This Sports Artist Uses Basketballs as Paintbrushes

Samantha Woj's subjects include Caitlin Clark, Jason Kelce and Ellie the Elephant

Samantha Woj paints masterful portraits of athletes—the likes of Caitlin Clark, Juan Soto and Félix Auger-Aliassime—on paper, cardboard and canvas using sports equipment. Think basketballs, baseball bats, skis and even swim goggles.

Lifestyle brand Round21, founded by former pro basketball player Jasmine Maietta, has featured her art of notable WNBA stars, including Angel Reese, Cameron Brink and A’ja Wilson, on collectible apparel.

Here, Woj, who is based in Embrum, Ontario, discusses her work and unique process:

MUSE: You did a painting of Ellie the Elephant that blew up on social media during the WNBA semifinals. Why were you inspired to create art of the New York Liberty mascot? I think she’s truly the best—not to mention most fashionable—sports mascot ever.

Samantha Woj: That’s one of the main reasons I painted her. I find that her energy and spirit really transformed how we see mascots.

I’ve always wanted to paint her, but I never had time. Actually, when I did paint her, I didn’t have time, either! I went to pick up canvases for another project, and I was in the store, and I was like, “You know what? It’s their game tomorrow. I need to get it done sooner or later. And I want to get it done now before the playoffs.”

So, I grabbed the canvas, and I was like, “I’m just going to do it. I just need to get it out of my head and paint it.” I didn’t even have time sketch out an idea. I just went with what I felt. And I’ve never really done that for a painting. I usually create a plan, or an idea of a direction.

That was a really fun experience, I’ve got to say.

You are known for painting athletes. Do you play sports?

I played sports my whole life. For 12 years, I competed in soccer against other provinces. It’s funny, because basketball is one sport I couldn’t play. Whenever I played it in high school, I always got injured. I’d injure my wrist, and then I couldn’t write or draw for a week or two.

But I think I did something in basketball in another life. I genuinely like watching it. We only have one team [in Canada]. It’s a men’s team—the Raptors. But now we’re getting a Canadian WNBA team! It’s exciting.

How did you get into art?

My sister’s friend’s mom did an after-school program, and I showed up. And then I caught the bug. I love expressing myself.

When did you start painting with sports gear?

It was in college. I had to do an abstract painting, and I just hate abstract. I was a realistic painter, working with paintbrushes, and I was just frustrated. So, I just threw a soccer ball against the canvas and kept kicking it and rolling it—I liked the texture. That was probably the first experience I had with sports and art. I’d never found a way to join my love of art and sports before.

But I didn’t do it again until the pandemic. I was injured from doing sports and couldn’t leave the house. I’m very jokey with my sister, and I was like, “I can’t work out, but I have art supplies. Why don’t I just roll sports equipment in paint, so I’m athletic in a new way?” That’s how it started. And then it blew up.

You did a painting to celebrate Caitlin Clark’s selection as WNBA Rookie of the Year. You also did a painting of Clark when she was still in college that went viral and wound up on Round21 merch. Tell me about that.

I painted that a year before it went viral. I was slowly getting into basketball, and I was like, “Oh, I’m hearing her name a lot [when she was at Iowa]. She seems to be breaking records.” And I did a painting. It didn’t really go anywhere. Next season, I re-posted it, and it just blew up.

I painted more athletes, and I was really understanding the world of basketball. Round21 saw my art, and they contacted me and said, “Hey, we would like to collaborate.” Round21 matches sports and art, which is what I had been trying to figure. So, they took that piece and used it for merch for Clark’s intro [into the WNBA] during the draft. It got my art to a wider audience that I never had before.

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You post videos of yourself painting in your studio on your Instagram account and elsewhere on social media. You have also painted in-person at the Bell Centre in Montreal and other places. Why do you allow us to see your process?

I think I learned early on that when you just show a piece, people don’t understand the effort and the work, or even how it’s made. I was kind of hesitant because of my disability. [Woj was born with a rare genetic disorder called Ectrodactyly, a condition characterized by missing or malformed fingers and toes.]

I’m somebody who was never confident with my disability. I would hide it a lot. I’m very introverted, which doesn’t show in my videos. So, this was an opportunity to be like, “You know what, I just got to show myself at say, ‘Fuck it’ and just be myself.” In the other half of my life, I’m a psychotherapist. So, I have to take my own advice—you can’t let anxiety and negative thoughts prevent you from trying something. And I’d say the experience has been way more positive than I expected.

Many of your paintings are made with a basketball. What are the plusses and minuses of working with a basketball?

If I need to fill in a whole area, it’s the best sports equipment to do it with because it’s large. The negative side is that’s it’s really big [and ungainly to work with sometimes].

You did a Jason Kelce painting with a football, and he and his brother Travis praised your work on their popular New Heights podcast. What did that feel like?

Unreal, honestly!

How do you keep your energy up when you are making art?

A lot of chocolate and coffee. I think I ate a whole chocolate bar when I was painting Ellie.

I find it intimidating to discuss art, especially with artists. I feel like I don’t know what to say beyond, “I love your art.” It’s easy to talk to you.

I never felt like I belonged in the art world. I’m somebody who just likes to create and paint. I think that’s one of the reasons I make art this way—I can connect with other fans in a way that you could only do with sports. There’s just this inherent connection when you’re talking to other fans.