Cream of The Crop Podcast

Read the post at https://slart.substack.com - Hey, I’m the new Jean Dubuffet. I write twice weekly about my art practice and share stories about my transition from a day job to being a full-time professional artist. Get full access to Cream of The Crop at www.creamofthecropbyslart.com/subscribe

Read the post at https://slart.substack.com - Hey, I’m the new Jean Dubuffet. I write twice weekly about my art practice and share stories about my transition from a day job to being a full-time professional artist. Get full access to Cream of The Crop at www.creamofthecropbyslart.com/subscribe

OWN IT! bit.ly/ownitslart | Today’s post is read by the AI-generated version of The S N DOUBLE OH P, The D OH Double Gee Y, to the D OH DOUBLE G. I updated my profile the other day to state, "I am the new Jean Dubuffet." He’s my favourite artist, you see. He started his art career later in life, like me (at age 41), he boldly experimented, and ended up creating the ‘Art Brut movement’. I was posti...

Read the post at https://slart.substack.com - Hey, I’m the new Jean Dubuffet. I write twice weekly about my art practice and share stories about my transition from a day job to being a full-time professional artist. I share how I was captivated by Sophie Von Hellerman's painting at Turner Contemporary, which inspired me to work on a larger scale in my own art. I couldn't work in my studio this wee...

Read the post at https://slart.substack.com - Hey, I’m the new Jean Dubuffet. I write twice weekly about my art practice and share stories about my transition from a day job to being a full-time professional artist. In this episode, I talk about how I got back into art after 20 years. (Hint: I stopped creating art in the first place due to an art teacher putting me off). The post that got me think...

Read the post at https://slart.substack.com - Hey, I’m the new Jean Dubuffet. I write twice weekly about my art practice and share stories about my transition from a day job to being a full-time professional artist. I had a conversation with LA Celeb Hypnotherapist, Steve G Jones back in 2013 and this is the first time I have shared it. I felt like the interview went badly at the time, I was bumbl...

In this podcast episode, SLART engages in an intimate conversation with Brooklyn-based Polish artist Olek. Despite initial self-doubts from SLART, Olek accepted the invitation for an interview. The connection between SLART and Olek delves into existential themes, meditation, and spirituality. The conversation explores Olek's diverse artistic endeavours, including crochet and Virtual Reality, with...

Read the post at https://slart.substack.com - Hey, I’m the new Jean Dubuffet. I write twice weekly about my art practice and share stories about my transition from a day job to being a full-time professional artist. This was recorded in 2014 at age 31. However, you’ll get the idea of how shyness ruled my life in my late teens and early twenties. During this recording, I was in a much more grounded...

Read the post at https://slart.substack.com - Hey, I’m the new Jean Dubuffet. I write twice weekly about my art practice and share stories about my transition from a day job to being a full-time professional artist. My music evolution went a bit like this. Pop music > Hip Hop > Jungle/Drum and Bass > Trance > House > 80s electronic > Then basically Max Richter, B-52s and Devo more recently! Bel Am...

Read the post at https://slart.substack.com - Hey, I’m the new Jean Dubuffet. I write twice weekly about my art practice and share stories about my transition from a day job to being a full-time professional artist. Thank you to www.kidney.org for having me on their podcast. I enjoyed this uplifting conversation with the National Kidney Foundation, a top, New York-based Kidney charity. That said,...

An enchanting conversation with Beth Raps of Raising Clarity. I felt myself getting relaxed and into the conversation flow when the time ran out! So there will be a part 2 in 2024! We discussed finding the edge between a ‘normal day job’ and an ‘art career’ alongside some probing from Beth on the meaning of some of my art pieces. There’s so much more to unpack here, so check it out for yourself an...

SLART Note: This post is also part of the Soaring Twenties newsletter. A magnificent group of writers, artists and flaneurs who are committed to putting their best work out into the world. It didn’t occur to me to share my thoughts on the topic of mobile phone addiction before now. I mean, what hasn’t been said about it? We all know it’s a problem but don’t know how to transform those ingrained us...

Read the post at https://slart.substack.com - Hey, I’m the new Jean Dubuffet. I write twice weekly about my art practice and share stories about my transition from a day job to being a full-time professional artist. SLART Note: I created a series of 30+ interviews with prominent coaches all over the world, the theme was overcoming social anxiety and gaining clarity in your life, but anyone will gl...

