Meet Samm Wehman | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Samm Wehman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Samm, what do you attribute your success to?
The most important part of my business and being an artist is authenticity. I am never anything than 100% myself, and create things that come from within my soul. My paintings and style are unique and I’ve never tried being anyone else or copying or mimicking other styles or go by what’s “trending” or popular. I paint what I want to paint, and then “my people” manage to find me and my work and fall in love with it for what it is. I think this has helped me find success because I offer something different, and my energy that radiates from it is from pure love and passion for what I do. People sense things that are real and true and gravitate to it. I believe doing things for the wrong reasons will not bring fulfillment or long term success. I am grateful to have a very successful art business but I create art from my heART, not solely just to make money. Making money has been a great bonus that has come with the growth of my hard work and time creating what I love.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m an artist and I create vibrant whimsical animal themed paintings! As an environmentalist I reuse and upcycle reclaimed materials that otherwise would end up in landfills (ie- old fan blades, reclaimed wood, old vinyl records, hub caps, and so much more.) Art can be very wasteful so if I can reuse and repurpose old materials before buying new I choose to do that. I love animals, and worked with them before pursuing my art full time so they’re essentially my muse in all I do. I’m passionate about veganism, wildlife conservation and animal rescue and these themes make appearances in my work. I create art from my heART and only create works that I’m passionate about – I am grateful to be in a place in my business where I say no to projects that don’t excite me or align with my values because I know without passion I cannot create my best work.

I had pursued my art part time for many years and due to a professional opportunity involving animal welfare falling through, the universe sort of through me into a position of doing my art as a full time business. I was terrified because I didn’t believe I was good enough to find financial success from my art alone. I was so wrong! I am a hard worker and just never stopped painting, and worked on diversifying my business and streams of income to guarantee more success. I have always done commissions (specifically pet portraits and wildlife artwork!) but began taking on some murals, wholesale orders for stores and businesses, and often do around 30 art shows and markets per year.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is you have to believe in YOURSELF. You can manifest literally any dream into reality if you BELIEVE that you can and supplement your dream with actions and hard work to get there. Entrepreneurship is about planting seeds that you won’t see the growth from until years later, but when you do it is SO worth it. So the best time to start building a business is NOW! Also, authenticity is so important and will get you much farther than trying to be like anyone else or by copying another business. Be your own dream and your own muse!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Area – as in my area?

I’m up in Gainesville, FL. Things I’d show them are our beautiful local springs. I’m a freediver and love getting deep – but I’d take them for something a bit less intimidating, like a swim or a tube ride down the ichetucknee. We’d hop over to a local place to eat like the 4th ave food park, or one of our favorite vegan businesses like Plantology or Frenchman Street Food. At sunset I’d take them to see the bat houses on UF campus where over 700,000 bats emerge each evening. Depending on the day there’s also often a good farmer’s market or festival going on since Gainesville is where nature and culture meet – always something fun going on!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My husband Josh! Although I’m the sole owner, creator, and artist of my business, having a supportive partner goes a very long way. Josh assists me a lot hands on in the business (he helps at art shows, does a lot of behind the scenes prepping/packing, fulfills online orders, helps me with murals, and is always cheering me on). I recognize that I could not have grown my business as much as I have without his help and supporting me in all that I do!

Website: https://Www.sammwehmanart.com

Instagram: https://Instagram.com/sammwehmanart

Facebook: https://Facebook.com/sammwehmanartwork