Art Dealer Diaries Podcast

David Meikle was my guest on the podcast today and I just have to say that I love doing these interviews over a Zoom call. Initially, I thought that the personal process of listing to someone's life story was a process that I'd only want to do in the studio. After recording a few of these long-distance Zoom podcasts with artists in their studios, I've noticed that when the person be...

I had John Coleman, a member of the Cowboy Artists of America, on the podcast today. John is just such a deep, interesting human being. John is one of the most successful artists of his generation but believe it or not, he didn't start out as an artist even though he knew he had this innate artistic talent inside him.  John had to go through finding that artistic voice, which isn't an ea...

I had Josh Elliott on the podcast today and what a  fun and interesting individual to interview. I’ve been fortunate enough to join Josh on a couple of painting trips to observe his painting acumen and you can learn so much as an art dealer when you get to actually see what an artist does with their skill set in the field. It helps one understand the process and there is something to be said about...

I had the Director and CEO of the Tucson Museum of Art, Jeremy Mikolajczak, on today. Jeremy is a unique individual who has run the gamut in life. He was not only a world-class swimmer in high school and college but was an artist as well. He went the BFA route and then worked in the gallery circuit, but it was running his first museum where he really found his stride in life. He's run a coupl...

I had landscape painter Matt Smith on the podcast today. He's such a good plein air artist and I was a fan and collector long before I ever representing him in my gallery. It took me 20 years before I was lucky enough to get Matt Smith to show in my gallery and it's fun to hear the story of how he got to be one of the best western painters in the country. He's renowned for not only...

I had Mark Magggiori on today. Wow, really an interesting human being. He's one of the best Western artists working today and I'm a big fan of his artwork. This is a Western artist who has 150,000 Instagram followers. Yes, you read that correctly. Having that many followers is kind of unheard of in the Western art game but there's a definite reason though and that's that this g...

I had artist Julia Arriola on the podcast today. She is a new artist for us and our gallery-artist relationship has developed into one of those special situations where you get a new artist and their work really resonates with you as a collector and as an art dealer but is also immediately recognized by clients and collectors alike. Julia is of Mexican-Mescalero Apache descent who does these wonde...

I had Laura Finlay Smith, the curator for the Tia Collection on the podcast today. The Tia Collection is a unique gathering of paintings and sculptures including top-notch Contemporary and the best of the best Western and recently Native American artwork as well. Laura has been curating for the Tia Collection for the last 8 years building this fantastic collection of artwork  This collection tours...

What a fun podcast I had with Jill Carver. Jill grew up in England and has been living in the Southwest since 2002. She had this circuitous road to becoming the well-respected painter she is today, beginning with her education in the UK and the thought of becoming a finance professional, getting a degree in history, to finally following her heart as an artist. Along the way, she gets a position at...

I had Utah artist Greg Newbold on the podcast today. I've represented Greg for only a couple years and, believe it or not, I found him on Facebook. For those artists out there that wonder: "how do I get into a great art gallery," people like myself look on social media from time to time and we find the artists that have a voice and unique sensibilities about their artwork. When I ca...

I had Davison Koenig on the podcast today who is the Director/Curator of the Couse-Sharp Historical Museum in Taos, New Mexico. This Northern New Mexico museum is a wonderful experience as I've been there a couple of different times. I've visited the Couse residency before it was ever a museum and was amazing then and now it is spectacular. It was fun to hear the story of how someone fal...

I had the award-winning Santa Clara potter Susan Folwell on the podcast today. She followed up a podcast that I recorded with her husband, Davison Keonig, the director of the Couse-Sharp Historic Site in Taos, NM. I loved this interview because I got to hear Susan's backstory in great and entertaining detail. Susan's mom, the famous contemporary potter Jody Folwell an important figure pu...

I had Jared Chavez on the podcast a silversmith I carry and a person that I really respect as an artist. His father San Felipe silversmith Richard Chavez who I started buying his work 20 years ago whose work graces numerous museum collections. Father and son have done collaborative work but their styles are different and very unique. Jared experienced an interesting upbringing in that he's a...

