New Podcast Episode: Kai Lun Qu - Follow Your Joy

To kick off Season 4, we interviewed an incredible artist named Kai Lun Qu. Kai is a great example of someone who took a chance on the things that brought him joy during a time when he had nothing left to lose, and it truly changed his life for the better. In this episode we discuss how he found his way as an artist, how to learn on your own if you truly have no way of attending a school, and how to use the things that spark joy in you as a way of not only finding your voice as an artist, but also as a path to find the people who truly support you and to find opportunities you never could've imagined. Finally, we also discuss his participation in the upcoming San Diego Comic con.

Olya Babich - Dealing with Burnout

This episode is different from our others in that we sat down with our friend and colleague Olya Babich Konell to discuss a topic that I believe many of us have heard: burnout. Almost everyone at this point is familiar with the word and maybe even familiar with the dreaded feeling of not being able to motivate oneself to do the thing you usually love to do! So, we decided to make this episode to help teach you how to identify if what you're facing is actually burnout, how to help you move through it so you can gain your motivation back, and how to prevent it from sneaking back into your life. The best part is, we also discuss WHY rest is so important and how it can amp up your creativity.

Tina Garrett - Price Your Work to Make a Living

In this episode, we sat down with Tina Garrett, one of the most well recognized women artists in contemporary Western Art. Her figurative work is both beautiful and haunting and her rise to success has been inspiring and in many ways, meteoric. We discuss the key to making amazing work that moves people, overcoming blocks in the creative path, pricing your artwork in a rational way so you can live from your work, and how to find your ideal collectors who will pay what your work is worth. We also talk about how to become Tina's mentee and all of her upcoming workshops!

Kyle Ma - Mastery Before Marketing

In this episode I'm joined by our CEO Clint Watson to interview Kyle Ma, a 23 year old prodigy who began painting seriously at the age of 10 and is now a successful artist living from his work. Kyle has a deep love of nature which explains why his subject matter is primarily plein air. In this episode, we discuss the importance of taking care of your needs like bills so you can allow your creativity to flow without the stress of making ends meet, why focusing on making a masterpiece is not the right way to go when you're starting a painting, and the importance of mastery before marketing. We also discuss his upcoming workshop at Bluebird Studios in Santa Fe, NM this September.

Susan Lyon - Don't Be Your Biggest Collector

In this episode, we interviewed Susan Lyon, a figurative artist based in North Carolina who paints in a realist manner with a splash of impressionist colors. We discuss the importance of using references as a tool, tips on creating your own references, the reality of making money as an artist and pricing your work appropriately, and the joy of paying it forward by teaching others through workshops, YouTube, and her Patreon. We also discuss her participation in the upcoming Prix de West which is an art show run by the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, and Susan's upcoming workshops.