Sam Larson is an illustrator, graphic designer, painter, and entrepreneur. He was born and grew up in southwest Wisconsin, and went to college to major in illustration and graphic design. He lived in San Diego for a time as a salaried artist, but left after 5 years to become a freelance artist in Portland, Oregon. He was there for three years, observing nature and taking road trips to the many national parks in the Pacific Northwest that would shape his art. After leaving Portland, he moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, and has been there ever since. He is now a full-time freelance artist, and is nationally known. He sells pieces of his art, as well as stickers, patches, notebooks, t-shirts, and any other kind of merchandise one can put a drawing on, and ships them all out himself.
I grew up in Austin, but the majority of my family either grew up in or still lived in the Pacific Northwest, especially Idaho and Oregon. It had been a family tradition of mine to visit Yellowstone park any chance we got, and I’ve been in almost every state the Rockies cross plus British Columbia. The northwest is a home away from home, and so when I began wanting to teach myself to draw, I immediately searched up drawings of wildlife and landscapes that I would recognize.
“Wander More”, created in 2015
This was the first drawing I found of Larson’s, and was immediately drawn to his style and the tools he used (anyone can buy zentangle pens). I began to copy his work and internalize it, until a year later I was able to make drawings of my own with the style I’d learned.
Since then, though I haven’t copied his work in some time, it still inspires me. I have been able to learn how to illustrate in an original way now, and properly showcase the nature that I love through the things I copied. While some may say that it’s not the best way to learn to draw by copying another’s work, I find it good that someone I never met before taught me how to make art.
Larson is still making originals of his own, but even a few years later we can see his style changing and growing. Though he still goes back to pen illustrations, he now focuses on watercolors and more graphic design. The following are some of his most recent works:
all works unnamed. Created 2018
Although he started out as another freelance artist in Oregon, he is now taking off. With thousands of followers all over the world, he appears on Instagram @samlarson, and you can check out his website at https://www.steelbison.com.
Sam Larson 