Ahhh, is it July yet? If you live somewhere cold, brace yourself because the work of New York based painter Samantha French will make you want to jump into the closest pool! A few episodes ago I called Sam out for blatantly ignoring my invitation to come on the podcast… so we definitely cover that. We’re also talking about living/working in New York, really big canvases, and where her love of painting water began. You can listen right underneath that gorgeous swimmer, or you can subscribe on iTunes. Ok, let’s get things started with a bunch of my favorites:

Sigh. See? Don’t you want to go swimming right now? Her work is absolutely beautiful, but seeing it online doesn’t do it justice. We talked about how big most of her work is, so I wanted to include these photos to help you understand the scale {and also to give you a peek into her New York studio}:

Ah-mazing! If you ever get a chance to see one of her shows in person… GO. You really do feel like you’re in a pool right along with all of her subjects.

Next, a few photos from the movies! Yep, these are the photos Sam took in the middle of a theater when two of her pieces were used on the set of Sleeping With Other People, starring Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie:

That photo directly above is a self-portrait of Sam, so technically she was in the movie too! Pretty cool. Speaking of cool, Sam’s partner, Aaron Hauck, is an amazing painter as well. Since this is a post about Sam, I thought I’d show one of his paintings that happens to be of Sam… “Sam checking her phone”, 2015:

Love! So much talent in one house. And with that I will say thanks so much to Sam for saying yes {turns out I need to check my inbox more carefully}; thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting the episode {and giving away a $50 gift card at the end of this month… sign up for my weekly email to be entered}; and a huge thanks to you for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

Other links:

• “Weekend Brunch with Samantha French” post 
• Wayne White episode
• MCAD
• Jennifer Davis
• Martha Rich

Houses, plants, embroidery thread, vintage ladies… yes, it’s very possible that Amsterdam based collage artist Hagar Vardimon is my soul sister. I’ve written about her a lot, so it was absolute thrill to call nine hours into the future, across the Atlantic to Amsterdam. She was nervous about her English, and her accent, but both are just perfect! You can listen to our collage-nerd conversation right underneath that gorgeous house bursting with plants, or you can subscribe on iTunes. First up, this was some of the first work of Hagar’s that I ever saw… and it was love at first sight:

Yes, we both have a thing for houses and embroidery thread! Strangely we’ve also both taken a small break from the embroidery work to play with paper… look what she’s doing with her father’s old paper punch:

So fun! She’s been posting all of these pieces to her gorgeous Instagram feed, which you absolutely have to follow. These were the women I brought up. I love this body of work so much… the colors, the strangely beautiful shapes, the geometric embroidery, and those fantastic vintage photos:

Gah! Love, love, love! As I said before, we both have a thing for houses. Here are a few from her “Lonely Houses” series from a couple of years ago:

That final piece was a commission she did for a family in California {yes, she does commissions… just sayin’}. And finally, I asked Hagar to send me a few shots from her studio. It’s a collage artist’s candyland:

Oh. I want to go to there. I haven’t told her this yet, but I laughed out loud when she sent that final photo. My clippings look almost exactly the same… except that mine are in a wooden bowl, not a wooden box. But close! Thanks so much to Hagar for talking to me {you too Liam… the youngest guest ever to be interviewed on the podcast!}. Thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting the episode, and for offering the $50 gift card giveaway happening at the end of February. And finally, as always, a huge thanks to you for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

ps. You can find Hagar’s lovely work for sale in her online shop.

Other links: Emily Barletta ; Hollie Chastain ; Glue I use

I have looooved the work of Indianapolis based artist Casey Roberts for years, so I’m a little embarrassed to say that it wasn’t until preparing for this interview that I realized these are cyanotypes, not paintings. Who knew? Well, not me. Casey met me in a quiet library in Indianapolis, with a glass of gin & tonic in hand to calm his nerves. I absolutely loved this chat… he is so talented, and an unbelievably nice guy. You can listen right under that stunning stump, or you can subscribe on iTunes. First up, some of Casey’s most recent work. They’re absolutely beautiful – like an ethereal exhale:

Sigh. So, so beautiful. Cyanotypes might just be the absolute perfect way to create nighttime scenes… for example:

Gasp! That glowing moth! Man, he’s good. Speaking of good, here’s Casey’s lovely piece that I included in my latest collection for The Land of Nod. So sweet!

