On this episode of the podcast, I talk with Romance author and singer KG Fletcher from Atlanta GA. Not only is KG Fletcher an author but is also a backup singer in the National Tour, "Remember When Rock Was Young – the Elton John Tribute." KG has written several romance novels and has even been listed as an Amazon best-seller. Links KG Fletcher's Website https://www.kgfletcherauthor.com Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com...
May 29, 2022•51 min•Season 11Ep. 3
On this episode of the podcast, I talk with David Van who runs the Madison Makers Market. I had originally met David when I talked to him and his partner Megan on the podcast about their company Tacocat Creations. Back then David had just taken over the Madison Makers Market. Today I talk with David about what the Madison Makers Market is, how people can get involved with it, and what it's like to run your own series of pop-up events for creators and artists. Links Madison Makers Market Website ...
May 22, 2022•59 min•Season 11Ep. 2
In this episode of the podcast, I talk with writer Paul Leonard Williams. Paul has written a series of detective novels based on his central character Gideon Jones. But as we talk I find out that the idea for these stories started in high school but he was talked out of trying to be a writer by his parents. So for many years he actually went into the field of martial arts before deciding to reconnect with his original passion to be a writer later in life. Links Paul Leonard Williams Website http...
May 15, 2022•46 min•Season 11Ep. 1
I turn on the mic and try to talk myself out of a creative rut. One of the things that motivated me? A podcast interview I did recently. More at https://www.tomrayswebsite.com
Apr 03, 2022•24 min
What I’m trying out currently with Facebook and YouTube ads to promote what I do. And I’m testing this out for $1 a day Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com Podcast Music by Tom Ray's band Lorenzo's Music, listen on Spotify https://spoti.fi/2JJF39Q
Mar 13, 2022•20 min•Season 10Ep. 17
On this episode of the podcast, I talk again with webcomics artist Marlene Santos. Last time I spoke with Marlene on the podcast she was just starting a new series on the comic site tapas called JumpHero. Since then Marlene has built a new website and was featured on one of the Tapas website editor picks. We catch up on this episode and see how things have been going! Links Marlene Santos Website https://jumpherocomic.com Marlene Santos Webcomic on Tapas https://tapas.io/series/JumpHero Marlene ...
Mar 06, 2022•45 min•Season 10Ep. 16
This is the last in a 3 part series I've been doing about publishing my webcomics as print-on-demand books on Amazon. I thought I would share this on the art podcast as I'm doing the setup for my fourth book this year. In the previous episode, I shared how my webcomic transformed from something I was just posting on my website, to a thing that I could find multiple uses for at once. In this episode, I go over the actual publishing process using Amazon KDP to make the book and what the royalties ...
Feb 27, 2022•13 min•Season 10Ep. 15
I recently made a series of videos about publishing my webcomics as print-on-demand books on Amazon. I thought I would share this on the art podcast as I'm doing the setup for my fourth book this year. I gave some background about how I started my webcomic in the last episode of the podcast. This time I share how my webcomic transformed from something I was just posting on my website, to a thing that I could find multiple uses for at once. Links Video: Making a book of my webcomic - Artwork/Book...
Feb 20, 2022•16 min•Season 10Ep. 14
I recently made a series of videos about publishing my webcomics as print-on-demand books on Amazon. I thought I would share this on the art podcast as I'm doing the setup for my fourth book this year. I've been doing my webcomics since 2017 and every year I put together a collected version of them into a book. I hope that this helps anyone who has been thinking of making a book out of their own artwork or will benefit anyone that may have been thinking about transforming their own artwork into ...
Feb 13, 2022•16 min•Season 10Ep. 13
On this episode of the podcast, I meet Amie Waters. Amie has been making music and videos on YouTube for years and has turned it into a career. After going to school for music and putting out several albums Amie decided to dive in one year to really try and make music a career. After doing that for a time, Amie thought it wasn't going to happen and was about to give up when one of the releases did something big! Links Amie Waters on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/AmieWaters Amie Waters on Faceb...
Jan 30, 2022•58 min•Season 10Ep. 12
On this episode of the podcast, I meet Jason Lambeth. Jason is an artist and musician here in Madison. Jason paints, draws, and makes music. I actually heard about him from a video suggestion on YouTube he was on a podcast about running a cassette tape music label. We talk about his music background, running a label, and the inspiration behind what he makes. Links Jason Lambeth's website https://jasonelambeth.com Jason Lambeth on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jasonelambeth Visit Tom Ray's ...
