Samantha Cavet finds similarities between herself and Claude Monet - the importance of atmospheres and color as an artist
photographer from Madrid.
Samantha Cavet is one of the most exciting photographers in the digital space today. Of course, this is only my personal opinion, but her minimalist approach and use of color/texture make her work so unique and tends to stand out a bit more from her peers.
I finally had the opportunity to interview Samantha and am so excited to share what came from that. We talk about the similarities she finds between Claude Monet and recently visiting his garden in France, the methods of photography that she’s used over the years, plus plenty of other crucial questions.
Your current style could almost be considered Photorealism, as many of your recent works look like paintings, but are indeed real photos. After further research, it may be better categorized as Pictorialism.
What was your style like when you initially got into photography?
I really consider that since I started photographing my style has always been inclined to minimalism. I remember shooting a lot of buildings in a very isolated way, same as a lot of photos of the moon and sky in general.
But if I really dig into the first photos of my portfolio I can see that there's was nothing really determined, I wanted (and I still do) to try a lot of different subjects and styles at the same time.
How has it evolved over time?
I have been photographing for around two years and a half (more or less) and I really see a huge distinction in the portfolio.
Since I was discovering the medium, I have a lot of ideas in mind, a lot of inspiration from photographers and artists I admired and I think at some point all of this merged in a couple of photos I shot at the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022.
Since then, I consider having a more established style in terms of being easily visually recognized but I am always experimenting!
What would you consider your “style” currently?
It is hard to say for me, I always have thought that putting my work in a certain style limits it in a way. But if I have to say something, I would say between landscape photography and pictorialism.
This is fair and I understand your point of view.
Are there other methods or tools you are intrigued by, to experiment with?
Absolutely, I really want to experiment more with abstract and street photography.
What were you doing as a photographer prior to discovering NFTs and minting your work on the blockchain?
My journey as a photographer has been quite a miracle to my eyes honestly.
I started photographing in the middle of 2020 and I started sharing my work on social media around that time.
Then I joined the NFT space in march of 2021 and a year later I became a full time photographer until now.
It’s clear that Claude Monet. I have to say that this is one of the first painters I was exposed to when I was young. I have always loved his garden and landscape paintings.
Has he always been a significant influence on you as an artist?
I remember watching his famous water lilies since I was very young. I always felt hypnotized by such amazing use of colors and the way impressionists created their scenes.
I have been thinking about how I feel so attracted to this type of art and since I researched more about it and about Monets philosophy and technique I found a lot of similarities.
Monet took and studied atmospheres and colors as the most important aspects of the artwork. Instead of focusing completely on creating a visual that correctly depicted reality and how we literally perceive images with our eyes, he dismissed that narrative and found a way to portray in an artwork how we perceive things based on how we feel them or see them in a specific way.
This is one of the reasons he not only developed his distinct style but why he also repeated a lot of his subjects, the waterlilies, for example.
I believe he painted them more than 150 times and this has to do a lot with how atmospheres and times of the day change the way we perceive things.
He felt this subject changed a thousand times during the day so why not try to portray them in every of its forms?
I find that very interesting.
How did you become such a fan of Monet, ultimately leading to you visiting his infamous garden and home in Giverny, France?
As I always felt connected to his work, and since it brings me so much inspiration and calmness, I thought that visiting his house would only benefit me to find more about the way he saw and felt.
I promised myself that as soon as I saved some money and found a way to be back in Paris, I would make it a priority to visit this place and indeed it was one of the best experiences I have ever had.
Such a special goal to accomplish and an epic experience to say the least, I’m sure.
I’m so intrigued to hear further about your trip to Claude Monet's garden in Giverny, France last year and what came out of that experience.
I was very lucky to be in Paris around October of last year and made a trip with my partner to Giverny from there.
We took an hour train to Giverny and then a bus that could take us to the village of Claude Monet.
It is now a very touristic place but I went in a very good season that I think didnt have a large volume of people.
After arriving, the tour of his house starts and it ends in his garden. It was amazing to experience in person the places he used to live in and felt inspired from.
The whole house and decoration makes so much sense by the way his paintings were. It is full of color and art, especially Japanese art which he was highly influenced from.
His garden is full of life and colorful flowers, honestly it is impossible not to be inspired by such place.
Inspiring indeed, just by how you described it. This would also be a dream to visit one day.
Moving on, I want to ask you about the blockchain and how your experience has been since entering the NFT space.
