Willy (Wilamina) Russo

The NFT market is going wild and you’re a programer who loves art with a good friend how owns a gallery. What do you do?  Of course you call your gallery friend and say 'What's our plan?' Georgia Mills is a programmer for a leading Australian software company and Sotiris Sotiriou is the founder and owner of COMA Gallery in Sydney. Georgia could see there was an opportunity to be had and the r...

Nasim Nasr is an Iranian born artist living and working in Australia. Her story will have you asking, how far would you go for your art? Nasim's art is inspired by her observations of culture and how the things we take for granted in one can spark a powerful conversation in another with her photographic and film work shown to international acclaim and award. Today's episode covers a range of topic...

Sarah McDonald wears a few hats. Art school owner. Art teacher. Professional artist. South Australian art industry champion. Her landscapes capture the warmth of the surrounding natural environment and the positive energy she feels from being amongst it. Sarah is accomplished, successful and well respected, yet, there is something she feels has alluded her art career to-date. We chat about what th...

It was art school or bust for drawer and painter Daniel Bodey. The Sydney based artist graduate from National Art School in 2020 and was the recipient of the Troy Quinliven award in his final year. Daniel has developed a distinctive style and has a love for John Brack like I do.  Head on over to Instagram and follow his work @_bodey_daniel_art_

Sebastian Goldspink is one of the most generous art world figures you'll meet. Along with his roles of opening the new Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf and as curator of the Adelaide Biennial in 2022, he is a constant champion of art and the people creating it. Today he shares with us his thoughts on the roots and evolution of curation and how he sees it relating to him, his approach to opening the Wo...

Phoebe Moonyean Gander is an English born mixed media artist living and working in New Zealand. She's also hilarious. Follow her on instagram and you're bound to get a giggle. Finding her flow in the whirlwind of life that is a young family and dealing with her ADHD, Phoebe's compelling abstract works are an active meditation of sorts.  Our conversation today is a meandering walk through art,...

Miranda Skoczek may not be the best book club member, as you’ll find out, but she’s a damn fine painter. Miranda has been consistently exhibiting over the last 15 years. Doing 2 and sometimes 3 shows a year. She moved her studio back home this year after years spent working offsite. And it’s exciting to see what the change in energy will do to her work. You see home isn’t just Miranda floating aro...

Giorgia McRae graduated from the National Art School in Sydney in 2020. She creates beautiful sculptures with steel and blocks of sandstone and has her very first solo at Saint Cloche in Paddington later this year. We chatted all things art school such as the highs and lows, and what actually happens when the study is over and the students are thrust out into the real world.  Follow this risi...

Chances are if you live in New York and are in the art world, you’ve probably seen Matthew Israel speak at function, host a panel or read his writing. The curator, writer and art historian is a well known and well respected figure in the scene. I first came across Matthew via his book, A Year In the Art World, an insiders view , and it quickly became one of my top three books for 2020.  I cau...

Ces McCully is a deep thinker, a lover of words and currently obsessed with olives. She also paints all the phrases you say in your head, but dare not utter out loud.  Among many things we talk about her discovery that different languages have different colours, the inspiration for her true selves project, and the importance of celebrating female artist who are also mothers. Ces sent to me tw...

Frances Belle Parker started her career with a bang, winning the Blake Prize at age 18 in 2000. This year she had another major highlight. Her artwork titled Angwirri, was projected on to the sails of the Sydney Opera House on the 26th of January. A proud Yaegl woman from Yaygirr Wadyarr, or the Maclean region, in Northern New South Wales, Frances has been creating for over 20 years. In today’s ep...

Wanda Comrie is getting on with painting and selling her vibrant botanical works. Having found her groove and a market (hello, The Jealous Currator and Ashley Longshore !) Wanda's works are in collections all around the world. Today we chatted about art prizes, the admin and logistics of selling your own work and why Instagram requires more than just a few follows and likes to build a network.&nbs...

