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Artist profile: Samia Campbell

For 17-year-old Samia Campbell, art always has been a part of her. When asked when she got involved in art, she simply said, “There’s not really a beginning.”

With an artist’s ability instilled in her, Campbell said her dad has a memory of her from pre-school when she drew the spots of a cow and colored them in, even before drawing the cow itself. “He was really impressed with that, I guess. He loves telling that story,” she said.

Humbleness aside, Campbell’s talent shines through the intricate and photo-realistic portraits she does, some of them taking 40 or more hours to complete.

This summer, Campbell used her talents for good, raising more than $1,000 dollars since July doing over 100 15-minute portraits at the Williamsport Grower’s Market and First Friday events.

“It was amazing,” she said, “but it was a lot of work.”

Campbell has been giving the proceeds go to Earthworks, “a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting communities and the environment from the adverse impacts of mineral and energy development while promoting sustainable solutions,” according to their mission statement. Campbell chose the organization because they share a common passion – the environment.

The 15-minute portraits Campbell has done for the attendees at First Friday showcase her eye for realism. The eyes, hairstrokes, even the facial expressions are a copy of what she has before her eyes. She’s even had someone commission her to do a portrait of their deceased pet as a memorial, for which Campbell did a two-hour portrait in graphite.

Campbell said she only seriously got into art with doing portraits within the last year. She took a one-on-one oil painting class with Holly Shull, an artist at the Pajama Factory.

“I knew I wanted to get into oil painting, but I knew I would need to be taught,” Campbell said, explaining that with painting, the portraits are more intricate and require layer upon layer to get desired shading and color.

For the future, Campbell has no intention of leaving art behind. She’s contemplating double majoring in philosophy and art when she graduates from Williamsport Area High School next year. With both of her parents being architects, Campbell said they influenced her as well. “They aren’t artists, as in their produce portraits or anything, but they are drawing just as much as I am,” she said.

“I never want to cut art out of my life, I love it.” Campbell said, adding that art is a stress reliever for her as well, as she tries to draw or paint at least a couple hours a day. “I’ll put a podcast on or listen to music and just draw. I can just being doing this and ignore any other worries or problems that might be going on.”

Campbell has entered her portraits into competitions, recently winning first place at the Lycoming County Fair, with a portrait of her friend, Abby Laver. The color portraits depicts a life-like look of Abby, complete with an exact hair color and eyes. Campbell said she drew the portrait of her friend in the winter of last year, and it took around 30 hours to complete.

“I like to draw people I’m comfortable with,” she said. ” You’re just staring at their face for that many hours, so it’s nicer if it’s a friend or family member.”

At this time, Campbell said she doesn’t have any social media sites showcasing her work, as she said it takes the intimacy out of viewing art. However, she can be reached at samiacampbell99@gmail.com.

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