Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento, California, will be displaying Structures & Surroundings, a show of 17 new works by artist Samantha Buller. The collection of barns and aerial views pays homage to the Northern California landscape, where Buller was born and raised, and now remains with her family.
“Her sweeping aerials present a stunning portrayal of the iconic Sacramento River Valley landscape from above, while her paintings of weather-beaten barns, rooted in their graphic yet subtle nature, portray a bucolic Sonoma County,” explains the gallery.
Shade at the River, oil on canvas, 48 x 60"
Buller painted the series through the past 12 months of the pandemic, and feels especially proud of how it all came together through the many uncertainties, twists and turns and “being able to adapt to these changes while staying present with my daughter and her schooling,” she says. “I have an amazing community and family who have all supported me fully, making this show possible.”
Buller admits that she begins to lose excitement and passion for what she’s painting if she paints too much of one subject at any given time, which led to the spawning of her aerial views for the show. “The aerials challenge me,” she says. “[They] tend to be more intricate and require a sense of design that is different from my other works. I almost feel like I am using a different part of my brain to make the many decisions that go into them. The barns perfectly balanced all of those decisions and allowed me to enjoy the ease that I experience in painting barns, focusing on simplicity and bigger, bolder shapes. Barns will always intrigue me and I have painted many in the past, but with each new barn, I continue to simplify and expand on my own artistic license.” 
Paula Lane, oil on canvas, 48 x 60"
Barn on Ochre, oil on canvas, 40 x 30"
Working from photo references taken by a drone, Buller implements clean color and intentional brushwork, such as in pieces Shade at the River, a glimpse of the Sacramento River. Buller started this piece from a black-and-white image. “It was a fun piece for me to develop color harmonies and challenge myself by not relying as much on the reference itself,” she explains. “Once I had the initial layout in sienna tones, I worked mostly from feel and experience with previous paintings. I chose earthy greens and oranges to create a calmer feel.”
4PM in the Valley, oil on canvas, 60 x 48"
The show pieces are clearly driven by color and can be seen in other works such as Paula Lane, a barn that resides just down the road from where Buller lives. “As far as color goes, it’s just something I have always been drawn to and I enjoy playing up brighter, more saturated colors wherever possible,” she explains. “[For Paula Lane], the barn itself is essentially as simple as it is in the painting, but for this piece, I chose to create the simplified environment around it and manipulate the colors to the warm ochres, olives and tans.”
Buller hopes that collectors notice more confidence in her work and that her love of place, craft and self-identity shine through each piece. Structures & Surroundings opens May 1 and will run through June 3. —
Elliott Fouts Gallery
1831 P Street • Sacramento, CA 95811
(916) 736-1429 • www.efgallery.com
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