Sam Roth

Year of birth: 2003 (I am 21 years old).
Where do you live: I am from Johnson City Tennessee, but currently reside in Murfreesboro, Tennessee for school.
Your education: I am a Junior at Middle Tennessee State University, but I spent my freshman year at the Kansas City Art Institute.
Describe your art in three words: Colorful, Funky, Fun
Your discipline: I am a Visual Arts Major with a Psychology Minor, working towards getting my Bachelor of Science Degree.
Instagram

Your work is filled with vibrant colors, how do you decide on the color palettes you use in your pieces?

I tend to limit myself to different hues of the primary colors (+white of course) in my personal work outside of school. I can mix almost any color I need from those four, and it also helps my composition have cohesion in its color and value.

You mention that you experiment with various materials. How do you choose what to incorporate into a piece, especially when using unconventional materials like colorful trash?

I love to medium hop! In my opinion, it is important as an artist to try as many mediums as possible, it helps strengthen your skill set and also helps avoid burnout. If I’m getting tired of something I’m already well versed in, I’ll pick up something new that I don’t have as much experience with. As for choosing a material for a certain composition – I think I see the materials first and then start having ideas for them, rather than having a goal image in my head first then choosing how to go about it. For my trash fish, I had already been collecting small items and odd trash for a while, and noticed that things like broken glass and can tabs resemble scales and bottle lids look like eyes.

Sam Roth | Paint-Ception | 2024

Can you tell us about the process behind your series, particularly “Trash Fish”? How did you come to create art with found objects, and what does it represent for you?

I’ve always been the type of person to pick up cool objects/trash like bottle caps and colorful broken glass when I see it. They just seem too cool to get forgotten. I care alot about the environment, especially now with everything going on, and I love seeing different creative ways help the issue. For “Trash Fish”, I wanted to share how easy it is to turn single use items into long lasting art, and how beautiful giving those materials a second life can be.

As an aspiring art therapist, do you feel that your personal experiences or emotions are integrated into your work? How do you think your art might impact someone going through difficult times?

I would say that my personal experiences and emotions definitely find their way into my work. Sometimes it is intentional; recently I have been working on a larger painting of me and my older brothers that reflect the nostalgia of growing up. Most of the time, though, I think those sentiments come through my work on accident. I don’t typically go into a piece with an idea of what I want it to say or mean, the meaning seems to come afterwards.
I think my work might impact someone going through a difficult time by inspiring them to get up and make something cool and colorful. Being able to get up and push myself to make something cool always helps me get out of a funk.

Sam Roth | Snow Day | 2024

The theme of seeing life through a colorful lens is central to your art. How do you see this perspective helping others find beauty or positivity in their own lives?

I know that life can seem really dull at times. Sometimes things really do just seem pointless, and that all there is to do is wait for tomorrow and hope it’s better. I enjoy making my art really colorful and saturated because it pulls me out of those funks that make everything feel colorless. I hope that sharing my work can help pull people out of their funks, too. The truth is, even on the worst days there is still color everywhere, it’s just a little harder to see.

In your statement, you mention using art to give others a new perspective on life. How do you think your work achieves that, and what do you hope viewers take away from it?

I hope that my art can kind of serve as a window for people to see the color around them. Like I said before, it can be hard to find the color in life sometimes, and I want to help people find it. Boring things can be fun and bright and saturated, you just have to learn to see it that way.

What role does experimentation play in your creative process? Do you often work with new materials or try new techniques?

I experiment with mediums and techniques as much as I can. I feel like it is the most important way to develop as an artist both in your skill and creative intuition. I’ve made work with a long list of materials from oil paint to clay to even cardboard. I learn something different with everything I try, and they have all helped me develop in different aspects of being an artist.