for work before the sun rose and back home after it set. Though his hours were long, he still dedicated his free time to coaching little league baseball and rec football. Every Saturday of the season, my father would be at the fields before the first games began setting up and there well after the last game packing up. When he would make his end of practice speeches to the teams, the faces of all those kids looking up to him is burned in my head. My entire life I’ve wanted to be like my parents; resilient, strong, smart, and proud of the work I do. I get my hard work ethics from my parents, it’s all I’ve known my entire life.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m a realist painter and lately I’ve fallen back in love with plein air painting. It has become on of my favorite out-of-the-studio art practices. When I’m in the studio working on my large surreal paintings, I find myself thinking incredibly hard about “meanings” and “purpose” of each individual object in the work. I would paint small plein air studies or still lifes in between long surreal studio sessions to give myself a break with content expectations. As I began plein air painting in public, I have been able to meet an incredible amount of community spectators. I have been able to awake the “inner collector” of many art-collecting “newbies”. I’ve come to truly believe that though art in museums is valuable to the community, the art inside the homes in the community is far more valuable. People love their communities, neighborhoods, favorite diners, ice cream shops; so much so, that purchasing a plein air painting of their community to pass down to their children truly excites them. It begins a conversation about art in their households that is worth exploring.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
There are three things that truly shaped my artistic journey: failure, dedication, and love.
Failure has been a key factor in my development as an artist. The ability to accept failure and grow from it has resulted in the most incredible experiences for me. I’ve learned to not fear but embrace failure, because no one starts as an expert in anything and if I don’t try or apply then it’s a guaranteed loss rather than “just a chance”.
Dedication has pulled me through so many rough patches and deadlines. On the days when I drag my feet, the voice in my head reminds me 10 minutes in the studio is better than 0. Dedication doesn’t have to be this hard core thing. It can be painting an edge of a canvas for 2 minutes, reading a call-for-art for 1 minute, or even just looking at your work for a few seconds before you leave the studio for the weekend. Small steps are still steps forwards.
Love is the real reason I do anything in life. Love is what brings me back to the studio after a rough week to wash my brushes out. When you love what you’re going towards, the bad things still sparkle a little. Sometimes you are “not invited” and that’s okay, because your name was read in a new room of people. Sometimes judges walk past your work without a second glance but someone else in the crowd has found their own love in your work. You should chase after what you love because life is a marathon and love keeps you going forward.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
When there are a lot of deadlines and expectations, things tend to get overwhelming. I’ve relied most on organization to keep me leveled. I never used to be a “planner” person but things got so crowded this past year that I’ve leaned fully into using a hand written daily planner book. Google calendar is very useful and convenient, but, something about physically writing in the book helps me remember more.
Contact Info:
- Website: behance.net/samanthaiaconi
- Instagram: @samiaconi
- Facebook: @SamIaconiArt
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/sam-iaconi-30b385284
