UP speaks to abstract expressionist color field painter Glaieul Samadani, based out of Los Angeles, about her the process for her evocative and dreamlike color field paintings.
UP: It’s great to meet you, Glaieul. Could you introduce yourself to our readers?
Glaieul Samadani: I am a multidisciplinary artist, specializing in abstract art and I reside in Los Angeles, California. I received my B.A. in Design from California State University, Northridge, and I have worked in the design industry for about 30 years. I have always had a passion for art and have been interested in creating art since I was a young girl. Born in Iran, and spending a few years in school in Lille, France, and at a young age, moving to the United States, I absorbed many cultural influences. In my high school and college years I found my passion and the desire to express myself through painting. After years of being in the design industry, I have now devoted myself to be a professional artist, and just in 2021 I launched my website and social media account.
UP: How would you describe your work to someone who’s seeing it for the first time?
GS: I would describe my work as abstract expressionism and abstract figurative with use of bold colors and textural brush and palette knife strokes that tell the story, creating a sculptural effect. To me each color has a specific and distinct sound that expresses that specific emotion, and each brush or palette knife stroke tells the story with the markings I create on the canvas. I truly LOVE using broad fields of color, using strong colors, bold contrasts and creating textures that evoke a depth, value, and composition. I usually paint in oil paint on canvas, and I use different palette knives and brushes. However, I do like to change it up at times and use fabric, sand, picked up items, colored oil sticks, acrylic, spray paint, and other mediums for my mixed media paintings.
UP: So, what’s your process like to make these amazing abstract paintings?
GS: My creative process is both planned and spontaneous. It’s a labor of love. A dedicated and inspired heart and the “grit” make it happen. I usually paint without expectations or preconceptions, letting myself be carried away by the markings I make with lines, shapes and color intuitively. Even when I have something in mind, I never know what the result will be as the painting evolves. The paintings I create are very much a part of me, my viewpoints my opinions and my emotions are all part of my creative process. You will see my perspective even though my art is abstract. It is my life and soul on the canvas.
My creative process is both planned and spontaneous. It’s a labor of love. A dedicated and inspired heart and the “grit” make it happen. I usually paint without expectations or preconceptions, letting myself be carried away by the markings I make with lines, shapes and color intuitively.
UP: What artists have influenced your work?
I love many artists that have influenced me, from classical to modern. My favorites and the ones that stand out for me and have really inspired me and influenced my artwork are Van Gogh, Matisse, Monet, Modigliani, Degas, Cezanne, Kandinsky, Mondrian, Picasso, Turner, Toulouse-Lautrec, Rothko, Giacometti, Motherwell. If I could choose only one artist to have a conversation with it would be Wassily Kandinsky.
UP: Alongside those influences, what else inspires you?
I get inspired by the beauty of nature, music, culture, art, and social surroundings. I get inspired by the small things, the details that go unnoticed, things that catch my eye, the experiences. I love different landscapes, especially the ocean. The ocean is where I find my grounding and my sanity. I am truly inspired by the ocean, the sea, the water, the sky (skies), the magical sunrise and sunsets between the love of the Sun and the Earth. The sun and sky truly speak to me. I’m always evolving. I get inspired by certain things in life and I try to see if I can capture it and try to paint them and create it and see if it will resonate with my viewers.
I am truly inspired by the ocean, the sea, the water, the sky (skies), the magical sunrise and sunsets between the love of the Sun and the Earth. The sun and sky truly speak to me.
UP: When you finish a painting, what do you feel like you learn from it?
I learn something new with almost every piece of artwork I create. It could be a new technique or realizing to simply let loose and let it flow and see it turns out. Most importantly, I have learned to not overwork the painting. I don’t necessarily have any hidden messages in my work. However, the colors convey certain messages and emotions of joy, happiness, serenity, heartache or anger. The brush and palette strokes help convey the story.
UP: What’s your favorite piece you’ve made so far?
GS: While every piece of art I create has its own sentiment for me, and each one is a part of me, my favorite piece I painted is Rhythm. I just painted it intuitively and spontaneously, going with the flow of the music I was listening to. I truly love that piece! The passion that I put in it has so much meaning, movement and rhythm to me. I love using bold colors like reds, blues, yellows and all the different shades I create in between.
UP: Your work features figures, but they’re very abstract. Are those figures meant to be specific people?
GS: The people in the Figurative Abstracts I paint are related to me, they are my self portrait. I portray them in silhouettes or very abstracted – some of the other paintings are from my dream and imagination, not from a photograph. They are all a version of me (other than the ones of my daughters on the beach with surf boards). These women in the silhouettes can be any woman, strong and bold.
These women in the silhouettes can be any woman, strong and bold.
UP: What kind of reactions does your work get?
GS: Honestly, my work gets a lot of “WOWs”, and “It’s such a powerful piece!”, “this resonated with me”, “I had to come back to see again, to remember it!” These are comments I hear all the time from people coming into the gallery or viewing my work My goal and aspirations are for my artwork to be seen worldwide. I would like to have a solo show in the near future. I would love for my paintings to sell to art collectors and find beautiful new homes to be in. Recently I have sold 13 paintings total to private collectors in Newport Beach, CA and Southampton, NY.
UP: I can totally see why the paintings get those reactions. Where can people find them?
GS: I am currently exhibiting a selection of my artwork at the Artist Eye Gallery in Laguna Beach, California. Also, In the past, I have exhibited my artwork at the Brentwood Art Center in 2015, 2016, and 2017. I’ve received Special Recognition Awards from Light, Space, Time and virtual art gallery.
