Passionate Painter Podcast

Daniel Sivek is a painter, sculptor and mixed-media artist. Nature and natural landscapes inspire much of his work - from Wisconsin’s Northwoods and southern bluffs to the beaches and parklands of Florida. Extensive international travel – in Western Europe, China, Central America, Australia, and New Zealand – and travel across most the U.S. have broadened his perspective on art, culture, and natur...

Jessie Fritsch paints because she was raised surrounded by a creative and arty family who always supported her artistic talent. Her internal drive is to make art, teach art, and help create a strong art community. She is inspired by random moments and paint what she finds to be calming beauty in her busy life. The one common denominator in her work is vibrant and luminous color.  Jessie began prim...

Heather Bhandari is an independent curator; a co-founder of the project-based curatorial team and podcast, The Remix; an adjunct lecturer at Brown University where she teaches professional practice to visual arts majors; and the Program Director of Art World Conference (AWC), a business and financial literacy conference for visual artists which debuted in New York City in April of 2019. The second...

Joseph Kaftan was born in northeastern Wisconsin. His mother was a newspaper photographer and his father a self-taught mosaicist. Encouraged by his parents, Joseph began drawing and painting at a young age. He later studied art at UW-Madison and graphic design at American University. He worked as a graphic designer, his favorite projects were creating CD and book covers. In 2006, he began his firs...

Mark Brueggeman works in printmaking, painting, drawing, and stained glass, with occasional forays into bronze casting. His current printmaking focus is a combination of letterpress and intaglio prints, further expanding his scope into the roles of publisher and illustrator.  Mark earned his undergraduate degree in drawing and painting at the Art Institute of Chicago. He earned his graduate degree...

Betty Franks Krause was born in Toronto, Canada and raised in San Jose, California. She is a self-taught abstract artist who started painting when she turned 50. Although it seems late in life to take up painting, the timing was just right for her.  After a long career in customer service management, she was ready to unleash her creative side. Here's what Betty has to say about her work: &quo...

Sculptor Kristin Thielking received a BA in Fine Art and Comparative Literature from Brown University in Rhode Island and an MFA in Sculpture from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Kristin has taught sculpture at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point since 2001. She has also taught at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, University of Wisconsin, Madison and Penland School of Crafts....

Ernest Hemingway once said, “There is nothing to writing. All you have to do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” So true, and true as well for the visual artist. The act of creating is exhilarating to be sure, but it is often excruciating. If you are an artist, you’ve probably thought the same thing, whether you are just starting out or have a long career behind you. The most important charact...

An interview with Matt Tommey, Artist, Mentor, Author & Speaker. Voted one of Professional Artist Magazines "Best Art Mentors" in 2018, Matt describes his mission as "Helping thousands of artists around the world understand & flow in their Divine Design while being led by God's voice."

This is part 1 of a 2-part interview. Portugese master painter Nelson Ferreira discusses the state of realism in the West, his shocking rebellion against his academic institution, and how painting a haunting series carried him through a years-long depression. Nelson studied Fine Arts Painting and has exhibited and taught internationally. He is a visiting lecturer for the National Portrait Gallery,...

This is part 2 of a 2-part interview. Portugese master painter Nelson Ferreira discusses his fidelity to ancient techniques and working with toxic materials, the chemical properties of pigments, and making professional connections in the art world. Nelson studied Fine Arts Painting and has exhibited and taught internationally. He is a visiting lecturer for the National Portrait Gallery, National G...