"The work of art serves to slow things down so we can get a proper look at them."
Based in Orkney, where the North Atlantic meets the North Sea, Featured Artist Samantha Clark traces the constant shifts of the island landscape that surrounds her: fog, puddles, rain, and light, all captured through a patient, meditative drawing process. Her pieces become small acts of defiance against hurry and distraction—deliberate invitations to slow down and notice.
With training in fine art, philosophy, and creative writing, Clark’s work is deeply interdisciplinary. But it always returns to the everyday. A puddle becomes a portal. Sunlight on the water becomes something to study. A drawing becomes a way of listening.
“To notice and celebrate this beauty feels like a small but necessary act of resistance to all the darkness gathering around us.”
Artwork Archive had the chance to chat with Samantha Clark about her creative process, why water is her subject matter, and how Artwork Archive has become an integral part of her art career.
You can see more of her work on Discovery and learn more about her art practice below:
Samantha Clark working on a large piece in her studio. Photo courtesy of the artist
Painting Water With Water
Samantha Clark’s creative process begins quietly. Thin washes of watery paint are poured and brushed onto the surface. The colors drift, settle, and sometimes evaporate altogether. This beginning phase is loose, and the artist watches how the pigment responds to gravity, air, and material.
“The paint behaves in often unpredictable ways,” Clark notes. “Dripping, pooling, running, splashing, and evaporating, much like my subject matter: water.”
Only once that initial, organic surface has taken shape does she begin her own steady rhythm. Using small, repeated gestures, she builds up a language of simple, deliberate, and meditative marks. Over time, those marks begin to suggest natural patterns "reminiscent of natural forms like sponges, sea foam, clouds or wave patterns." Clark works slowly, with patience, leaning into the repetition it takes to let those forms emerge.
The Landscape That Shapes the Work
Based in Orkney, Scotland, Clark’s environment plays a central role in her creative life. The landscape is vast, the skies bigger than you expect, and the weather makes itself known. The sea is everywhere, and water, in all its forms, is part of the daily rhythm. Right outside her door, a freshwater loch and stream offer a quieter pulse. The artist describes her setting with practical awe:
“Orkney’s position, where the North Atlantic meets the North Sea, puts it in the path of powerful weather systems,” she explains. “The wind here has real heft. It can push you over.”
It’s not a gentle place, and that’s exactly what’s shaped her creative approach. The skies are often filled with cloud and rain. There’s no sheltering forest, no mountain edge to soften the horizon. It’s open and raw. And that openness makes its way into Clark’s paintings, where stillness and movement exist side by side.
But for all that geographic isolation, the island is far from creatively cut off. It might seem remote on a map, but the creative community is anything but provincial. “While most people would describe it as ‘remote,’ it doesn’t feel that way,” the artist points out. “It feels like a very connected, cultured, and even cosmopolitan place.” Artists, writers, and musicians have long found a home here, and she is part of that tradition.
What Happens When You Don’t Rush
Samantha Clark’s work moves at a different pace than her subject. Water is constantly shifting, but her process insists on staying put. Long hours. Simple marks. Built up one layer at a time. It's an intentional contrast.
“I’m aware there’s a paradox in using a slow, repetitive process and a static medium like painting to capture an element that is so mutable,” she reflects. “But the work of art serves to slow things down so we can get a proper look at them.”
Painting, for her, is a way of making time behave differently. It creates a space where motion can be held still long enough to really be seen; a suspended awareness.“I'm seeking a sense of stillness within the very heart of movement, a place of calm right in the midst of all the whirling motion.”
Her paintings create a kind of pocket or "eddy" where time stretches out and small shifts become visible. “We just need to stop and pay attention.”
Samantha Clark, Islands, 51 x 61 cm
Choosing the Right Yes for the Right Time
Clark's career has been shaped by knowing when to say yes, and when to pivot. In the early years, she went where the opportunities were—residencies, temporary spaces, short windows of time to make something happen.
