Austin Art Talk

Episode 109: San Marcos Studio Tour by MotherShip Studios

March 24th, 2023  |  20 mins 24 secs

san marcos studio tour

A quick interview with Jacqueline Overby & Courtney Peterson of MotherShip Studios, who are spearheading the inaugural San Marcos Studio Tour! We talk about the inspiration for the tour, the many mentors and examples that made it possible, the importance of group artist studio settings, what to expect, all the details, and more.

Episode 108: B Shawn Cox

March 2nd, 2023  |  1 hr 5 mins

B Shawn Cox is a Texas artist who is best known for his iconographic figurative western cowboy paintings on fabric, digital lenticular work where your shifting perspective creates movement in each piece, and his meticulously constructed dimensional collages which transform 2D into 3D. The work is playful, adventurous, and exciting at first glance but can be delved into deeper for a full gamut and range of thoughts and ideas. Even though his family was in ranching, he chose to leave and focus on academia, studying and practicing both architecture and law. And consistently through the decades in his spare time, he took art classes and the commitment and momentum grew until he got the attention of galleries and collectors alike. Currently, Shawn is exploring western societal and standardized mythologies, reflected and processed from a personal standpoint. He is looking at where he came from and where he is now, and the influences of the kinds of iconography that society celebrates in conscious and unconscious ways.

Episode 107: Anne Mourier - Mother-Nature

October 6th, 2021  |  1 hr 22 mins

anne mourier

Anne Mourier is a conceptual artist who was born in France and is now splitting her time between the east coast and Italy. We met many years ago in NYC and during my travels I made a point to visit her and sit down for an interview. Some of the themes she explores in her artworks are the feminine archetype, motherhood, quiet simplicity and beauty, home and the chores of domestic life, and maybe most importantly the environment and respect for life and nature. I’m so impressed with her wisdom, groundedness, her dedication to research and a commitment and openness to using any medium which might best communicate what she is trying to say with her work.

Episode 106: Adrian Armstrong - Stronger Together

June 17th, 2021  |  1 hr 2 mins

adrian armstrong

Adrian Armstrong is a multitalented and multidisciplinary artist who creates powerful figurative portraits primarily by combining painting, collage, and circular strokes of a ballpoint pen, as well as working with printmaking and creating music. One of his goals to combine all of the mediums he works with into one cohesive experience.

And as he states on his website “He aims to portray what it means to be an African American living in modern America” We had a wide-ranging conversation about his life, starting with growing up in Nebraska and the importance of his family, to moving to Austin and creating a new community here to participate in and help to support and grow.

I’m inspired by Adrian’s work ethic and dedication to creating great work, pushing himself to be better, while also helping to support others as much as he can.

Episode 105: Sara Jane Parsons - Truly Beautiful

June 7th, 2021  |  1 hr 1 min

sara jane parsons

Painter Sara Jane Parsons specialty is realistic portraits of people, landscapes, still lifes, and figure studies, all rendered beautifully in graphite or watercolor, although she did recently start learning how to work with oil paints. The incredible thing is that she creates all of her work while holding the paintbrushes and pencils in her mouth.

At the age of twenty, a spinal cord injury left her paralyzed from the neck down, but that did not stop her from getting a law degree, working jobs combining legal and social work to help hundreds of people, traveling broadly, and pursuing anything that interests her and creating a life that is joyful and creative.

She is a proud member of the Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists, a great organization that helps artists with disabilities support themselves through creating artworks that are placed on products sold far and wide. Sara Jane is such a sweet, driven, and passionate artist, and it was a joy to talk and spend some time with her and be inspired by her story, her resilience, and her dedication being an artist.

Episode 104: The Life and Legacy of Sam Coronado

May 24th, 2021  |  1 hr 25 mins

sam coronado

As an artist, educator, cultural activist, mentor, and all-around great human being, Sam Coronado, created opportunities for and changed the lives of many people before passing unexpectedly in 2013. One of his bigger accomplishments was The Serie Project, a non-profit serigraph printmaking residency that lasted for over 20 years and worked with hundreds of artists from around the US and the world, at all stages of their careers.

I worked with Sam for many years, have always thought very highly of him, and decided I should do a special episode celebrating and talking about his life and work. I'm grateful to his wife Jill Ramirez and the master printers Pepe Coronado and Jonathan Rebolloso for speaking with me about Sam, sharing their stories about him, how he changed their lives, and the legacy he has left behind.

Episode 103: Amy Scofield - Exploring Impermanence

May 17th, 2021  |  1 hr 6 mins

amy scofield

As artist Amy Scofield states on her website she is investigating the relationship between things. And the things she is working with very often are discarded objects or what would typically be recycled. The interaction between nature and the human-made world and our effects on the planet also figure into her intentions and concerns as she captures and manipulates what catches her eye into something more curious and brave. Like many artists, she has a compulsion to create and she uses her intuition and powers of observation to find the next opportunity or subject for the curation of her unique, refined, and thoughtful images and sculptures. Moving forward her focus is shifting more to impermanence as she considers what is real and what is not and the ephemeral nature of everything.

Episode 102: Gladys Poorte - Nuevo Mundo

May 8th, 2021  |  1 hr 14 mins

This week's podcast guest is Gladys Poorte. Her work for many people appears to be very otherworldly and fantastical, maybe even sci-fi inspired, but in fact, it is all based on real-life objects and 3D models that she creates in her studio to draw and paint from while controlling the light and mood to ultimately create space and depth. The inspiration often comes from observing, processing, and reacting to real-life events that have happened in the world, and concerns about the future.

I’m very impressed with Gladys' willingness to keep pushing herself to learn new skills and gain knowledge to enhance and evolve her artwork over time. We talk about her life growing up in Argentina, working as an educator, transitioning to living in the US, and her many years of diverse art classes and schooling to evolve her style and craft to where it is today.

