I had a great chat with San Francisco based artist Jacob Dhein. Jacob’s work balances on the edge of realism and abstraction. He paints beautiful figures and cityscapes, and he’s also a fan of plein air painting. We talked about rollerblading, distinguishing yourself as an artist, letting go of things that hold you back, Irish […]
Oct 17, 2016•1 hr
I had a great conversation with American figurative artist Bo Bartlett. Bo’s paintings have a deep emotional and spiritual impact. He’s been painting for the last 40 years and it shows. Bo is highly revered and his work is collected around the world in private collections and museums. This is a long conversation and as […]
Sep 28, 2016•2 hr 11 min
Patreon and Paypal link I had a great time chatting with artist Natalia Fabia in California. Natalia paints realist oil paintings with a high level of technical skill. Her subject matter is predominantly strong women viewed through the lens of punk rock glam. She has been featured in magazines like Juxtapoz, New York Arts magazine, […]
Sep 16, 2016•1 hr 14 min
I had a great conversation with artist Dorian Vallejo. Son of artists Boris and Doris Vallejo, Dorian grew up surrounded by creativity and inquiry, and it shows. His work is technically brilliant, his paintings, otherworldly. Floating figures in beautiful, natural, dreamlike worlds. We talk about sewing, tennis, the wild ones, bodybuilding, holding your breath underwater, […]
Sep 10, 2016•1 hr 31 min
I had a great chat with Mike Leavitt in Seattle. Mike is a pop artist and sculptor. His work includes painting, sculpture, design and satire, lots of Satire. He has had more than 126 exhibitions around the world and sculpted over 400 figures. In his own words he is a, “38-year-old making dolls in […]
Aug 31, 2016•1 hr 28 min
Patreon and Paypal link Teresa Oaxaca’s paintings look like a Ringling Circus, a Flower Show, and a Vintage Clothing festival all mashed into one. (I’m quoting her twitter profile.) Classically trained and technically brilliant her work brings you powerfully into her world. Normally based in Washington, she chatted with me from the Hague in Holland […]
Aug 24, 2016•1 hr 32 min
I had a great conversation with figurative artist Jennifer Gennari in Brooklyn. Jennifer’s work is beautiful, powerful, technically brilliant, full of symbolism, and kind of throbs with vitality, for me at least. We talked about her time at Hallmark cards, her classical training in Florence, her love of video games, Jeff Koon’s ninja stealth skills […]
Aug 18, 2016•1 hr 22 min
I had a great time with Canadian artist Danielle Krysa. As well as an artist Danielle is also a writer, a curator, a podcaster and a public speaker. She is probably best known for, “The Jealous Curator,” the art blog and podcast she hosts. In her art practice she works mostly in collage. Her work […]
Aug 09, 2016•1 hr 36 min
I had a great conversation with Australian artist Lucy Hardie. Lucy specialises in highly detailed pen and ink drawings. Her pictures are sensual, mysterious, evocative and made with a very high level of skill. Her work has appeared in numerous solo and group shows and her work is collected around the world. She talked about […]
Aug 01, 2016•1 hr 4 min
I had a great conversation with artist and writer Daniel Maidman in New York. Daniel’s art practice consists of striking representational paintings, mostly of figures – and drawings – lots of drawings. His writings on art have been featured in ARTnews, American Art Collector, and International Artist, among others, and he writes a regular column on […]
Jul 25, 2016•1 hr 4 min
Canadian artist Kristy Gordon was so enjoyable to chat with. She is based in New York and her paintings are figurative, contemporary and arresting. She has won numerous awards, including the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant (3 times!), and an exceptional merit award from the American portrait society. She has been in numerous solo and group […]
Jul 19, 2016•1 hr 6 min
I had a thoroughly enjoyable conversation with iconic pop artist Ron English. Ron has been painting for the last 35 years. He was making street art before it was hip or cool, before that term had even been coined. Back in the 80’s he was liberating billboards by altering their ads to highlight what the […]
Jul 12, 2016•54 min
I had a great conversation with artist Vanessa Prager in California. Vanessa paints, “dripping, melting, fading out portraits. ” Some of her portraits are big, 10 foot square while others are much smaller. Big or small they are all oil and the paint is thick, really thick. Vanessa has had solo shows in California and […]
Jul 03, 2016•1 hr
I had a lovely chat with artist Joseph Lorusso in Kansas. His warm, romantic paintings of people in everyday situations are expertly crafted and atmospheric. His ten years working in the greeting card company Hallmark have give him an impressive command of emotional evocation. He talked about his Italian heritage, the art business, watercolor painting, […]
Jun 23, 2016•1 hr 30 min
I had a great chat with fellow Irishman and abstract artist Richard Hearns. Richard has been described as one of the best-kept secrets in Irish contemporary art. He is represented by galleries in New York, Paris, Beirut, San Francisco, London, and Dublin. He is collected around the world and he has had regular solo exhibitions […]