Jan 16, 2022•39 min•Season 10Ep. 11
On this episode of the podcast, I meet Xizhou Xie. Xizhou is a painter that lives here in Madison WI. We talk about finding her art style, getting work hung in galleries, and even turning her own home into a gallery for her artwork. Links Xizhou Xie's website https://xizhouxie.com Xizhou Xie on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/xizhouxie Podcast website - https://www.tomrayswebsite.com...
Jan 09, 2022•46 min•Season 10Ep. 10
On this episode of the podcast, I meet Tiffany Babb. She's a regular contributor to many online publications and writes about the comics and not just that but how the comic stories have cultural relevance. Tiffany also just released her first collection of poetry "A LIST OF THINGS I’VE LOST" that was published by Vegetarian Alcoholic Press. Plus Tiffany also makes a diary webcomic called "All About Me". Links Tiffany Babb's website https://www.tiffanybabb.com Tiffany Babb on Instagram https://ww...
Jan 02, 2022•55 min•Season 10Ep. 9
In the previous episode of the podcast, I talked about how I used Facebook ads to find people that might be interested in the things I make. I wanted to tell a story this time about something I tried to find people to read my autobiographical webcomic I draw using Google ads that ended up not costing that much. It started with promoting a physical book I made of the webcomic and then pivoted into a separate website that people could flip through to read it. Podcast website - https://www.tomraysw...
Dec 26, 2021•22 min•Season 10Ep. 8
This week I was unable to book an artist in time for the podcast. So I thought I would try something different. I've been working on ads to promote the podcast and some of the art and music I create too. So I thought I would share how I've been using Facebook ads up until now to promote what I do. Plus I wanted to share a new type of ad style for me that I've really been happy with. I talk about my objectives for these ads, the interests I use to find the audience, and the type of ad sets that w...
Dec 19, 2021•20 min•Season 10Ep. 7
Terry Huddleston is an artist living in Indiana who has been making comic book pinup posters and more. I saw his work at a ComicCon that came through town and one of the things that was really cool about what he was doing is he was printing these posters he was selling right there at his booth. We talk about how Terry started out making comics and then realized that he could be making fan art more quickly and sell more of it to people. Links Terry Huddleston's website https://www.terryhuddleston...
Dec 12, 2021•45 min•Season 10Ep. 6
Craig Hutchinson is a YouTube cartoon animator living in Jamaica. Craig contacted me after seeing one of my animated cartoons I posted online. I had checked out his YouTube and he has been posting his own cartoons for the past year. One thing I found really interesting about them was that he was doing Storytime animation, animated stories about his life. Not only that but I find out during the interview that Craig makes these cartoons using only his phone! Links Craig Hutchinson on YouTube https...
Dec 05, 2021•50 min•Season 10Ep. 5
Philip Salamone is a painter living here in Madison WI. He was actually one of the first people I met on the podcast back when I started it in 2017. I was given the chance to do this podcast live on a local radio station here in town WORT FM and I asked Philip if he would want to come on the show with me. I thought it would be a great chance for us to catch up and talk about what he has been doing since he was last on the show. We talk about his artwork and the classes he has been teaching at th...
Nov 28, 2021•58 min•Season 10Ep. 4
Amy Regutti is a painter living here in Madison WI. Amy had gone to school for art and gave it to become an acupuncturist. Years later Amy started painting again. But after an automobile accident a few years ago started focusing more on painting during recovery. Now Amy sells art online and promotes it at pop-up galleries and in the comic cons. Links Amy Regutti's Website https://www.amyreguttiart.com Amy Regutti on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/spacethrob Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website htt...
Nov 21, 2021•57 min•Season 10Ep. 3
CJ Standal is an indie comic book writer living here in Madison WI. We met while he was at the Mighty Con here in Madison. CJ writes and publishes the comics Rebirth of the Gangster, B.A.E Wulf, and has also published a series of essays about graphic novel writing called Outside the Panels from a course he taught to his high school students. Links CJ Standal's Website https://www.cjstandalproductions.com CJ Standal on Twitter https://twitter.com/cj_standal Tom Ray's Podcast Website at https://ww...
Nov 14, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 10Ep. 2
Neil Moherman is an indie comic book writer living in Dayton, Ohio. We met while he was at the Mighty Con when it came through here in Madison. Neil contacted me to tell me about his Kickstarter campaign for his next issue of his comic Cog & Flame Issue #4. Neil has been creating indie comics since 2017. He currently has two series in production, Cog & Flame and Doomspeaker. We talk about how he started his story while writing a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, how he finds people to draw ...