Aww! And now, my favorite pieces in Casey’s extensive and beautiful portfolio. His carved trees:

Aren’t those amazing? And he does commissions with your special initials and dates… just sayin’. Also, I want one. And finally, I have to show this photo of Casey and his beard. Does his look not match his wild wilderness work perfectly?

Yeah, he can never shave that beard. It just works. And that’s that. No need for nerves, but clearly a glass of gin & tonic never hurts… unless of course someone makes you laugh and you have a small coughing fit. But other than that. Huge thanks to Casey for doing this with me, thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting the episode {and giving away a $50 gift card!}, and a big thank you to all of you for listening. There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

Other links: Parts Gallery, Toronto / Walker Contemporary, Vermont / In Search Of TV show

ps. casey’s cat heads…

Botanical watercolors, cosmic moments, and rum-soaked nipple cakes. Yep, all of that and more is covered in my conversation with Oregon based artist Kiana Mosley. Her story about getting into the zone “late one night” might’ve been my favorite part. You can listen right up there under that lovely bunch of blooms, or you can subscribe on iTunes. Now, the first time I wrote about Kiana’s work, in the fall of 2013, I described her paintings as “juicy gardens”, and I’m sticking with that description. Look…

Gor. Ge. Ous. Ooh, and I love this too. She talked about using pieces that didn’t go exactly as planned, for future projects… like this stunning, bloom-filled, color explosion of an alphabet that she collaged out of painted scraps. How do I feel about it…

LOVE! Now that’s how you recycle “failed” works! And of course, I had to show this… her two prints that have just very recently become available at Target!? Oh, and look who picked one up for the White House:

What?! Yes. Ridiculously cool. Alright, and that’s that! Thanks to Kiana for those delicious nipple cakes AND for doing this interview with me, thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting the episode, and as always, thanks to you for listening… I’m on my way to Hawaii, but never fear, there will be more art for your ear launched from Maui next weekend! Until then…

Other links:

The Fig House, LA / Emily Henderson / Sweet C’s designs / ps. some of Kiana’s work is available in my online gallery

I have been trying to convince this lady to be on the podcast since the very beginning. She said no… a lot. But I finally broke her. I love, love, love the work of Boston based Leah Giberson and so I’m thrilled that she finally said yes. Her subjects are mundane, but exquisitely so. Campers, trailers, old boats, lawn chairs from your grandparents’ yard, painted with insane detail, that truly celebrate the beauty in the everyday. You can listen right under that gorgeous, shiny airstream, or subscribe on iTunes. First up, a few of my favorite pieces just to set the mood:

Ahhh, those silver airstreams always blow my mind. All of her work is just so beautifully boring… speaking of which, here are a few photos from our trip to Chattanooga for the “Beautifully Boring” show, with Leah and New York based painter Samantha French. I love this photo of Leah in action {plus her butt looks great in this shot}.  There was a lot of “Leah Giberson” subject matter on the streets of Chattanooga:

That was such a fun trip! Next, these are a few of Leah’s older pieces… the houses, and open trailers that she talked about:

Oooh, those two trailers might be my favorites! Here are the two pieces that West Elm carried… that went absolutely crazy:

Gah! I love those too! Leah has painted a lot of lawn chairs, and some of them have even ended up on beer labels:

This is just one of the many pieces she created for New Belgium. I love them, so I purposely asked her about this project just so I’d have a reason to show them! We were also talking about how her work is evolving, and that she’s slowly becoming more interested in the mundane life reflected in the trailers instead of the actual trailers themselves:

Amazing. And finally, a glimpse into her studio. It might be small, but it is jam-packed with creative goodness:

Love! And that’s that… see, she had nothing to be nervous about. So easy. Thanks so much to Leah for answering her phone when I called, thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode, and as always, thanks so much to YOU for listening. There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