My experience has been life changing, I was able to leave my office job and be dedicated to my craft since my early beginnings and for that I will be extremely grateful.
The amount of support and friendships I have made are also priceless and mean the world to me.
Have you always released digital-only photos?
Yes, I only shoot and share with my digital camera for now.
I’m curious, have there been any challenges in regard to where the best platform to mint is for you?
I began to sell my work on Foundation and OpenSea but it was not until I got admitted into SuperRare that my work really got more recognition.
So far every platform has its advantages and disadvantages.
I stopped using OpenSea when I found out about their radical policies against people from certain countries and I do not respect their practice at all.
Are floor prices or ATH (all-time highs) important to you, when it comes to your NFT collections?
Not really, in fact I have never cared about it at all.
I always focus more on creating stories and working on being better at what I do.
If people really track their sales as always trying to break their ATH then you become disappointed, uninspired to create more and basically burned out fast.
There have been a lot of talks this year regarding Editions, size, and dynamics.
I personally have enjoyed how it’s all played out, but what are your thoughts about releasing editions?
I really like releasing editions and they have always been the releases I work the most on.
I try to distinguish myself by releasing editions as a whole collection with low quantity.
I try to create a type of storytelling with them altogether. That way I always maintain a low supply but also a really good chance for people to acquire my work for a lower price.
What are the positives and negatives?
Positive side is that you can expand your collector base, allow people with different budgets to collect your work and it also allows you to keep selling in bad/hard market conditions.
The only negative side I see is that you can sometimes encounter people trying to flip your work in a very cold and direct way.
So, definitely not being able to truly control the intentions of people collecting your work on a higher scale can produce some negative feelings sometimes.
I was ecstatic to win an edition of Crystal from your AQUA series.
Can you discuss a little bit about the meaning of this collection and the dynamics you used to release it on Nifty Gateway?
I am so happy you won a piece from that drop! I feel very good and fulfilled with that body of work because it indeed was something I never did before but it still makes me so proud.
I had the idea of working with water since a long time and when I discovered a hidden pond I could work with, the whole concept came to life.
It was a wonderful experience to create abstract photography for the first time and I truly think it also has my painterly side too.
I made this drop on Nifty Gateway because I wanted to be also experimental with the way I could release editions for the second time, this body of work deserved to be in a distinctive platform and the help I received from the team made it a ver smooth process.
Are there other dynamics you’d like to try out this year with a release?
Definitely, I am working on a new project and collection that will be different from what I have been doing so far. I cant tell more details but I think it is going to be incredible.
Your piece ‘ Between Reality and Imagination’ completely breaks my brain.
How did you get the image to look like this?
I discovered a way to combine textures and overlay them into my photography. It is one of my favorite ways to edit my photography as you can see in many of my pieces but the treatment of each is always different. For this specific piece I only wanted to resemble the textures of a drawing made by color pencils and the result was really close to how I pictured it since the beginning.
What type of editing do you generally do to your photos prior to minting or publishing?
It really depends on the photo and what I want to accomplish. The main tools I use are Lightroom and Photoshop but some photos require less editing than others. It really depends on what I want to achieve with it.
I’m curious, how do you know if you’ve over-edited a photo?
That is a really good question. I ask myself that a lot hahaha I think it is just a feeling to be honest, you never know if a piece is finished or not, or if you think you went crazy with the result. You kind of just feel when it is ready and you feel comfortable with it.
Can you discuss the idea and images behind your photos in the ‘Echoes and Whispers’ series?
I feel a strong attraction for Japanese and Chinese art, especially the old traditional styles.
I wanted to create some photos that represented my love and appreciation for it and I worked on this concept for some time.
It is an endless inspiration for me to look at this type of art and hopefully I can create something inspired by it again.
Are there any locations you haven’t been to yet, that you’d love to travel to and take photos of?
Iceland and Japan are always on top of my list for now.
Can you provide us with any hints about the details of your next epic adventure/NFT release?
I could share a little bit haha. My next big project is something I have been working on for a whole year. It will be a very original and creative way to see my work for the first time. It is going to be a whole world.
What do you hope to accomplish this year as a photographer?
Definitely to keep mastering my techniques and discovering new ideas I can work on, my main goal is to always experiment more and express myself in the best way. I would like to release a book and also make more IRL exhibitions.
I’m astonished by how Samantha is able to push the boundaries of photography and minimalism. In the next century, I can only imagine she will continue to progress and we will all look back at her as one of the early pioneers of this digital paradigm.
Love the work of this artist. Great interview.