The Dark Art Society Podcast with Chet Zar

This week we have Dan Fisher return to the podcast to talk about his upcoming show at Skull and Snake Tattoo called "Inhabitants" (also showing are Michael Meech and Louis Cypher). We talk his move to the country, dogs, the refining of his painting technique, entities vs. aliens, how Dan Kelley puts on amazing art shows at Skull and Snake and much more! Always great to talk to Dan! Also, a quick a...

This week I interview the one and only Alex Pardee! I've known Alex for over 20 years now but have never gotten to delve into his background and life story. We talk about his earl life and how he got into art as a profession, his childhood struggle with anxiety, art as a healing process, creating his first comics, how he started his classic "Bunnywith" comic, being the art director for the band Th...

This week I interview the legendary artist, Dave Cooper! Dave was a big influence on me early on in my oil painting career and his work is truly visionary. We discuss his epic career as an underground comics luminary, animated television series creator and highly successful gallery fine artist. Dave is a really nice dude, and the conversation went in many different directions, just the way I like...

This week I finally have the incredible creature designer/sculptor/illustrator David Meng on the show! We discuss how he got into the film industry, his artistic childhood, why we love monsters, spending 7 1/2 years in New Zealand at WETA, working with Guillermo del Toro on Pacific Rim, The Shape of Water and Crimson Peak, his high hopes for his new Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/mengmonsters) a...

This week I interview visionary dark artist Ash Darq! We talk about her creative childhood, getting serious as a visual artist a bit later than usual (age 28), living in Australia, creating work for her new solo show, bridging the gap between the dark art scene and the visionary art scene, live painting and selling merch at music festivals and much more! Ash has a great dark visionary style and it...

Artist Carrie Ann Baade returns to talk about her beautiful new art book "Scissors and Tears". We discuss: Polish bugs, Beksinski, being an art professor, her unusual collage sketch to oil painting technique, the hardships of creating her first art book and lots more! We kind of wanted to frame this book around the idea of talking about the unseen issues around creating your own art book, so there...

Artist Martin Darkside returns to talk about his new show of dark art still life oil paintings at Skull and Snake tattoo called "Ritual"! We discuss: travelling to the US from the UK, the idea of ritual, paganism, witchcraft, magick, the ritual of painting and art making, the grisaille technique and tons of shop talk about oil painting. Martin is a great artist and great dude and always fun to tal...

Finally....the return of Skinner to the podcast! I had a feeling that this would be a really good episode and I was not disappointed! We talk: mental health struggles and childhood trauma, working as an artist, money, not giving a shit, AI, dunking on Elon Musk, his new stop motion animation film Shrine of Abominations, and tons more! Always great to talk to this incredible human. Also: a quick ar...

This week I catch up with tattooer and painter Brett Herman. We talk about his childhood in Colorado, going to California to be a rock star, working multiple jobs while doing his tattoo apprenticeship, becoming a full time tattooer, learning to paint in oils, and a lot more! Great conversation with a super upbeat and talented dude! Also: a quick art update Brett's website: https://www.artofbretthe...

This episode I finally chat with my friend and master oil painter/tattooer Shawn Barber! We discuss tons of stuff such as: how Shawn got started as an artist, growing up in the 70s, falling in love with oil painting in college and learning to paint in oils, working in commercial art and illustration, getting into tattooing, learning to tattoo, his amazing (previously haunted) studio and lots of ar...

This week I get to chat with the amazing Joe Vaux! Joe is a painter, animator, storyboard artist, director (for the animated TV show "Family Guy") and all-around great dude. We talk about him growing up with artist parents, being scared by his practical joke loving uncle as a kid, getting serious about art a little later in life, going to school for animation, working with Ralph Bakshi (!), gettin...

This week I speak to friend of the show Josh G. We speak all about email marketing for artists as well as some thoughts about AI. This is a super informative podcast and it is always great catching up with Josh! *Josh G portrait by Buddy Nestor Also: a quick art update Our sponsor: The Skull Shoppe: SkullShoppe.com The Dark Art Society Podcast is produced by Chet Zar. Become an Official Member of...

