Savvy Painter Podcast with Antrese Wood

Susan Jane Walp paints still lifes from her home in Vermont. Her compositions expertly balance silent spaces with a powerful geometry that pulls you in and holds you. Her influences range from Piero de la Francesca to Lennart Anderson whom she met and studied with at a summer program run by Boston University during her undergrad years. Susan and I talk about how she constructs her paintings, and h...

Like many artists, Billyo O'Donnell struggled with the decision to pursue art as a vocation. But standing in his boss's office at a Missouri saw mill, Billyo came to a life changing realization. He saw that there are no safe paths, and decided he might as well take his own chances. So he carved his own path in the world of corporate illustration, negotiating a brilliant deal with his emp...

Kathleen Speranza is a painter from Massachusetts. She earned her BFA from Boston University and her MFA from Yale. She teaches painting and drawing at Rhode Island School of Design. Her current obsession is portraits. Portraits of flowers. And according to Kathleen, flower paintings are sometimes akin to stepping on the third rail. There are so many stereotypes that go along with this subject tha...

You are listening to the 100th episode of the Savvy Painter podcast! To commemorate this exciting event, I’ve been working on something special for you. I’m collecting the very best quotes and observations from artists interviewed on the Savvy Painter into an ebook. You can sign up to get your free copy at http://savvypainter.com/ebook In the early eighties, Trici Venola was an early adopter and j...

Rebecca Crowell creates luscious abstract paintings which are inspired by her travels and memories of places. In this episode, Rebecca and I talk about working with cold wax, and how playing with the medium encouraged her to switch from representational to abstract painting. We also discuss the discomfort artists feel when they transition from a style they are known for into something completely n...

Zaria Forman makes pastel drawings of glaciers and icebergs and the changing landscapes of places like Antarctica, Greenland, and the Maldives. She does this to bring attention to climate change and to honor her mother who started it all. Zaria shares how taking risks and having the courage to grow has been an essential part of her journey. We get into the nitty-gritty of how she works: from curat...

Greg Decker is a symbolist painter, living in southern New Mexico. He holds two MFA (Master of Fine Arts) degrees, from Cranbrook Academy of Art (MI) and from the New York Academy of Art (NYC).  He’s studied with renowned painters such as Leland Bell, Fairfield Porter, John Moore, Vincent Desiderio and Martha Erlebacher. I never thought I would hear Beethoven and the Ramones mentioned in the same...

Timothy Horn paints rural landscapes around Marin and Sonoma counties in northern California. He fell in love with painting after a chance encounter with another artist who has been on this show- Stanley Goldstein. Just a few years later, Tim shut down his graphic design business to focus entirely on his painting and he hasn’t looked back. In this episode, Tim shares how he got started, what he ne...

Ann is a figurative painter based in Seattle. If you are not familiar with her work, you definitely want to spend some time to really look at what she is doing in her painting. On the surface you’ll note her distinctive brushwork, how she weaves ribbons of color through figure and background, and plays with edges. But as she will tell you herself, she is constantly setting up challenges for hersel...

Celia Reisman paints suburban landscapes - specifically the neighborhood she has been living in for over 30 years.    In this interview discusses her process of creating these paintings and how she adapted her work methods to fit her personality.    Observational drawings are integral to her work method. While she does paint plein air, it is her field sketches that feed her large scale studio pain...

Skip Whitcomb grew up on a Ranch in Colorado, without much encouragement to pursue art as a vocation. Following his parents advice, he enrolled in college to study business, but quickly realized his heart was somewhere else. Skip has been painting landscapes of the western United States for over forty years now. In this conversation, Skip and I talk about learning the craft and then taking every o...

Ray Roberts is a California painter, who paints landscapes and figures both in studio and en plein air. He is best known for his seascapes, figurative work, and landscapes of California and the Southwest. Ray has won numerous awards for his paintings including Gold Medal for "Best Painting" at the California Art Club and the Artists' Choice Award, the highest accolade from fellow ar...