Episode 101: Tom Jean Webb - Being Here

April 22nd, 2021  |  1 hr 10 mins

tom jean webb

Artist Tom Jean Webb grew up in England but knew from an early age he wanted to live in America. His mother and grandfather helped to inspire his creativity and if not for a chance visit to a contemporary art gallery as an adult, he would not have realized that what he wanted to say with his own art was valid and possible. After many trips and back and forth from the United States to England he finally committed to fulfill his dream and made the US his home.

The work he creates is heavily inspired by the colorful and rocky desert landscapes of the southwest and are explorations of space and his own personal reality. As he consistently strives to create his distinctive artwork he prioritizes being open and present, staying playful, having fun, and letting go of control and preconceived ideas.

Episode 100: Chris Rogers - Unconditional

April 15th, 2021  |  58 mins 30 secs

Wow! Can’t believe we’ve made it to 100 episodes. I could not imagine a better guest to celebrate this milestone. Chris Rogers is an artist who specializes in portraits that capture a person's true essence, live painting sessions at events, and large and colorful murals that adorn many walls around Austin with their inviting and galvanizing truths. All of this work hopefully leads to conversations, connections, and a realization as Chris says in the interview, the cure is us.

How can we heal our fractured system and relationships, let go of control and give over to the moment, and find our way to truth, honesty with ourselves, and learn to speak from the heart?

Chris really brought the vulnerability and bares all as we talk about his lifelong artistic practice, alcoholism and recovery, and the huge impact his late mother continues to have on his life. This conversation was so moving and inspiring to me as I hope it will be to you.

Episode 99: Manik Raj Nakra - An Ancient Art

April 8th, 2021  |  1 hr 18 mins

manik raj nakra

Manik Raj Nakra is an Austin Based Artist who creates colorful and mythic-looking artworks influenced by his extensive research of cultures, ancient art, and architecture from all over the world. All that he absorbs through books, travel, and online research gets melded and transformed into his own unique but somehow universal visual language. I’m impressed with Manik’s boldness and commitment to his art practice and willingness to spend years out of view to refine his subject matter, experiment, and learn and improve his creative techniques, taking the quality of what he is producing to the next level, and then back into the world.

Episode 98: Brian Daly - Part 2 - Recovery

March 31st, 2021  |  1 hr 5 mins

brian daly

This is part two of my interview with artist Brian Daly. If you haven’t heard Part One I would recommend going back and starting with Episode 97 where we cover his epic life story before he got sober nineteen months ago. Part Two goes more in-depth into his current life and practice as an artist.

Episode 97: Brian Daly - Part 1 - Rendered

March 24th, 2021  |  1 hr 33 mins

brian daly

Sometimes it can take a lot to ask for help. Artist Brian Daly realized nineteen months ago that even though he had already survived hitting bottom a few times before, this time might be his last. Through years of ups and downs, Brian acquired the skills to create almost anything as a fabricator while also from a young age continuing to further his drafting and artistic talents. In this first part of two episodes, he shares in vivid detail, reminiscent of his drawings, the epic and tumultuous journey he has been on, up until getting clean and sober and focusing his energy and recovery into his art. The paper and ink drawings he creates as a literal meditation, are beautiful and precise in their rendering, allowing him to share a glimpse of his inner world, imagination, and lifelong fascination with tools and the mechanics of objects. The second part of our conversation, Episode 98, goes into more detail about his current life and artistic practice.

Episode 96: Nick Schnitzer - Creating Our Future

March 17th, 2021  |  1 hr 16 mins

nick schnitzer

Nick Schnitzer is very passionate about art and helping artists thrive. That's in addition to his love of architecture, woodworking, teaching and mentoring young people, travel, his family, and most of all living an aware, considerate, humble, and generative life. He's a talented and capable craftsperson who can design and create almost anything he puts his mind and body into. His public art and exhibitions often highlight environmental and political challenges and strive to build community and connect people and ideas towards a goal of improving their lives and raising awareness of important issues in our culture and society. I love Nick's energy, focus, integrity, and the way he strives to improve himself and those around him. He has a big heart and it's very obvious in the interview. Please enjoy!

Episode 95: Joyce Howell - Expressing The Abstract

March 10th, 2021  |  1 hr 1 min

abstract painting, joyce howell, painter

As an adult, after working many jobs in the business world and raising her daughters' artist Joyce Howell decided to go back to school to study art and eventually achieved her master's degree. She started out painting in a very representational style but in graduate school found the encouragement and a strong desire to create abstract works that expressed more of her internal reality and how she processed everything in her world. For the last almost 25 years Joyce has been committed to her studio practice and has participated in many solo and group exhibitions. She creates colorful and often atmospheric abstract paintings that without a doubt contribute to the joy and beauty experienced through art that we all need in our lives and our homes. She has been represented in Austin by Wally Workman gallery for over 10 years and has a solo exhibition there from March 6th -27th, 2021.

Episode 94: Valerie Chaussonnet - The Joy Of Life & Art

February 25th, 2021  |  1 hr 14 mins

valerie chaussonnet

The podcast guest this week has had such an interesting and diverse life. Artist Valerie Chaussonnet now works full time as an artist and teacher but previously spent a big part of her life as an anthropologist, studying Russian, and raising her two sons. Now her two primary mediums are watercolor and sculptures made from raw pieces of welded steel. A lifetime of influences in the realm of art and many diverse cultures all culminates now in the stories she tells with her colorful paintings and spirited sculptures. I love the joy Valerie brings to life and I’m inspired by her adventurous, playful, and rich way of life. Please enjoy this very fun interview!