Jun 08, 2016•1 hr 15 min
In this episode I’m chatting with Colin Davidson in Belfast, Ireland. Colin is known for his portraits, particularly of celebrities like Liam Neeson, Sir Kenneth Branagh, Ed Sheeran, and Brad Pitt. He was recently asked by Time magazine to paint a portrait of Chancellor Angela Merkel for the cover of their person of the year […]
May 26, 2016•1 hr 49 min
Fintan Magee paints epic figurative murals all over the world from America, to Russia, to China, Europe and even Ireland. Growing up in Brisbane in Australia, a place I know well, Fintan cut his artistic teeth in the graffiti world, then went on to art college and has managed to bring the two together in […]
May 18, 2016•59 min
Patreon and Paypal link David Cheifetz is an exceptional representational artist. Based in Seattle he paints people and cityscapes, and still lifes. Lots of still lifes. During the course of our conversation he gives some great tips and insights about his process, working with intent and the excitement of still life painting. I know! I’m […]
May 11, 2016•1 hr 7 min
In this episode I’m talking with Brooklyn based artist Jenny Morgan. Jenny’s paintings are figurative and contemporary. She brings a light intensity to her subjects that is really compelling. Her work has been shown in numerous group and solo shows all over America and Europe. We have a great conversation about her process both internal […]
May 04, 2016•53 min
Richard Baker is a Californian artist. His paintings are representational yet minimal. His subject matter has been described as fresh and uplifting and I think that’s a pretty good description. Like myself, Richard comes to his art practice on the back of a long and successful other career. In Richard’s case it is being […]
Apr 25, 2016•1 hr 3 min
I had a great conversation with Australian contemporary artist James Guppy. His paintings are figurative and surreal and his subject matter is life mortality, animals, flowers, fairies and recently men in suits — on stilts. Here is what we talk about: Creative heroes, “Good art is a virus that affects the way we see […]
Apr 10, 2016•1 hr 17 min
I had a great chat with Cuban American artist Cesar Santos in his studio in Miami. Cesar was first exposed to art through his uncle in Cuba who is an abstract painter. Migrating to America at the age of 12, Cesar embarked on a long training in art culminating in Florence where he studied with […]
Mar 29, 2016•57 min
Patreon and Paypal link Candice Bohannon and Julio Reyes are award winning figurative artists. They are also married to each other. Candice’s paintings are intense, compelling, and pulsing with strength. Julio’s paintings have that double take quality that Edward Hopper talked about where you see something fleetingly and it conveys a lot. It’s like a […]
Mar 23, 2016•2 hr 58 min
Michael Shane Neal is one of the most sought after portrait artists in America. He has painted Supreme Court Justices, U.S. Senators, State Governors, University Presidents, CEO’s, Business Tycoons, Hollywood actors and celebrities, and hundreds of private portraits for collections around the world. He is also a style icon and a self professed dandy. […]
Mar 02, 2016•1 hr 31 min
Brad Kunkle is a Brooklyn based artist who uses gold and silver leaf to paint figurative pictures that are both symbolic and surreal. Originally from rural Pennsylvania his appreciation for nature and the feminine principle are evident in his work. We had a great chat. Here is what we talk about: Creative heroes, The significance […]
Feb 27, 2016•1 hr 23 min
Stephen Bauman is an award winning artist and principal instructor with the Florence Academy of art in their Swedish campus. Last year I wrote an article about living masters working today and Stephen was in that list of artists. We had a great conversation covering everything from his beginnings as a graffiti artist, to his […]
Feb 09, 2016•1 hr 15 min
Adam Miller is an artist on a grand scale. He paints big figurative paintings with lots of characters. They look like classical paintings but the characters are all contemporary, except for the odd mythical creature. Last year I wrote an article about living masters working today and Adam was in that list of artists. Here […]
Feb 01, 2016•1 hr 8 min
Daryl Shute is a filmmaker working predominantly in animation. He is an associate producer with Magic Light Pictures which made award winning film The Gruffalo and have just released their latest film, Stick Man. Daryl give a great insight into the nuts and bolts of animation and film making. Here is what we talk […]
Jan 21, 2016•55 min
Crazy, savvy, and irreverent, Ashley Longshore is a positive force of nature. She is an American artist who refuses to sell in galleries and instead sells directly to her high profile collectors straight from her Instagram account. Her prices start at around $30,000. She has made herself a millionaire through this approach. In this special […]
Dec 22, 2015•1 hr 11 min
This is part two of my chat with Gregory Mortensen. Greg spent 12 years studying painting. It shows. His work has been on the cover of American art Collector magazine a couple of times. He has been in numerous group and solo shows. He has just finished his latest one man show at the […]
Dec 16, 2015•41 min