Holy sh*t, it’s Taylor Townsend! Perhaps I should qualify that… did any of you obsessively watch The OC? I did. Clearly. My favorite character on that show was, you guessed it, Taylor Townsend who was played by Autumn Reeser {she’s also been on Entourage, Hawaii 5-0, a ton of other shows and movies, and just finished working on Tom Hanks’ newest film, Sully}.  I’m shaking things up a tiny bit today, and instead of talking to a visual artist we’re heading to LA to talk to an actor about this whole creativity thing… it really is just one giant club. Whether you’re a painter {which Autumn also happens to be}, an actor, a writer, a musician, a dancer, etc we all go through the same things… blocks, self-doubt, and creative victories, too! Anyway, let’s get on with this. You can listen right up there underneath Autumn, or you can subscribe on iTunes. First things first, California here we come… where the fan-girl obsession began, The OC:

Ah, now I want to watch it all over again! She was also on another binge-worthy show, one of my faves, Entourage. She played a young TV agent and, more than once, got to go toe-to-toe with Jeremy Piven, aka Ari Gold:

Ok. Now I have to watch that again. These next images are from a movie called, Smoking Aces 2. Let’s just say this character was a little out of character for Autumn… and apparently a whole lotta fun! I love the story she tells about this crazy movie. She figured she wouldn’t get the part, so she just totally put it all out there at the audition, and whaddaya know, it worked:

Now, when she’s not working {which isn’t often}, Autumn dabbles in other types of creativity. Lately it’s been painting – and look – she’s not alone! Two little messy helpers – her sweet little boys Finn, age 4 and Dash, age 2. We had a long talk about The Artist’s Way {a really great book that I’m sure all of you already know about} and how it’s helped both of us so much. It’s pushed her in acting, in painting, and in 2015 she decided it was time to learn how to play the guitar too. Creative lady? Um, yeah.

And finally, the speed round. I obviously had to ask which of her co-stars was the best kisser. And the winner… John Stamos. Yep, Uncle Jesse gets it done! ps. she was mortified that I asked this question, but, well, too bad. Also, it turns out that Autumn was one of those ‘horse girls’ when she was little… you know the ones. Here is photographic proof from childhood, and then a few recent shots of her actually getting to live the dream! Yes, her last few movies have required Autumn to bring out her inner-cowgirl:

Wow, she makes it look so easy up there {and having Jesse Metcalfe beside you doesn’t hurt either}. Ok, so as they say in Hollywood, that’s a wrap … do they actually say that? I’m not really sure. Anywho, thank you so much to Autumn for answering all of my questions, thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting the episode, and as always huge thanks to you for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

Links to other tidbits we talked about:

Girl Crush Portland  /  Sully (Upcoming movie with Tom Hanks, directed by Clint Eastwood)  /  Cutie and the Boxer  /  The Artist’s Way

Yes! I’m back after two very relaxing weeks by the fire, with snow falling outside. But, I didn’t sit around doing nothing, oh no… instead of eating chocolate in my jammies, I hopped on Skype and called Maryanne Moodie  – an Australian artist, who now lives in Brooklyn. Ok, I may have been wearing jammies and eating chocolate when I called her. I have been obsessed with her weaving work for ages, and now I’m even more impressed after hearing her totally inspiring self-taught story. And ps., now I want to be a weaver. You can listen to our conversation right up there, under Maryanne in her studio, or you can subscribe on iTunes. First up, a whole bunch of her stunning, vintage-inspired, colorful weavings:

Gasp! So gorgeous. Doesn’t that last shot (from her amazing instagram feed) make you want to try weaving immediately? Yeah, me too. Luckily for us she sells starter kits, and teaches workshops all over the world! (ps. you can get the kits and buy spots in the classes via her Etsy shop. You can sign up for her enewsletter if you want to find out when/where the workshops are happening. Scroll down to the bottom of her home page and sign up there). I love that she does these classes! So fantastic, and yet another part of her amazing story (you have to listen if you’re not listening already… go right now!). Here are some of her kits and workshops in action:

So fun! That last shot is in her Brooklyn studio where she works and teaches. Those windows are killing me. Speaking of which, this is the feather piece I mentioned:

Beautiful! So, after procrastinating for almost a year, I finally warped up the loom (fancy expert weaver talk… I think) that Maryanne sent me last spring. I bought some yarn at my local thrift shop, and threw in some hot pink embroidery thread. Here’s where I am so far:

A grey rectangle! Oh yes, it’s getting serious in here. So, what do you think? Are you ready to join the tribe…

Me too! I’m so happy that I got a chance to talk to Maryanne. She is beyond lovely, so generous with her insider weaver information, and clearly very talented. Thank you for saying yes, Maryanne! Thanks also to Saatchi Art for supporting the episode and, of course, to you for stopping by to look/listen. There will be more art for your ear next weekend!

Yep! It’s a mini pre-holiday episode of Art For Your Ear… the perfect way to wrap up 2015, yes? My plan for this podcast has always been to ask artists questions that the art history books just don’t cover, so, I asked twelve artists to tell me about “the best gift they ever got”… see, I bet the art history books won’t tell you about that! There are a bunch of hilarious childhood Christmas presents, incredibly thoughtful birthday gifts, and even a good report card gift in there too. Have a listen right up there under Jessica Brilli’s “Nova in the Snow”, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

And in case you don’t listen {why aren’t you listening!?}, I’m going to take a moment to get a little sappy. I want to say thank you so much to all of you for not only reading the blog, but also indulging me earlier this year when I decided to try this podcast thing. I was really nervous about it, and wasn’t sure if it would be right for me… but now I’m obsessed! Part of that obsession is thanks to all of you and your insane enthusiasm / support! I’ve received lovely messages from so many of you – stories about listening while you work in your studio, run errands, make dinner, exercise. I get heartfelt emails about episodes that hit a nerve with you, and got you fired up to get back into the studio. It makes me so happy… so happy, in fact, that I’m able to put my phone anxiety on the back burner while I make the next call.

AND, thank you so much to all of the artists who say yes! Yes to evening Skype calls {sometimes with alcohol}, yes to answering all of my crazy fan-girl questions, and yes to the speed round! I appreciate it so, so much. xo

Finally, one more thank you… thank you to Saatchi Art for being so amazing. Before I launched the podcast – before even I knew what it would be like/sound like – I called the lovely folks at Saatchi Art in LA and asked if they’d sponsor the first episode. You never know, right? They might say yes? Well, they didn’t even hesitate! And it has gone long past the first episode – they’ve been supporting me since the beginning. See? Amazing.

Ok. I’m finished typing now. Have a listen to “the best gift ever”, and I’ll be back with more episodes of Art For Your Ear in early January … Happy Holidays! xo

{The twelve artists in this episode: Kelly Puissegur  /  Tiffanie Turner  /  Jessica Brilli  /  Jaime Derringer  /  Stephanie Vovas  / Bobbie Burgers  /  Sidney Pink  /  Debra Broz  / Michelle Kohanzo  /  Jessica Bell  /  Martha Rich  /  Esther Pearl Watson }

Hoozy Thinky Iz? Wayne White, that’s who. Ok, let me start by saying that Wayne is one of my favorite artists ever. I tried to be cool, but alas, I spent the first quarter of this episode having a fan-girl panic attack, and I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to tell. So, to make it more entertaining for yourself, please feel free to take a shot of tequila every time I say, “WOW!” or “relaxed”… (sigh)… yep, embarrassing – but not the beautiful kind. You can listen to our conversation right up there, under that embarrassingly beautiful painting, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

So, I could have talked to Wayne for five more hours, I had so many questions. I wish I’d asked about his amazingly talented/creative wife, Mimi Pond (pictured below hugging Wayne in a giant LBJ puppet head). I didn’t even get to the part about his work on the Smashing Pumpkins Tonight, Tonight video or Peter Gabriel’s Big Time video… and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Oh well, just go watch his film, Beauty is Embarrassing (directed by Neil Berkeley) and you’ll get the gist. Oh, and try not to cry. This is one of my most favorite movies of all time, so that’s where I jumped in:

It really is such a great documentary. Yes, it covers his work and his life, but it also hits all sorts of nerves about getting burnt out, self-doubt (hoozy thinky iz), and finding your way to a place where you’re just creating work that makes you happy. Yep, I cried at least three or four times as I thought, “Yes! Me too!” … and don’t even get me started on Mrs. Stoddard, or when Wayne’s dad starts crying. Yeah, you’re going to need a tissue.