This week I interview Chad Savage about him and his business Sinister Visions! We talk about his normal. sheltered childhood, his 'genetic' love of Halloween and horror, going to college, working in graphic design, getting in with the haunt industry, Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman, and starting his own specialized Halloween themed spooky graphic design company! Super fun conversation with a Dark Art OG...

This week I interview Elisa and Scott Baxa, the creators of Sugar That Rocks, a small business they created that makes amazing cookies with dark art and metal band art on them! I was so impressed with a set of cookies they sent me (pictured on the promo card) that I asked them to be on the show! We talk about their collaborative work on this project, the origin of the business, Elisa's techniques...

This week I talk to my old friend and amazing painter David Stoupakis. We talk about our work for the upcoming H.R. Giger Tribute Group Show at Copro Gallery, discovering Giger and the influence he had on us as young artists, the things we do to earn our living as artists, how we plan out our projects for the year, the Epson P5000 printer, the craziness of living as a working artist, the importanc...

This week I speak to artist Tom Taggart (Ep. 125) to catch up with him and his art life. We talk dogs, why I have been away from social media, his favorite sculpture mediums, being old, his bookshelf monsters going viral, his bookshelf monsters getting ripped off, sculpting comic book covers, having a large studio, the difficulties and joys of the art life and lots more. Tom is a great artist and...

This week I speak to musician, dark art collector and YouTuber, Troy Hughes (aka @TJH3113). We talk about how he started his popular YouTube channel, our mutual love of the band Rush, bass, how he started playing bass, Kiss, prog rock, makeup effects, horror conventions, his monster mask collection and much more! Troy is such a great guy and super talented bass player. I really enjoyed talking to...

This week I interview my old friend Travis Louie. We have fun catching up and talking about things like morticians wax, being an art teacher, working with students, the blue-chip art world, being a working artist, conceptual art, modern art, masks, joke shops, The Norliss Tapes, The Night Stalker, and tons more! Super fun conversation with a great dude and amazing artist. Also, a quick art life up...

This week I interview religious scholar and horror fan, Brandon Grafius! We talk about his childhood as a horror fan, how horror relates to religion, his fantastic book about religion and horror "Lurking Under the Surface" https://a.co/d/8Y6NO6U , why we love horror films and how they help us, why we create dark art and tons more of the kind of deep questions we like to consider on this podcast. A...

This week I interview my old art friend Brandi Milne. Brandi and I started out fine art careers around the same time and she has gone on to become a really successful artist. We talk about her childhood drawing but never considering a fine art career, her pre fine art jobs, her super supportive husband Richard, getting into the Cannibal Flower group shows, her approach to creating her work, her pa...

I start the new year off with a fun conversation with my friends Gabe Leonard and Josh Breckenridge. We discuss our journey in the NFT space last year and I get Josh and Gabe's perspective on AI. Both have tried out AI programs fairly extensively and have definite opinions about it. Lots of great conversation for a chill and kind of lighthearted start to 2023. Also, a quick art life update. Gabe's...

This week I wanted to share a small discovery I made regarding one way you can protect your artwork from being used as AI training data with this short, end of the year mini episode. Our sponsor: The Skull Shoppe: https://SkullShoppe.com The Dark Art Society Podcast is produced by Chet Zar. Become an Official Member of the Dark Art Society: https://www.patreon.com/DarkArtSociety Chet’s Patreon: ht...

This week I interview writer and occult scholar (and creator of the Bind Trump ritual) Michael M. Hughes. We discuss how he got interested in magick as a kid, ghosts, the nature of reality, his love of Tarot and how he started teaching and eventually created an online Tarot class (which is great!), why magick is making a comeback, his own approach to magick, synchronicities. thje importance of a d...

This week I speak to Meats Meier about A.I. in art and all of its implications! This is an important topic that everybody needs to understand regardless of what side of the issue you are on! Meats bio: Meats Meier is a digital artist and animator who has worked on video games, movies, commercials, and title sequences. He was recently the virtual production supervisor on the Obi-wan Kenobi series o...

This week I speak to New Zealand artist Tim Molloy. We discuss his childhood growing up in an art supporting family, creating comics/zines as a kid, Toddlerpillars, NFTs, his comic book "Mr. Unpronounceable", being able to quit his day job and focus on his own work, his Patreon, working with AI, and more! This conversation frequently went back to the subject of AI, which is a big topic on the mind...