Arguably one of the most successful Australian school-run art shows, The Grammar Art Show in Toowoomba Queensland, gets bigger and better each year. Rebecca Statton is one of the volunteers who works behind the scenes to make it all happen. This year they showed over 290 artists with over 1000 pieces of works. It's a HUGE show.  Bec joined me to talk about why the show is so popular with coll...

Kian Mosharaf is a Dallas born, Barcelona based artist working in the field of illustration. Winning a place in the 2019 Slow Down Studio competition saw Kian's creative career move in the direction of product development. In today’s episode, Kian and I explore the difference between an illustrator and an artist, how he decided on Spain over New York, and how his definition of success has changed...

Samantha Dennison was a high school art teacher for 16 years. Along came three children and the need to be flexible with her time, so Samantha picked up the brush and began to paint full time. That was seven years ago now and over that time, she has developed a style that is calm, refined and quietly oh so beautiful. On today’s episode Samantha and I talk process, continual learning and the line b...

Bethany’s Saab entry onto the Australian art scene has been one most artists dream of. She was approached by Amber Creswell Bell to join the Michael Reid emerging artist program, was listed in The Design Files and national newspaper The Australian as an artist to watch, and is currently prepping for her second solo show at Michael Reid Northern Beaches. Not bad for her first year in the industry!...

Gig Moses, owner and Director of The Moree Gallery, is a great example of the creative vibrancy that blossoms in regional Australia. On top of her amazing stable of artists, Gig also has a loyal following of collectors. It wasn’t always that way though, Gig has invested over two decades of energy, resources, and love, into getting the gallery to where it is today. Among other things we talk about...

Julie Battisti paints the most glorious billowing clouds and luxurious flowers. Sounds kind of dreamy right? And it is. Escapism is one of her artistic drivers and it's not at all surprising. You could definitely get lost in her works. We chat the artist gallery relationship and why she values it, the sometimes awkward side of money and being an artist, and the commissioning process.  Head to Juli...

Johnny K is an Australian artist based in the Blue Mountains behind Sydney. His vibrant Australian landscapes have grown in popularity and it's no wonder. They bring a sense of freedom and joy to the viewer. We dived into some of life's big topics - philosophy, the power of the Australian landscape, the gallery artist relationship and his upcoming first solo exhibition at Wentworth Gallery in Sydn...

Emerging Australian artist Pi Williams creates art works you just want to touch! The textile artist uses punch needle and variety of wools and yarns to create beautiful works that are rich in colour and texture.  Check out her work on Instagram @piwilliamsart or her website www.piwilliams-art.com

Strap yourself in for the life force that is American artist, gallery owner, and all round artrepreneur, Ashley Longshore.

This week we’re off to Wilmington North Carolina in the USA, to chat with emerging American painter Kelsey Howard. It was Kelsey’s portraits of women that initially caught my eye. We spoke about balancing her day job as a nurse  and her artistic career, holding her first solo show which sold out, Instagram as a great source of inspiration, and the importance of believing in yourself and findi...

Australian figurative painter Robert Malherbe wants to capture the moment. It's an experience he's painting, not a picture. An experience of feelings, of intensity, of light refracting from the round of a hill or the round of a buttock. His loose bold brush strokes give a richness to his paintings that is loved the world over. Today on Interview with an find out if he has any regrets, if his defin...

Samantha Hobbelen creates paintings that lift you up and leave you feeling pretty darn good. Just like a session hanging out with Sam. We talk about the importance of asking the question, bringing some business brains to a creative life, and see how her career as an artist has evolved since we first spoke in 2019. Find her on instagram @samanthahobbelen

Impasto pallete knife painter Emily Persson began as a teenager, painting murals on her bedroom cupboard. Fast forward 15 years to today and her work is in demand with collectors around the globe.  Her journey has been overwhelming, liberating and rewarding and really, Emily is only just getting started.  Emily joined me from her home in Melbourne for this week's Interview With An Artist...