Ep. 094 Topher Straus – American Impressionistic Landscape Artist
Wes and Todd check in with their friend, Artist Topher Straus. They talk about what’s been going on since last year during the pandemic, his evolving style, Grand Teton National Park, Hawaii, gallery relationships and their importance, commissions, dealing with rejection, charitable work, wineries, art fairs, marketing, collectors and he shares with us a powerful story. We finish up with another special visit with Topher’s son, Oliver, and what’s been going on with his artistic endeavors.
Ep. 093 Sue Oehme – Artist and Master Printer
Wes and Todd travel to Steamboat Springs, Colorado to talk with Master Printer, Sue Oehme. We talk with Sue about printmaking, her work, Oehme Graphics, how the pandemic affected her studio, and a plethora of other subjects.
Ep. 092 Cipriano Ortega – Low Rock High Art, Queer Noir
Wes and Todd talk with Musician and Artist, Cipriano Ortega. They talk music, two-string bass, Morphine (the band, not the drug), painting and Cipriano and Vitaliy Minyaylo regales us with some low rock!
Ep. 079 Brooke Einbender – aka Mindbender Art, Pioneering Artist in the XR art space.
Wes and Todd talk with the pioneering Artist in the XR art space, Brooke Einbender. Brooke talks about her incredible art experiences while attending Wake Forest University, her experience of VR and how it led her to incorporate AR into her work, her journey to Telluride, the idea of doors and how it plays into her work, her multi-faceted project “The Unknown Zone," Non-fungible tokens (NFT’s) and multitude of other subjects.
Ep. 067 Anastasia Samoylova - Russian American Artist, Photographer - FloodZone
Wes and Todd talk with Russian-American Artist, Anastasia Samoylova. Samoylova talks about flooding in Miami, freedom of speech, naturalization, Russia, getting her MFA at Bradley University, being an early adopter of digital photography, teaching photography, her various projects, photo history, the catalyst for her book FloodZone, working with Steidl, Bloomberg commissions, gallery representation, and artist residencies.
Ep. 066 Brooke VanDevelder – Illustrator, Scientific American
This week, Wes and Todd talk with Brooke VanDevelder. Brooke talks about art as refuge, inspirations, horror films, education, traveling, finding her voice, the role of illustration, editorial illustration, her folklore series, empathy, commissions, and the blessing and curse of being a perfectionist.
Ep. 065 Ira Sherman – Metalsmith, Sculptor – Chastity Couture
Wes and Todd talk with Ira Sherman. Sherman talks about how he got his start in art, his mechanized sculpture, his series “Panaceas to Persistent Problems”, Chastity Couture – Impenetrable Devices, public art projects, jewelry, esthetic mechanical engineering & design, fashion shows, process & technique, Bitfactory, air muscles, flea market mechanisms, public art projects, jewelry, and making and promoting work.
Ep. 064 Talya Feldman - Art Installation, Sound, & Film
Wes and Todd talk with Talya Feldman. Feldman talks about her journey that led her to pursue her MFA in Germany, what the MFA program at Hochschule für bildende Künste in Hamburg is like, the catalyst that led her to her current work that confronts right-wing extremism and imparts healing and hope, and how one can support oneself as an Artist doing social-political art.
Ep. 063 Cody Kuehl - Art That Explores The Myth And Ethos Of The American West
Wes and Todd talk with Cody Kuehl. Kuehl talks about reassessing his art life during Covid, journaling, art festivals, creativity, work ethic, the origination of the Western themes in his work, contrasting the myth of the West with the reality of history, challenging stereotypes, narrative and storytelling, comics, influences, Bill Watterson, integrity and making better art, Red Wolf, taking the idea of improv and applying it to art, pricing, commissions, and selling art via social media. We unpack a lot in this episode.
Ep. 060 Paul Weiner - American Contemporary Abstract Artist
Wes and Todd talk with Paul Weiner. Weiner talks about infusing social commentary into his art, art and Covid, Covid lexicon, process, Instagram, art and the American flag, free speech, Pierre Soulages, patriotism, art as investment, collecting, zombie abstraction, gallery representation, residencies, Kehinde Wiley, pricing, and legacy.