Nov 07, 2021•1 hr•Season 10Ep. 1
Zipporah Michel is an artist living in Florida. Zipporah has been painting and illustrating artwork highlighting underrated ancient figures, religious icons, and even current events in hues, and profiles as vibrant as known figures would be illustrated—lined with metallic and bold hues. We talk about gallery shows she has been doing, projects, and books she's worked on. Also, her love of anime sparks a discussion between us about the cartoon Sailor Moon. Links Zipporah Michel's website https://w...
Sep 26, 2021•46 min•Season 9Ep. 12
Emma Groom is a comic book artist and writer living in Florida. Emma is working on a comic book called Recursions End doing the writing and the artwork. Emma decided to try and see what it would be like to pitch it to actual comics and book publishers and is in the process of doing that. During the conversation, Emma tells me that the whole thing started out as a text RPG game. While doing all this Emma also runs a plant cloning business that pays the bills. Links Emma Groom's comic on Facebook ...
Sep 19, 2021•51 min•Season 9Ep. 11
Christine Merriman is an artist that lives in Vermont who is originally from here in Wisconsin. Christine has run an artist studio called Marry Woman Studios, created large-scale sculptures and tile artwork using a method called Raku to fire them, and has pieces that are in houses all over the US. And Christine is now focusing on art and trauma therapy. Links Christine Merriman on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/christine.merriman.79 Tom Ray's Art Podcast Website https://www.tomrayswebsite.com...
Sep 05, 2021•46 min•Season 9Ep. 9
Dan Hardesty is an artist in Pennsylvania who does illustration and also makes computer 3D artwork that actually gets created and 3D printed for live stage sets for performances at the Sight & Sound Theatres a production the performs live stories from the bible. We talk about how Dan went from drawing to illustration to eventually creating these large set pieces. Dan is also starting a new webcomic on his Instagram page called The Almighty Sandwich. Links Dan Hardesty on Instagram http://www...
Aug 29, 2021•59 min•Season 9Ep. 8
Jamal Moore is a blind independent R&B artist that lives here in Madison, WI. We talk on this show about how in the past few years Jamal decided to pursue what he really wanted to do, make music. He's been recording song ideas and releasing them on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook and trying to promote what he does. His ultimate goal would be to find a group of other blind artists to help them too so he started his own label called No Sight Entertainment. Links DeeRay Music on YouTube https:...
Aug 22, 2021•34 min•Season 9Ep. 7
Joseph Arruda is an illustrator in San Jose, CA. We talk on this show about the work Joseph does and other things like Illustration influences, the pens he likes to use. Plus, new things in life like finding a creative space and how in recent years mixing traditional art along with digital is something he is growing to like more. Joseph makes large mixed media collages as well and has in the past worked for the art website DeviantArt. Links Joseph Arruda on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/...
Aug 15, 2021•57 min•Season 9Ep. 6
Art and Asanas is an art studio in Ringwood, NJ that teaches a combination of stretching and drawing/painting for kids and adults. The focus is on drawing, brush techniques, mixing paint, posture, form and breathing. The gallery is run by Lynda Edwards who I've had on the show previously and today she brings along Kait Carter works with Lynda at the gallery. We talk about how the Art & Asanas gallery is evolving and what it has been doing over the past year. Links Art and Asanas Website http...
Aug 08, 2021•44 min•Season 9Ep. 5
Stephen Lee Rich is a singer and songwriter living here in Madison. Stephen has been playing music since the 1970s and has done so many things since then. We get together in my own band's studio to talk about what he does, how he got started, and how he ended up moving to Madison. We also talk about how he plans to start an internet variety show. Links Stephen Lee Rich Website https://stephenleerich.com Andina and Rich Musical Duo https://andinaandrich.com Stephen Lee Rich on Facebook https://ww...
Aug 01, 2021•42 min•Season 9Ep. 4
Julia Hacker is an artist in Toronto Canada who moved there from Russia where she worked as a fashion designer. After trying to find work in Canada Julia started a fashion design boutique of her own. Julia always drew and created artwork and later on after the shop closed decided to go into painting. Links Julia Hacker Website https://www.artjuliahacker.com Julia Hacker on Instagram http://instagram.com/artjuliah Julia Hacker on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/juliahackerart Tom Ray's Art Podca...
Jul 25, 2021•1 hr•Season 9Ep. 3
