Samuel Schryver is an American artist based out of Kauai, Hawaii originally from Los Angeles, California. From a young age Sam found himself to have a knack for art — At the age of 15, he began illustrating art through graffiti. The notorious space of graffiti art at the time was at the midst of the Los Angeles “graffiti golden era.” With Sam at the forefront of an emerging space, he quickly grew a name for himself as a graffiti artist in Los Angeles. Though it may seem to be a simple success story, like all success comes a turn of the tide where adversity meets the curve. To learn more about Sam’s story and how he was able to shift through adversity into a now acclaimed and collected artist — We sat down with him to learn more.
Early On
After much consideration, Sam had little to no choice but to move on from his career in graffiti art. In the midst of his time in the underground graffiti space, there was a growing rise in gang related violence, drug abuse, & armed robbery(s). The turning point for Schryver happened when he himself was assaulted at gunpoint, and in a separate altercation, one of his friends was shot dead. It became clear to Sam that he had to move on from the underground space, quickly. Sometime after these events, Sam made the decision to move to Kauai — for him, a place he had felt spiritually bonded to.
A Shift & Adversity
Besides a genuine talent for art Schryver has also enjoyed his time surfing. He took advantage of the amazing surfing of Kauai, Hawaii where he resides today. Unfortunately during his leisure time surfing, Sam suffered an accident that set him back into 3 years of rehab for the injuries he received. This blow landed Sam into a deep depression, being limited to what he can do and searching within the depths of his soul for an answer — Sam leaned into creativity with his art. Sam went on to say “I had trouble within the pain of my injury to find things to do that didn’t cause pain. I needed to also, of course, make money. It became clear to me that art was the one thing I had left amongst so much that disappeared, and that I could survive monetarily while continuing to recover physically and spiritually.”
Optimism & Courage
Through Sam’s courage and effort he quickly began offering commissioned based art work, and with perseverance success quickly became a reality for Sam. Soon after, Sam began receiving an influx of inbound inquiries and new business from across the country from people that were fans of his work. Schryver notes his work as a commission based artist is to create based off of clairvoyance, feeling, emotion, & divine energy. Many people who have commissioned Sam have gotten work that vibrantly explains the subject that was originally inquired about. To date, Sam has even been commissioned with his colleagues for events organized by Justin Bieber & many other talented well known celebrities across the world. Through the context of our interview with Sam, one thing sticks out — Success is never linear and through trial and tribulation came Sam, a nationally acclaimed artist.
Today
Sam and his collaborator KAPACHE1 are currently developing a community based art education and experiential project: KASA (www.kasastudio.org) an artist residency and cultural accelerator on the north shore of Kauai, set to launch this summer. His current collection is titled Answered Prayers, this amongst other collections can be seen on SAMVE7’s website www.samve7.com or on his instagram @samve7.
To learn more about Sam Schryver & his future events & or opportunities, visit: www.samve7.com or follow his instagram @samve7.