Interview with Artist Samantha Aker

So, tell us a little about yourself:

Hi, I’m Sam and I am an illustrator, hand-letterer and designer. I live out of my toyota tacoma with my little aussie shepherd, Lana. I love early morning dogs walk at the beach, camping, and having a few beers on my tailgate with my boyfriend.  

What inspires the art that you create?

You know, someone recently asked me this question while I was on a trip to Kauai that I was calling “a drawing retreat.” I used to think travel, new people and places inspired me. But I didn’t feel the urge to draw while I was on my trip. Don’t get me wrong, Kauai a tropical paradise full of island magic. It made me realize that my inspiration comes from needed to speak up about something I’m passionate about. 

What is the biggest challenge you face as an artist/entrepreneur?

The biggest challenge I have seen myself face is not knowing what the hell I’m doing on a day to day basis. If you see me, and you think “OMG she’s living the life, and she’s got it ALL together’ think again. I am constantly fielding negative self-talk from my ego telling me my art isn’t good enough, no one will want to buy anything from me, I don’t have anything worthwhile to say to the world. It can be scary realizing you don’t know where your next paycheck is going to come from… but I trust in the universe fully and know that I’m taken care of. I also tell my ego, (I named her Karen) to shut it. I know it’s my ego’s job to keep my safe, but if I listen to my fears I would have the saddest most boring life ever! 

We know you’ve been on a journey of minimal living and living in your truck, tell us about that:

Being an extreme minimalist is SO liberating. I’ve never been incredibly sentimental, and I don’t often keep or save things… but I did love my plants and my art supplies in my old home studio. I’ve found that the less I own, more free I feel. The less I buy, the more money I can turn around and invest into my business which is helping me live out my dreams of making people smile with the art I create and the message I have. I want to talk more about dreams, goal-setting and positive thinking on my youtube channel because right now it’s just me answering peoples questions about where I go to the bathroom, where I shower and park to sleep. Contrary to what old miss Karen thinks, lol I know that I have a lot to say, and inspiration to give to people who want to live a life that is in line with their values.

What have you learned that you would love to share with others starting their artistic or minimal living journey?

You have everything you need to be happy within you RIGHT NOW! We live in a society that’s very “buy this, and you’ll be happy” or “get the job/promotion and you’ll have more money and then you’ll be happy.” I’ve learned that I personally have all the things I need right here, right now to turn around and serve in this world by being the person I am today.

How long have you been surfing and what does surfing mean to you?

I started surfing when I was 14, I think. I remember in highschool I got my first board custom board shaped to my height and weight and it had my name glossed into it. I felt like a total badass. But I stopped surfing when I found wavehouse. If anyone asks me what the happiest moments in my life are, a good majority of them were spent in the barrel at wavehouse. That level of stoke, of pure happiness, of complete meditation. Your mind isn’t thinking about how many boxes you need to order to ship things out, or when that logo is due for your client. Your heart is 100% present in that moment. I love skating, and I love surfing, cliff jumping (basically anything that brings me into the present moment) but I have never experienced the level of total bliss that Wavehouse gave me.

What’s your favorite quote?

I can’t remember where I read or heard this, but it’s something like “Life can send us some big waves. We can choose to let them crash on top of us, or we learn to ride them and look good doing it.” There’s a lot in life you can’t control, but you do have the power to not trip over little pebbles in your path and keep going. 

Website: www.delilahthegemini.com

Instagram: @delilahthegemini