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Samantha Messias is an award-winning hyper-realistic artist. She creates breathtakingly detailed drawings by enhancing the tiniest of details, intensifying them, changing contrasts, shadows and lights and textures. Initially, however, she turned to art when she could not find the words to say what she needed.
“Much of my skill and creativity was developed by using it as an outlet to release, heal and express my emotions from a pretty traumatic childhood,” Samantha explains. “I was adopted at five years old, and for a while, the only way I could communicate what happened was to draw it. I didn’t know that what I was doing at such a young age was indeed a form of therapy, and one I will continue throughout my life.”
A Life Of Struggle
After the horrors of her early years, Samantha grew to adore her adopted parents. But even with their support, life was difficult.
“When I was growing up, I always felt quite different, didn’t really fit in, always did my best at school and got good grades and did my best to please my adopted parents, but I always felt this heavyweight in my heart and the shame and guilt that I carried around with me for years,” she recalls.
“I had plenty of friends and people who really saw me as a bright and creative young girl but I never really allowed myself to get close to these people for fear of them hurting me as my whole family did.”
Samantha experienced more pain at the age of 14 when the adopted father she describes as kind and compassionate died slowly from cancer.
“As a teenager, I didn’t really know how to cope with that. I continued to go to school and work on my grades and pretend like everything was okay when it wasn’t,” she explains.
“Most of my life I’ve suffered from extreme anxiety and fear from everything that happened to me in my past, and the experiences that happened after my childhood abuse just increased that feeling of anxiety.”
Samantha began to self-harm and she tried to take her own life with painkillers. She then lied to the hospital by promising she would not do it again so they would let her go home.
“I always put on this brave, happy and positive persona to the world but inside I was crumbling. My world felt so dark, so isolated, and so dangerous,” she recalls.
Dealing With Trauma
Samantha has experienced yet more heartache since her troubled teens. Her adopted mother died when she was 21 and she lost her son in 2020. But she has now found ways to deal with the powerful emotions brought about by her trauma.
“From the age of 23, I began delving into the world of personal development and self-help as the intense emotions that I felt from my past traumas had me at times wanting to end my life,” Samantha explains. “I believe that if it wasn’t for meeting my amazing partner, all the incredible self-help and personal development material I read and my talent to draw in this super realistic/hyper-realistic style, I don’t think I would be here right now sharing my story.”
Samantha kept going with her artwork and got better at it with each passing day. She started to get noticed on social media for her skills, talent, resilience and courage and her following and audience increased. This led to gallery representations, exhibitions, awards and recognition. It also led to commissions, and at that point, the artist knew she could make drawing her full-time career.
Now that Samantha is an established artist with a growing reputation, she wants to use her drawings and her platform to inspire, encourage and give hope to millions around the world.
She knows better than most that life is extremely challenging and disturbing at times, but it’s also magical, wonderful and amazing if you break free from the bonds of your past, liberate your mind and find happiness in the present moment.
With this in mind, Samantha promised herself that she would succeed and that she would be happy again and that if she could survive all of that and learn how to thrive from all of it, then she’d have a story to share with the world, one that would inspire people to believe in themselves and dig deep to find the courage and strength to heal, take back their life and follow their dreams despite what may have happened to them in the past.
If you would like to find out more about Samantha and her remarkable artwork, visit samanthamessiasart.com.
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