Had a wonderful discussion with the contemporary pueblo potter Russell Sanchez of San Ildefonso pueblo.  I've known Russell Sanchez for at least 30 years and we had a nice talk about what it means to be a potter and how pottery became his chosen field, including his tutelage from the famed pueblo potters Rose Gonzales and Tony and Anita Da who influenced him. It was interesting to get the sen...

Kathleen Wall is a vibrant individual and well known Jemez potter who creates her figurine pots at Jemez New Mexico. She does wonderful figurines and masks, some of them being very large pieces. Kathleen explains her journey as a potter and how she got to where she is today and what it took to get there. It's a long hard road to be a potter especially when you're trying to do things that...

I had the pleasure of interviewing the contemporary artist Marla Allison today on Art Dealer Diaries. Marla is full of energy, creativity, smart, and was a very interesting guest. We discuss growing up in New Mexico at the historic Laguna Pueblo, and what it's like being Laguna, Hopi,  Jemez, and Anglo, and what those cultural elements provide to your art and perspective. Laguna is a small co...

I had Mateo Romero on the podcast today. He is a fantastic painter and interesting individual and this interview is one of the more unique podcasts I've had the pleasure to record. On the Art Dealer Diaries, we generally talk about art but with Mateo, we gravitated to the topic of the current racial divide in the United States. Mateo has been involved in a lawsuit for 20+ years against the Wa...

I had Kim Peone on the podcast today who is the newest Executive Director of the non-profit organization SWAIA (Southwestern Association For Indian Arts). Every year SWAIA's banner event the Santa Fe Indian Market brings in millions of dollars for Native artisans and acts as a huge boost for the local economy. The event is always in the third week of August and I myself have had the privilege...

I had Dr. Michael F. Brown on the podcast today and he's president of the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe, NM. I've been a long time supporter of this museum and institution and I highly encourage people to go to their website which is sarweb.org. The school supports native causes and various research projects in the region. It started as an archeology museum in 1922 and it&apos...

I had Jim Jacobs come to the gallery today to join me for an episode of the Art Dealer Diaries that is unlike any other so far. Jim is a realtor in Tucson, actually the BEST realtor in Tucson and someone that I've bought quite a few houses from over the years. He has great instincts about what architecture and art mean to a home and a homeowner. His backstory involves 20 years of fashion indu...

Frank Patania Jr. owner of the Thunderbird shop of Santa Fe and Tucson, and the son of Frank Patania Sr. tells the second half of his 87-year story in this edition of the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast. Frank and I spoke for almost 3 hours so this is a two-part podcast with the first portion of the story appearing in episode 107. Part two focuses on Frank Patania Jr's own career and the process b...

I had an important historical figure on the podcast today, Frank Patania Jr. original owner of the Thunderbird shop of Santa Fe and Tucson, and the son of Frank Patania Sr. tells the story of the lives of three generations of silversmiths. I had Sam Patania, Frank Jr's son on an earlier podcast which you might want to listen to as well. Frank and I spoke for almost 3 hours so this is a two-pa...

Associate Director of the BYU Museum of Art, Ed Lind stopped by the gallery today to share his fascinating story. Ed is somebody who was born an artist, but his career path just didn't let him go that direction. He was involved in computers very early on in the '80s, realized he wanted to follow his passion, and then went back to school when he was in his 30's and received a fine ar...

Billy Schenck came to deliver some paintings and wound up in the Medicine Man Gallery Studio for this episode of the Art Dealer Diaries. There's no reason why I can't grab somebody for another podcast that's already done one, especially if it's Bill Schenck. I wanted to get an update on Billy and how he's doing, and it turns out he's has had some pretty traumatic stuf...

Shirley Wagner was on the podcast today. She is a three-dimensional artist specializing in modern sculpture inspired by the great Louise Nevelson. An interesting podcast for any artist who is in the struggle to find a way to create and make a living in the difficult field of art. To live a full life while trying to follow your vision when life doesn't want to let you go down that alley is exa...