Sam Esmoer
Tucson artist Sam Esmoer was born in Indiana in 1962, he spent his formative years in Illinois, Colorado, and Arizona. Sam started drawing and painting at a very young age. After graduating from High School in Colorado, his interest in art continued to develop at Arizona State University, he graduated with a B.F.A. in 1985.
Sam describes his work these days as, "Slightly twisted paintings of the Southwest".
His paintings feature many of the same subjects you would see in traditional southwestern art but in a progressive younger unique generation X style. His skateboarder punk rock background has a major influence on his style.
Sam's more recent paintings revolve around 1950s Southwestern culture and architecture. There's always a story being told by his subjects and their interactions with each other. His painting are almost like you are seeing a single frame from a movie which continues beyond the painting. Sometimes his interest in Aztec and Mayan art is combined with contemporary depiction's of everyday life, what you get is something unique to the Esmoer style. His brightly colored paintings are mainly acrylic, or a combination of acrylic and oil paint.
Being involved with the skating and punk rock scenes of the early to late 80's, Sam created numerous punk rock flyers, skateboarding T-shirts, jackets and other paraphernalia. His collection of work from this period documents the emotional feelings of this underground culture.