Sammy Kimura is a 25-year-old painter from Louisville, KY. She primarily uses acrylics because of the fast drying time they offer, allowing her to rework the pieces quickly.
“A big theme in my work is lust and longing (hello single life), though some pieces are more playfully sensual. I take a lot of inspiration from observing the romantic relationships of friends around me and from my own past experiences with love and love lost. I feel that there’s a sense of restlessness to my work that I probably pass into the paint through some sort of osmosis.” Kimura is currently working on putting a show together and is set on achieving this goal before the end of the year.
“I’m big into gun law reform. I’m not the most articulate when it comes to expressing my opinions around this issue because I get so worked up about it– but I believe so strongly in changing these laws because the system we currently have in place is clearly not working.” Sammy shares with us. “I’d love to do away with guns altogether (maybe a surprising sentiment coming from a Kentuckian) but something has to change. As a gay woman, I am also a supporter of equal LGBTQ rights and visibility.”
When it comes to her artistic process, Sammy has a sweet little studio space that she's set up in her bedroom, with a floral couch that used to belong to her great-grandmother– the room is filled with canvases and drop-cloths and paint. “Every day, I come home from my "real" job and turn on music, light some incense, smoke some weed, and just paint for hours. It makes me happier than a little clam. I am totally in the zone in my space.” •
Follow her work through Instagram @sammykimura
and Website: sammykimura.com
Originally published March 29, 2018