Kurt Moyer is a landscape painter living in upstate New York. He pulls inspiration from nature, and from studying the master paintings that came before us. As Kurt will tell you, some mysteries in painting don’t need to be solved in order to have a full,  rich experience with them. Kurt is content to let some of that be so that he can focus on light, color, and the thread that weaves through his w...

After a successful career in illustration, Mark Daniel Nelson decided he would be more fulfilled working on his own art. He took his business acumen from the illustration world and applied it to fine arts. Through some smart decisions and ‘being in the right place at the right time.’ Mark created his own path to artistic freedom. In this episode, Mark describes the calculated moves he made to buil...

Figurative oil painter Martin Campos describes himself as a late bloomer. He began painting in earnest in his late 20s and didn't go to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) where he teaches now until his 30’s. Martin describes a pivotal moment at PAFA when an instructor with a Cheshire Cat grin made a suggestion that ended up changing everything about Martins paintings. Martin also ta...

Bobbie Burgers is an artist living in Vancouver, Canada. She paints large scale portraits of flowers, but as Bobbie will tell you, these paintings are actually not about the flowers at all. Bobbie and I talk about her inspiration, where it comes from and how changing studios gave her the luxury of seeing the progression of her body of work. We also talk about Bobbie’s reaction to having her work c...

Debra is a plein air painter from Southern California. She lives in Orange County where she has a studio and a gallery on Balboa Island. She has been featured in Art of the West, and Plein Air magazine, this year, her paintings will be exhibited in Maui Plein Air, and at the California Art Club Gold Medal Exhibition at the Autry Museum. Debra and I talk about…. What she teaches her students about...

Felicia is a representational artist who paints Alla Prima portraits from her studio in Detroit. Her self portrait ‘Melting Point’ was accepted into he BP Portrait awards show in 2015. After 15 years of waitressing, Felicia took a leap and decided to focus exclusively on her painting. It’s an inspiring story of faith in her abilities and pushing past the “oh my god, what did I just do” moments to...

Plein Air painter John Cosby began his art career at sea. Like so many people in their 20's he had the urge to travel and see what else is out there. Other sailors noticed him drawing, John needed to eat, so he sold his drawings or bartered for gear. In this episode, John describes how what started as a necessity morphed into a 35 year adventure in painting. When John began to focus exclusive...

David Gray is a classical realist painter. His work has appeared in Southwest Art, Art of the West, and American Art Collector. David talks with Antrese Wood about how being an artist is being an entrepreneur in this episode. David shares how he accidentally discovered the power of social media to connect with both students and collectors. David and Antrese also talk about the pressure of supporti...

Sean Cheetham grew up surrounded by artists and encouraged to create. He studied illustration at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and quickly began teaching and showing his art. Sean and Antrese Wood talk about his portraits of friends, and how painting became sort of a diary of his life. Sean talks about entering art contests, his experience with the BP Portrait contest. On the one ha...

Christopher Gallego talks about mastery, the artist mindset, why a painting might 'fail', and his new drawings of the streets of New York City. Support the show And hey - if this episode hit home, do me a favor, leave a review on Apple Podcast or come say hi on Instagram:  @savvypainterpodcast I’d love to hear this episode resonated you. ❤️

Chelsea Bentley James studied art at the University of Utah and shows her work at Dolby Chadwick in San Francisco. After some early success with still life paintings, Chelsea was advised to “Paint what makes your heart hurt.” Although those early still lifes were necessary to her technical growth and she loved painting them, Chelsea felt they might become somewhat formulaic. So she looked for a mo...

Artist Katy Schneider paints intimate domestic scenes, mostly from her 6 foot by 8 foot studio in her basement. She plays with questions like, how do you fit all of THIS in such a small space? When you see her paintings, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Katy includes all disciplines in her creative life. She consistently challenges the beginner mindset by doing things like taking up pedal steel...

Andrew Salgado paints large colorful portraits and abstract figurative work. He is originally from Canada but after attending graduate school at Chelsea he made London his home. In this interview, Andrew and Antrese talk about living in a different country and how immersing yourself in an artistic culture different from your own presents challenges and opportunities for growth. Those opportunities...