In 2008 I had come a long way in terms of overcoming crippling shyness (social anxiety). One fateful Wednesday, I got an email from an associate, a man I looked up to called Stefano. He asked me if I would like to go and speak to Ruby Wax about social anxiety for the BBC tomorrow (Stefano couldn’t go, so he kindly thought of me). Everything about the request instilled fear in me. “Speaking to a ce...

As I enjoyed my sausage, mash, peas and onion gravy on my own during my 30-minute lunch break, I thought about how often I’ve asked someone else ‘how to’ do something. But what was I really asking? In 2021, I emailed legendary Swindon muralist, Ken White and asked him “How do I start painting murals?”. Cream of The Crop is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, c...

SLART Note: It was an interesting experience having a podcast with two different artists in two different locations, but it worked well. Sophie and Tara were a real pleasure to talk to, Sophie is a great artist in her own right and her inclinations are moving towards art curation. She is also (at time of recording) Tara’s assistant. Tara is uber-cool artist and high-fashion desiner who’s exhibited...

MEMENTO VIVERE There’s nothing new in these words, but they come from an almost universal dissatisfaction, a search for something more than a 9-5 existence. It’s a dichotomy. You should be grateful for having a job, right? Yet you can’t help this dissatisfaction that you feel, right? So, there are people worse of that you, but it’s not your problem, right? Then why is there so much guilt around wa...

A conversation that takes a deep dive into how we see ourselves, unleashing our passion and how to live with illness that is at the forefront of your life. Listen in for a great chat with Artist Steve Light AKA SLART and Janis Hough. “I believe that we should all seek to be our raw, naked, honest truth, perfectly imperfect and fuck what other people think. Dare to be your most vulnerable self. Liv...

Thomas Berryman TV is the video interviewer version of a Substack writer. He has a small, dedicated audience on YouTube. He’s interviewed really niche people from ex-cons who have made a full 360 and turned their life around, to lesser-known rappers like H-Ryda and legends like the guy from Reel 2 Real , The Mad Stuntman . (He’s even interviewed David Proval from the Sopranos!) In modern viral met...

"I keep my thoughts on the things I want and off the things I don’t or shouldn’t want, because where attention goes, energy flows.“ Derek Mills Derek Mills is known as the 'Standards Guy' because of the daily standards he upholds in his life choices, which help keep him on track. He's someone I look up to in many ways. Not many people know that he had a stammer as a child, but he overcame it to be...

SLART Note: This post may be too long for email, so you can read it in the Substack app or click the link at the top of the email to read online. It’s a mild, sunny October in the south of England right now¹. There’s crunching below my feet as I walk on slightly damp wood chips around the perimeter of my workplace. Cream of The Crop is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and suppo...

"So I return to the question, "if I loved myself, truly and deeply, what would I do?" The answer comes easy: I'd fly. Fly as high as I possibly can. Then, I'd fly higher.” Kamil Ravikant I came accross Kamal via his book, Love yourself like your life depends on it in 2012. It’s a short, personal and moving read. The kind of read you need to get yourself out of an emotional funk. Kamal Ravikant is...

I had a solo art exhibition at The Trinity Collective on Saturday 14th October 2023. Trinity is a cool art space with a tattoo parlour upstairs, run by Max and Gemma who are amazing. They happen to be my next door neighbours and we’ve collaborated on a couple of mural projects together. I get quite anxious before an exhibition. I worry about how many people will turn up, if I will make sales and i...

“Remember, if you don't have a goal you're not playing football, you're just kicking a ball around the park.” Geoff Thompson Geoff is an inspirational character. He's made his mark in various fields and has been honored with a prestigious BAFTA award for his contributions as a writer and film maker. As a spiritual guide, he imparts his wisdom openly, and his martial arts skills are globally-recogn...

Susan Cain is a well-known, world-renowned, best-selling, well, NYT best-selling author, and again, she took the time out of her busy schedule to talk to little old me . (I need to stop saying “little old me” I need to start celebrating my achievements). Admittedly I felt a little awkward chatting to her but overall, it went well in my opinion. I celebrate how I give people the space to talk and I...