Find your senators at reps.fyi or call 202-224-3121

Oh no the people at the coffee shop complaining about how their adult kids won't use ChatGPT to make their life’s “easier”. I fear this is more common than I’d like to admit The amount of people in my life desperately trying to get me to use AI to make my art is weirdly high so I guess I knew this

Whenever language around what people deserve and what they don't deserve in the US comes around I am reminded at how much this is a game to people, how they can't fathom real lives Not just politicians, but literally our neighbors. The cruelty people will put onto others without a second thought

A pug I don’t know came up to me, sat on my feet, and just stared up into my eyes. His owner came to find him and said he doesn’t do this normally, but how do I tell them not to apologize cause a dog just deciding it randomly likes me a lot is probably enough dopamine to get me through another month

I made the hard choice to pause my Patreon at least until the new year. I posted there, but just in case anyone who is a patron didn't see it yet I'm exhausted. My body has developed muscle twitches again which means I'm at my breaking point. So I will focus on tabling at least until the new year

Last year on election night I took a friend to the ER at midnight. I had expected the election results, but it still was bad especially as the other folks in this waiting room were giddy about it Tonight is a small but significant push back, I celebrate with veggie tacos and no emergency rooms

US friends, please go vote today in local elections (I voted early by mail already). Fewer people turnout in smaller elections so your engagement really matters.

Lots of adoration for the person I saw just now riding a Lime scooter while yelling out Lady Gaga’s Abracadabra like it was a very serious Shakespearean sonnet May we all live life like this

Had the chance to illustrate for Quanta again, and got to draw one of my favorite animals: sharks! This is for “Shark Data Suggests Animals Scale Like Geometric Objects” by Joanna Thompson. It was really fun to focus on all sorts of species, from the large Whale Shark to the small Spiny Dogfish

Never underestimate the awkward exchange of a "you should make XYZ! I'd buy it!" and then showing the very thing existing as a buyable item and the other person disappearing

When people hear that I'm returning to part time work they often ask "are things not going well with your art?" The problem really is things are going well, but the world is so unstable that I long for some consistency and income that I don't have to pay quarterly taxes on

Thank you everyone for enjoying the short, but sweet Monster Mashtober run this year. Life got in the way, and I had to return to current work and prepping for an upcoming return to part time work. I hope I can draw more monsters next year Happy Halloween everyone!

I had the absolute honor of getting to make a piece for the @gallerynucleus.bsky.social Over the Garden Wall 10th Anniversary Tribute Show I believe this piece is being made into a print with the gallery so keep your eyes peeled, give them a follow! The opening reception will be on Nov 2nd🎃

While I was only able to draw two more Monster Mashtobers, they are both now up at my Etsy as stickers and mini prints (just showing off the Mothman since I forgot to show him off in the last sale post)! The Werewolf print is almost sold out already so jump on it! samanthamash.etsy.com

Emotionally I'm not sure I can explain to one more human what a harpy is and that I didn't invent it, nor is it fanart of anything contemporary, when I am tabling

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment is what led to my grandmother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis when I was a kid. We couldn’t afford in home treatment nor a nursing home so she lived with her illness and died in the room next to mine. Everything about this represents so many frustrations I have with so much

The depth of the shame of a country this wealthy and abundant allowing its people to go hungry is impossible to measure. The fact that a handful of people could fix this by paying their fair share of taxes while still remaining obscenely wealthy makes it even worse.

If/when I start my part-time job will I finally return to playing video games? I haven’t played anything more than Animal Crossing or Pokémon because I haven’t had the time to lose myself in any games in about five years! It would be nice to have time for myself for fun again

At the food pantry I volunteer at we were absolutely swamped today and by many first timers. We ran out of whole categories of food. Please donate cash to your local organization if you at all can.

Trying to embrace small moments daily when everything feels so fragile

People often say the Portland public transport system is great, but a bus coming every fifteen or thirty minutes or hour (sometimes if you’re lucky) isn’t great. The metric of what is good public transportation in the US is so skewed that sometimes I’m at an absolute loss

Another thing I miss about Spain was how well people seemed to train their dogs. I’m a huge dog person, but the utter absconding of any responsibility within training them here is really upsetting

Another picture from the vet the other day. I know folks like Seti a lot, so I’ll just drop by with this post to say his bloodwork came back and he is doing pretty well. Some things do indicate his kidney issues are worsen (expected), but overall he is good for a nearly 16 year old little man

Vet check up for the boy. Can’t tell if he loves being here or hates it

If you leave quietly maybe the werewolf won’t notice you🐺

Someone seems to have stolen a somewhat large order of prints that was left out in the mail room of my building This sucks, it is a huge waste of money, but honestly I hope they enjoy their utterly useless theft. They're going to be so disappointed when they open it

Whenever people find out I’m returning to part time work they seem surprised, but honestly I used to be able to make rent six times over during my Monster Mashtober runs. Now I make enough to maybe cover my health insurance payment for one month. Huge shifts in online spaces and sales You adapt!