“I had to do lots of residencies and make work in intense bursts of activity, moving around a lot to wherever the opportunity took me,” she remembers.
Teaching came next, offering the financial stability to experiment creatively without the pressure to sell. But it came with its own trade-offs. Studio time was limited, and travel less flexible.
Now, with a permanent studio, her priorities have changed again. “I’ve been able to focus on painting," she shares, "work that needs a space to lie around in for a long time while it dries." Staying rooted has allowed her to dive deeper into her process—and opened up new ways of sharing her work.
Whether she’s selling directly or working through a gallery, each yes is more intentional, more rooted in what she actually wants for her art career.
Don't Lead With an Agenda
Ask this artist what the most valuable mindset shift has been in building a sustainable art career, and she doesn’t mention strategy or promotion. She points to curiosity, and how you show up in the first place.
“Go into every conversation, meeting, or situation with an open, curious mind rather than thinking about what you can get out of it,” she advises.
Focusing on your needs can create tension for yourself and others. But, showing up with a sense of genuine interest changes everything. It eases the pressure. It makes space for connection. When the focus isn’t on proving yourself or extracting something, there’s more room for something real to happen.
“Be curious about the person you’re meeting. Ask more questions and get them talking… Be generous and interested. You’ll lift everyone up, including yourself.”
Samantha Clark, Under, 51 x 61 cm
A System That Moves With Her Practice
No artist sets out to become an expert in inventory management. But for Samantha Clark, as her practice gained momentum, there were more pieces to keep track of, more logistics to manage, and more details that couldn’t be left floating in a notebook.
“I needed a way to keep track of all the information—dimensions, materials, location of the work, who bought it if it had sold, contact lists, photographs—so it was all easy to find when I needed it,” she recalls.
She’d tried using a personal website to stay organized, but it didn’t give her the full picture. She needed a system that could grow with her career and actually reflect the complexity of being a working artist. That’s when she found Artwork Archive.
Now, it’s part of her regular workflow, especially when preparing for exhibitions. With multiple gallery shows on the horizon, her current go-to feature is Private Rooms, where she can share real-time updates with curators without clogging up inboxes or sending endless attachments.
“I create a Private Room for each show, share the link with the gallery, and upload work as it’s finished,” she explains. “That way they can see the new work as it’s ready, and they have access to downloadable images, whether a piece is framed yet or not, its dimensions, location, price.”
It’s a simple workflow, but one that leaves a big impression. “Curators remark on how organized I am!” she adds. “It’s beautifully simple.”
Use Private Rooms to Pitch with Confidence:
You don’t need a slick deck or endless email chains to pitch your work. Like Samantha Clark, you can create a living portfolio tailored to a specific curator, consultant, or opportunity. Use Private Rooms to add your best pieces, include context, and let the system speak for your professionalism.
👉 Create a new Private Room for your top 10 available works and try sending it to one person you’ve been meaning to follow up with.
What Carries You Forward Over Time
If there’s one piece of advice Samantha Clark offers to artists just beginning their careers, it’s to give things time. Not everything needs to happen at once, and most of it won’t. The path isn’t linear—and it’s not supposed to be.
“Be patient,” she says. “Don’t compare your career to others. You’re on your own unique path.”
It’s easy to get distracted by what other artists are doing, especially in a world that rewards visibility and speed. But for Clark, meaningful work comes from tuning out that noise. The progress she values most shows up slowly—through attention, repetition, and trust in the process. Her own career reflects that steady growth. It’s been shaped by timing, personal rhythms, and an ability to keep going even when the timeline looks different from anyone else’s.
Samantha Clark in her studio. Photo courtesy of the artist
No matter where you are in your art journey, getting your business side in order doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. A bit of structure now can mean more time and headspace for the work you actually want to be doing.
Artwork Archive helps artists build an online portfolio, stay on top of their inventory, and create things like tear sheets and invoices in just a few clicks. Start a free trial and see how it fits into your own process.
