Courtesy Photo Samantha Freske is seen painting during the Alpena Flower Festival in this courtesy photo taken by Noah Gibson.

ALPENA — From living in a small town to painting large murals, Posen native Samantha Freske is diving head-first into her career as an artist.

“I’ve been doing it (art) ever since I could remember,” Freske said. “I never thought I could do it professionally, but I’ve always been encouraged by teachers and others.”

Twenty-four-year-old Freske grew up going to Posen schools, and despite her love for the arts, there weren’t classes available for her to advance her knowledge in the subject. It wasn’t until after high school graduation that she enrolled in her first-ever art class at Alpena Community College.

“Me and my brother were artists, and my mom went to school for interior design, so she’s pretty creative,” she said. “She’d show us Mark Kistler and stuff like that when we were kids and we loved it. I just kept drawing on my own and kept teaching myself until I had classes at ACC.”

Aside from teaching herself, many of her teachers and other school staff would give her special projects to let her express her creativity when she was unable to do so in a classroom setting.

Courtesy Photo Samantha Freske poses in front of a painting she created at Wilson’s Lasting Expressions.

“They saw what I could do and they’d give me special projects,” she said. “I’d paint different posters and such, and it blossomed from there.”

After her high school graduation, though, Freske was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a cancer that she said “impacted both (her) creative and personal journey.”

“It held me back for a while and made continuing not just my art but life in general difficult at times,” she said. “But I was very determined to keep pushing forward, and in some ways, my cancer journey has inspired my work, and I’ve been able to utilize my art to recover.”

Freske continued to take painting opportunities as a way to express herself and “push forward” despite her diagnosis.

In 2021, when 12 murals were painted on free-standing structures at the entrance to the Alpena Boat Harbor, Freske applied and was selected as one of eight artists honored to paint vibrant artwork.

Courtesy Photo Samantha Freske works on a painting at the end of Blair Street Pier.

Freske had two pieces of her work within the mix: “Branches” and “An Order of Hope.”

“I decided then that I wanted to keep going with it,” she said.

Freske began to see the opportunities arise from there.

Working at Lasting Expressions, she started window painting for the business. Then, Neighborhood Provisions contacted her because they wanted her work on their windows, too.

“It (painting) was something that always stuck out to me,” she said, comparing painting to other mediums. “I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily an easy medium to get into, but it’s very versatile. You can paint a wall, you can paint a canvas, you can paint clothes.”

News Photo by Torianna Marasco "An Order of Hope" by Samantha Freske is seen on July 5 at the Alpena Boat Harbor.

Moving on from windows, she recently took a job painting a mural for Alpena Shipwreck Tours. She was approached by their team, who emailed her the design by Makayla Armstead, and asked her if she’d be willing to paint it.

“They must’ve seen my work around town,” she said. “I told them ‘I’d love to paint their wall. I was very honored.”

Freske took on the project eagerly, saying she’s done murals before but this is the biggest she’s done “by far.”

“It’s a little out of my comfort zone,” she said. “I can’t help but be a little intimidated by it. Yet, at the same time, I was just so happy to do it. I just thought ‘I got this.'”

With such a big project, Freske is seeing more recognition, especially while working on the mural.

Courtesy Photo The final mural, painted by Samantha Freske, is seen at Alpena Shipwreck Tours.

“People love to stop by and they all have the same reaction saying ‘This is so cool.’ I get so touched,” she said. “I can’t help but think, too, ‘Yeah, it really is, actually.'”

The process took Freske a little over a week, starting with transparent spray paint to brush paint to the finishing touch-ups and cleaning.

When asked if she’d do other projects like this one, she said, “I’d love to. I’d love to tackle another big project — even bigger if I can. I like to take up challenges as much as I can.”

This project is just one of the several places where Freske’s painting can be seen in the Alpena area. She also has painted at the end of Blair Street Pier and has a few canvases at Art in the Loft.

Freske is planning to expand her knowledge and gain more practice as she considers going to the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.

Courtesy Photo Samantha Freske is seen painting during the Alpena Flower Festival in this courtesy photo taken by Noah Gibson.

“I’d love to make art my full-time job where I love what I do everyday,” she said. “I can see myself doing more mural work down the line and working on more original paintings.”

Freske hopes to continue to be a part of the art scene in Northeast Michigan as well.

For now, Freske plans to “take it day by day and stay open to endless possibilities.”

Courtesy Photo Samantha Freske is seen working on a window painting at Rebel Roots Hair Salon.

News Photo by Torianna Marasco Samantha Freske works on the mural at the Alpena Shipwreck Tours building in Alpena in July.

Courtesy Photo Samantha Freske works on a mural titled “Branches” at the Alpena Boat Harbor.

Courtesy Photo A window painting by Samantha Freske is seen in this photo taken at Neighborhood Provisions in Alpena.

News Photo by Torianna Marasco Samantha Freske works on the mural at the Alpena Shipwreck Tours building in Alpena on Thursday.