Having a nearly sixteen year old cat means having to run to the emergency vet on a Friday night. Tonight though the emergency vet helped me for free, which was honestly a shock I do need to take him to his regular vet soon so, if you have ever wanted anything from my shop samanthamash.etsy.com

The deadly mermaid is here! She is a little bored today, no one new to meet and greet in the sea and invite down to the depths with her💀

#PortfolioDay again! I'm a West Coast artist named Samantha and I specialize in editorials, publishing (mostly book covers), and branding ✉️[email protected] 🧡samanthamash.com 🧡samanthamash.etsy.com 🧡inprnt.com/gallery/samanthamash 🧡patreon.com/samanthamash

The first four Monster Mashtober creatures for sale as mini prints and stickers at my Etsy! This means the Hungry Harpy, Wingless Sphinx, Hippocampus, and Mothman are ready to go home with you as either a 8x4” on smooth matte archival uncoated paper or as 3.5” vinyl stickers samanthamash.etsy.com

Reporting in from dystopian Portland

I felt some inch of hope on a very personal level for the first time in a bit, which obviously lead to me looking up greyhound rescues which is a slippery slope to more future pets Realistically I'll probably adopt from a local shelter, but I do like to look at the noodle dogs

My first four creatures made for my Monster Mashtober. Do you have a favorite so far? I really like the Harpy myself! Prints and stickers are releasing soon to those signed up to the newsletter and those who are patrons at my Patreon😉 www.samanthamash.com/newsletter www.patreon.com/samanthamash

The wingless Sphinx hasn’t notice you…yet. So you still have time to prepare for her riddles

My life seems to change very significantly every four or five years since I was eleven, and that cycle is coming up again It is both scary and somehow also grounding, but I’m mostly leaning into a hope that I will not have to work as much as I have for the past few years

Seeing the guy who couldn't be bothered to put his used dishes in the bus bin when I was getting coffee (instead putting it in front of the cashier while they were working a rush) have his tea spill all over him was truly the cosmic justice I needed today as a former barista/food industry girl

A little Seti content to help everyone get through this Tuesday

The man, the myth, the legend: Mothman

Doing my annual rewatch of this tonight🐈‍⬛

If you laugh too hard in my house my cat will think something is wrong and go crawl up onto you, headbutt and meow at you over and over until you stop

The Hippocampus is a mythical creature with the front of a horse and the back half of a fish. They've been portrayed by cultures from the Ancient Greeks to the Picts and beyond My take here is partly based on a black-figure amphora from the 6th century BCE that currently is displayed in the Louvre

The hungry harpy may have bitten off more than she can chew Welcome to my 2025 Monster Mashtober! What is that you may ask? It is my own personal month long challenge with no themes, lists, or rules other than to draw whatever creature I want. So, what monster do you want me to draw?

Yesterday was my last day tabling for the Summer season. I will be back, but for now I will take a much needed break🧡 I just want to thank everyone who came by and remind folks you can always shop stickers and mini prints online right here even when tabling season is over samanthamash.etsy.com

I’ll be at the Portland Flea from 11AM-4PM today! This is my last event until the holidays so come by and say hi

War torn Portland (2025) 😞

Not an exciting post, but I forgot to mention mini prints are back and better than ever at my Etsy. All mini prints are now printed on smooth 9.5 mil matte archival uncoated paper. Shipping is $2.40-$5 depending on where you live Find all my offerings (plus stickers) here samanthamash.etsy.com

I think all artists want this, but I’d kill for a year with no need to hustle and instead can just focus on making new experimental work

I have an ongoing set of work that I am calling the "long canvas animal series". These are four of my personal favorites from it: Pale Antelope, Leopard, Tiger, and Black Rabbit What animal should I draw next?

The process of watching the person who ordered after me at the coffee shop go up to the bar, grab a drink that is already done and can’t be theirs, spill it as they take a sip, and then say “I don’t think this is my drink”