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Samantha Sawyer (b. 2003) is an interdisciplinary artist from Abaco, Bahamas. Primarily a painter but a lover of many mediums, her practice also encompasses printmaking, mixed media, graphic design, & digital illustration. She earned a BFA in Painting with a minor in Business from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2025.
Samantha currently lives and works in Abaco, Bahamas. Drawing on her love of Bahamian iconography, familial heritage, and sense of place, Samatha merges these influences with her interest in color, texture, and pattern. She views the island’s landscape through a fragile, tender lens, holding tight to memories formed in these spaces. She has been a freelance artist since 2020, bringing client’s visions to life with commissioned projects. She has worked with luxury resorts such as Baker’s Bay and The Abaco Club, and local Bahamian businesses such as HopeTown Canvas, Insurance Management (Bahamas) Ltd. (Abaco & Exuma branches), & Frederick’s Agency. Her work is featured in private collections throughout The Bahamas and The United States.
“I am constantly collecting moments, past and present, encapsulating them in the work. Referencing childhood memories, Bahamian iconography, and practices from my Abaco upbringing, they form the foundation.
Time spent within the landscape of Abaco is central to my research process. I revisit meaningful spaces, gather personal and family references, collect objects, and use familiar icons as motifs. The center of my memories is the natural landscape, particularly the sea, weaving throughout my experiences as an integral constant. Through texture, mark-making, found objects, bead embroidery, pattern, and vibrant color, my work becomes a direct expression in connecting to place and memory.
In 2019, Hurricane Dorian destroyed the island, changing my life and the lives of the Abaco community, shifting my perspective on the place I call home. Familiar places and objects suddenly gained greater significance, and I have carried them closer ever since, recognizing their temporariness. My work is both a celebration and preservation of these connections... to place, memory, and the landscape that shapes them."