Ep. 059 Mary Chiaramonte - American Painter, Narrative Figurative Realism
Wes and Todd talk with Peter Strange Yumi. Yumi talks about his name, optimism, exploring painting and technique, Art Historians and Zoologists, imagery, mediums, self-examination, photography, Eugene Delacroix, voice, process, routines, social satire, Autonation, Fruitland, roller disco, sex and sexuality, the unified mind, buffoonery, science fiction, Yumicorp International Studios and Brave New World.
Ep. 058 Peter Strange Yumi - Mixed Media Master, Yumicorp International Studios
Wes and Todd talk with Peter Strange Yumi. Yumi talks about his name, optimism, exploring painting and technique, Art Historians and Zoologists, imagery, mediums, self-examination, photography, Eugene Delacroix, voice, process, routines, social satire, Autonation, Fruitland, roller disco, sex and sexuality, the unified mind, buffoonery, science fiction, Yumicorp International Studios and Brave New World.
Ep. 057 Rose Fredrick & Krista Hanley Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale 2021
Wes and Todd talk with Curator, Rose Fredrick and Coordinator, Krista Hanley of the Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale. They discuss how they have had to pivot to an online format due to the pandemic, how the Young Guns and Coors Western online auctions will work, virtual events, and the ongoing online artist talk series, Inside the Artist’s Studio.
Ep. 056 Matt Sesow - Internationally Acclaimed Washington,D.C., Artist
Wes and Todd talk with the Artist, Matt Sesow, from his Washington, D.C., studio. Sesow talks about how he got into painting, influences, Basquiat and Bukowski, goals, saving money, investing, the 30-year plan, and how to go indie.
Ep. 055 Arlette Lucero - Artist, Art Educator and Advocate
Wes and Todd talk with the phenomenal Denver Artist, Arlette Lucero. Lucero talks about art sales during the pandemic, being a two-artist family, inspiration, being an Art Educator, trees, prominent women in her work, Carlos Castaneda, illustrating books, CHAC, Year of La Chicana, Hecho en Colorado, and leaves us with some great advice for aspiring Artists.
Ep. 054 A.L. Lummus - Artist, Metaphor-Heavy Imagery
Wes and Todd talk with A.L. Lummus, aka Amy Lee Lummus. Lummus talks about art in the time of Covid, pop-up shows, influences, art education, balancing family with an art career, the journey to becoming a full-time artist, pricing, artist statements, time, some of her favorite pieces from her new series, and regales us with a poem that she wrote for Bend the Iron.
Ep. 053 Wes and Todd's Year In Review
This week Wes and Todd reflect on their first year of doing the podcast, what they expect in the coming year, what guests they would like to get on and then they are joined by surprise special guest and friend, Dan Drossman.
Ep. 052 James Holmes - Abstract Artist, Executive Director of Cherokee Ranch & Castle Foundation
Wes and Todd talk with James Holmes. Holmes talks about lettering race cars as a kid, auto racing, his various business ventures, motorsports sponsor management, Cherokee Ranch & Castle Foundation, how to pivot during the pandemic, the incident that was the catalyst for him becoming an artist, his criteria for himself to be called an Artist, social media, collecting art, art advocacy, pricing, art and social commentary, the role of music in the creative process, and the power of positive thinking.
Ep. 051 Eriko Tsogo - Mongolian American Cross-Disciplinary Artist
Wes and Todd talk with Eriko Tsogo. Tsogo talks about immigrating to the United States, being a DACA recipient, identity, art as calling, spirituality, art education, the various mediums that she works in, agency representation, residencies, Meow Wolf, social media, defiance, her diverse series of work, soap play, senses, Buddhism and shamanism, and the Mongolian Culture and Heritage Center of Colorado.
Ep. 050 Adrianna Abarca -Founder, Latino Cultural Arts Center
Wes and Todd talk with Adrianna Abarca, Founder of the Latino Cultural Arts Center and Curator of Hecho en Colorado at History Colorado. Abarca talks about her family history, growing up in Denver, identity, collecting art, and her vision for the Latino Cultural Arts Center, an integrated cultural campus in the Sun Valley neighborhood west of downtown Denver that will feature two museums, one dedicated to Mexican heritage and the other to Latin America; with a library of Latino arts…