Artist Profile

Eastern Red Bat at Mount Tom with Fireflies
6x6" printed area $200

American Bullfrogs at Crescent Lake
3x7" printed area $200

Butterflies at the Northern and Southern Terminus of the NET
3x5x4" $75

Chatrois In the Window
3x4" $40

Samuel Swap is an illustrator, printmaker, and educator from Connecticut. Born and raised in Ivoryton and now living in Middletown, Sam has lived in the Connecticut River watershed his whole life. Sam aims to shed light on the forgotten faces of nature, our native species, and how we as people interact with the natural world around us.

After graduating from the Hartford Art School, he began teaching at Old Lyme’s Florence Griswold Museum and discovered the beautiful naturalist art of the Old Lyme art colony and surrounding artists. Taken aback by their beautiful depictions of the CT landscape, Sam dove headfirst into nature inspired landscape art. Additionally, inspired by the many illustrators of his childhood like Bill Watterson, Martin Hanford and James McCaulay, Sam started his own publishing studio called Third Cat Press (aptly named after his beloved cat Chatrois) to self-publish his own children’s books and wood engraving prints. In 2024, he published The ABCs of BATs, an alliterative adventure of nocturnal navigators, to highlight the vast biodiversity amongst his favorite mammals.

This summer, Sam will be out on the trail making small plein-air prints of the New England trail. Using crosscut grain hard maple blocks, Sam will be using a method of printmaking called wood engraving, a process used prominently by American graphic artists allowing for details galore. These prints will build up to a large scale, detailed map of the NET as it flows through Connecticut and Massachusetts, highlighting towns species and the great ecology that lines our states and trails. Along with creating art, Sam will lead multiple plein air painting and printmaking classes so you can learn how to translate the vast beauty of our landscape. You will be able to find Sam on the trail this summer with his inks, paper, wood and tools, and if you ask nicely, he may even gift you a doodle.

Tour Location:

Website: @Thircatpress instagram

Click here to see the 25th Anniversary Video Retrospective produced by CT Public Broadcasting!