Ok, now for all of you kids from the 1980s, you’ll remember this from Saturday morning TV … Pee-wee’s Playhouse! Wayne was part of the team from the beginning – designing sets, puppets, and he even did a bunch of the voices (Dirty Dog, Randy, one of the flowers, etc etc). Hello, childhood flashback:

Oh, Pee-wee. Good times. “Beauty is Embarrassing” covers all of this so well (including the pre-cursor to Pee-wee’s Playhouse, a Nashville Kids’ Show called Mrs.Cabobbles Caboose)… so again… go watch this movie!

And of course, Wayne’s thrift shop landscape word paintings that I love more than I can say. He does all sorts of amazing things (sculptures, puppets, drawings etc) but these paintings have definitely become something he’s known for:

So hilarious! I have a thing for funny art, probably because it’s pretty hard to find. I just love that he’s taken these forgotten landscapes and turned them into beautifully painted text pieces… text pieces that allow him to say whatever the hell he wants to say! You know, things like “all that fake laughin for nothin”, “just a picture / shunned by scholars / now it costs ten thousand dollars”, and one of my favorites… “just leave the awards on the kitchen table / i’m back here paintin a fuckin masterpiece” … Ha! That makes me LOL, as the kids say.

And finally, this is the book we mentioned a couple of times. Designer Todd Oldham loves Wayne’s work too, and one of the results of that is this beautiful book, “Maybe Now I’ll Get The Respect I So Richly Deserve”:

And that’s that. I am so thrilled that I got to do this with him… and I hope you enjoyed all of your many, many tequila shots. Next time I’ll be super cool. Maybe. Thanks so much to Wayne for taking the time to do this, and thanks to you for listening. There’ll be a special holiday podcast next weekend, but until then, please sit back and relax to this little gem that came out of the good old speed round… the first song that Wayne ever slow danced to: “Poor Side of Town”. Enjoy.

Is it spring yet? Vancouver based painter Bobbie Burgers‘ gorgeous abstract-ish floral paintings will have you wishing for peony season sooner than later. I wrote about her a few months ago, and through a few weird Instagram messages we realized that we had actually gone to university together. Crazy! Obviously we had to talk about this in person, so I invited her onto the podcast {but had to peer pressure her into downloading Skype first}. Press play right up there under Bobbie at work, or you can subscribe on iTunes. First up, a few of my favorite blooms by Bobbie:

Gorgeous! Speaking of gorgeous, this is her insanely amazing new studio that we were talking about. Brace yourself for studio envy…

Yep. Ah-mazing. Don’t you kind of want to sit on that blue couch, drink coffee, and watch Bobbie paint giant flowers all day long? Sigh. And now, some of her latest work… the “drawings” she was talking about:

Ah, so rich, and loose, and beautiful. Now, if her studio in North Vancouver {or “Boburg”, according to the speed round} isn’t enough for you, this is where she works when she’s in my neck of the woods. You can see why she said it’s hard to concentrate here:

Isn’t it beautiful? I am so inviting myself over there this Christmas – I literally live about a 15 minute drive from here! And finally, one of my favorite things we talked about… the fear of big white canvases, and the little message she repeats to herself {and tacks to her studio wall}…

Love. Forget perfection, just go for it. Ahhh, so wise. Well there you have it – those were the flowers, and stripy shirts, and beautiful spaces that make up Bobbie’s world. Thanks so much to her for hanging out with me on Skype, to Saatchi Art for supporting the episode, and HUGE thanks to you for listening/looking! I’ll be back next week with another episode.

Other links: Bobbie’s gorgeous Instagram feed  /  Bobbie’s sculptures  /  Show at Bau-Xi Vancouver  /  Tiffanie Turner’s paper flower work