Great Listens: Review of Art and Painting Podcasts with Artist Interviews

I love listening to podcasts with interviews of artists, especially painters, who talk about their process and practice, their lives, studios, challenges and successes. In the list below I share with you the ones I’ve discovered and what I like about them. Let me know which ones you like and if you know of any I’ve missed, please leave a comment and I’ll add it to the list. 

“Gently Does It” is hosted by John Dalton (on iTunes and the podcast website). John Dalton is an Irish/Australian artist who interviews many great artists from around the world. He is a thoughtful, intelligent and humble interviewer who really listens and digs a little deeper to get interesting answers. This one is a favorite, with over 100 artist interviews already recorded (as of 4/2018) and still going strong.

“Talking with Painters” is hosted by artist Maria Stoljar and features Australian artists talking about their lives and art. This is a wonderful podcast and I’ve completely fallen in love with Australian contemporary art and artists. Well worth listening to! On iTunes and the podcast website Talking with Painters.

“Savvy Painter Podcast” is on iTunes and on the Savvy Painter website. It is hosted by Antrese Wood, a California artist who interviews a wide variety of interesting, successful contemporary artists. I like the way she listens carefully and stays engaged, probing deeper on topics that arise and sharing her own perspective as well. This often leads to fascinating and inspiring discussions about how top representational artists got their start and the habits that lead to their success.

“Suggested Donation Podcast” from New York is hosted by Tony Curanaj and Edward Minoff. It is available on iTunes and the Suggested Donation website. The podcast usually takes the form of in-person, New York City conversations between the hosts and their illustrious guests who often reflect on their experiences within the world of contemporary/classical realism and the growing atelier movement where the hosts and many of their guests studied and teach. They seek to “create a dialog through which we discover common ground across disciplines and spaces united by a love of and deep devotion to skill.”

“PleinAir Podcast” is on iTunes and on the Outdoor Painter website. It is hosted by Eric Rhoads, the publisher of Plein Air Magazine. He interviews contemporary masters in the world of Plein Air painting. Mr. Rhoads is no beginner in this role; he’s been in the broadcasting and art magazine industries for years and is a painter himself. With his broad connections to artists through the Plein Air Convention and other art events he produces he always has top artists sharing their wisdom on the program.

“The Conversation: An Artist Podcast” hosted by Michael Shaw features conversations with artists, dealers curators and collectors. Michael often starts his interviews by talking about real estate and how gentrifying prices artists out of NYC, SF and LA formerly popular for artists areas. But then he gets into really in-depth discussions about the art world and making art with established and emerging artists. On the ConversationPod website and iTunes.

“Artists Helping Artists (AHA)” is on iTunes and the AHA website and is hosted by art marketing maven and palette knife painter Leslie Saeta and her various co-hosts.  Many of my favorite contemporary painters have been interviewed on AHA, including Rose Frantzen and Peggi Kroll Roberts, as well as many top plein air and teaching artists in the USA. (UPDATE 2018: I unsubscribed this year but the early artist interview shows are still worth listening to. After Leslie found success doing big commissioned “abstract paintings” for interior decorators to hang over clients’ sofas, her podcast became more and more about getting instagram followers (in her case for her home redecorating for rich ladies blog).

“Your Creative Push” hosted by Youngman Brown “pushes you to pursue your creative passion. He interviews artists of all kinds and creativity coaches and talks about keeping motivated and moving through blocks and getting inspired. On the Creative Push website and iTunes.

“The Studio by Daniel Grant” on iTunes and website.  Daniel Grant is an Austin, TX artist who studied with Jacob Collins at his Water Street Atelier and at the Grand Central Academy. He has interviewed many of the contemporary greats, including some of the podcast hosts/artists listed above. This podcast “is designed to paint a realistic picture of what it looks like today to have a career as a representational painter….and to discuss the ins and outs of having a successful career as an artist.”

“Artists Anonymous” is a new podcast hosted by artist and gallery owner Tyler Murphy on iTunes and on his gallery’s website. The first interviewee is Daniel Keys, a talented and prolific protegé of “Alla Prima” author and artist Richard Schmid. (UPDATE 2018: There are a couple of interesting artist interviews but not really much there, I no longer subscribe).

“Artist Decoded by Yoshino” on iTunes and the podcast’s website features interviews with younger, emerging or lesser known (to me at least) artists and photographers whose work tends to be figurative but with an element of destruction or abstraction. Yoshino, a photographer, says the interviews are “an exploration of self and the perspectives of other artists…dedicated to breaking down the barriers we tend to set up in our own minds.” Sometimes the discussions wander into pop culture, music, and Yoshino’s interest in violent films, but even so are usually interesting. (UPDATE 2018: I unsubscribed after the content became less and less what I was interested in but there are many good artist interviews there worth listening to).

“Creative Trek” on iTunes and podcast website is hosted by artist Sean O’Daniels. (UPDATE 2018: He stopped publishing new podcasts, but there is a good backlog of 47 recordings to listen to). He interviewed fine artists and “creatives” from “the world of concept art, video game art,” and more. His goal was to “take you on a journey behind the minds of today’s top creative professionals and artists…to uncover the secrets of creativity, and discover true strategies you need to thrive in the marketplace.” His interviews are a little less polished and professional as some of the others listed above, but there is a genuine interest and warmth that shines through.

“Stories Unbound” (iTunes) hosted by charming young illustrator Shawna JC Tenney focused on children’s book illustrators and the world of “kid lit.” She’s interviewed some wonderful illustrators, cartoonists and art directors. UPDATE:  She stopped producing the podcasts in 2017 but they are still available on iTunes.

Videos…YouTube channels worth subscribing to

Sarah Sedwick is a wonderful artist, teacher and art mentor. Her YouTube channel is well worth subscribing to as she is quite generous with the tips and demos she offers.

Not exactly a podcast, “Mark Carder’s Q&As” (on YouTube), are an ongoing series of Q&A sessions about his approach to oil painting that he teaches with free instructional videos on his website DrawMixPaint. Years ago I bought his course in a DVD and painted one of my favorite still life paintings ever using his methods. I enjoy listening to his talks, although they do refer very specifically to his alla prima, limited palette methods and products.