Ep. 046 Jerry De La Cruz - Denver Art Legend
Jerry De La Cruz. De La Cruz talks about growing up in North Denver, being drafted during Vietnam, using his GI bill to go to art school, his early years as an artist in Denver, teaching at the Art Students League of Denver, art advocacy, producing Art Barn in 1987, owning a radio station in Pueblo, Art in Action Studios, the Denver scene...
Ep. 045 Melissa Richardson Banks, Photographer
Melissa Richardson Banks, President and Founder of CauseConnect, a consulting firm, servicing clients nationwide in the arts. She is also a photographer that has documented the Arts District in downtown Los Angeles and is known by the moniker Downtown Muse. Melissa has produced, marketed, managed, and toured museum exhibitions of Cheech Marin’s Chicano Art collection.
Ep. 044 Kat Nechleba - Artist, Art Therapist & Psychotherapist
Wes and Todd talk with Artist, Art Therapist and Psychotherapist, Kat Nechleba. Nechleba talks about growing up a military brat, attending art school at the Kansas City Art Institute, Art Therapy, Carl Jung, Psychotherapy, found object art, her various art series, Ruche Mére, the book she wrote entitled, This World is Strange & I Blame it on You, being kind to others and how to navigate the waters during these weird and difficult times.
Ep. 043 Alexandrea Pangburn-Painter, Muralist
Wes and Todd talk with Denver muralist, Alexandrea Pangburn. Pangburn talks about growing up in an artistic family in Kentucky, horses, getting a degree in Animal Science, running a horse rescue, doing pet portraits, moving to Colorado and embedding herself in the art scene, doing her first mural at Crush Walls, and how she took an idea for a mural festival dedicated to women and their art to fruition with one of the most successful Denver art events of 2020, Babe Walls.
Ep. 042 Daniel Sprick - Contemporary American Realistic Painter
Wes and Todd talk with Denver painter, Daniel Sprick. Sprick talks about his early years in Glenwood Springs and his introduction to drawing, his exploits into the outdoors to get out of the studio and paint, favorite artists, 20th century art, his portrait and still life painting, what it takes to be bold in the world of art, the importance of sleep, happiness, and his pursuit of beauty and aesthetics.
Ep. 041 Ron Hicks - Painter
Wes and Todd talk with Denver painter, Ron Hicks. Hicks talks about growing up in Denver, Colorado and Columbus, Ohio, going to art school, finding his voice and focusing on his art career, his beautiful individual series that he continues to explore, mortality and legacy, and a plethora of perceptions.
Ep. 040 Dennis Scholl - Documentary Filmmaker, Lifeline:Clyfford Still
Wes and Todd talk with award-winning documentary filmmaker, Dennis Scholl about his early years growing up in Miami, his work as former Vice President/Arts for the Knight Foundation, the Oolite Arts organization and his role as President and CEO, making documentaries, his extraordinary documentary Lifeline:Clyfford Still, and the wonderful documentary that he co-directed, The Last Resort.
Ep. 039 Krista Lea - Artby13, Painter
Wes and Todd talk with Denver artist, Krista Lea aka Artby13. Krista talks about growing up in the Texas Panhandle, entering art contests in her youth, getting a masters in accounting, rediscovering and pursuing art again at age 25 following a devastating ski accident, using art as therapy and negotiating bipolar disorder, and the exploration and dissection of culture and society in her art.
Ep. 037 Lisa DiAmor Sanchez - Art with a message
Wes and Todd talk with Denver artist, Lisa DiAmor Sanchez. Lisa talks about how she made the jump to become a full-time artist, her process to create her beautiful paintings, how her family inspired her entrepreneurial spirit, selling art at festivals, and how she has learned to pivot through the years to have a successful art career.
Ep. 036 Garrett Ellwood - Sports Photographer, Denver Nuggets
Wes and Todd talk with sports photographer Garrett Ellwood. Ellwood is the team photographer for the Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Rapids and photographs numerous other sports. Ellwood talks about how he got his start photographing sports in Los Angeles, the different sport markets he’s worked, some of the highlights of his career photographing sports icons and championships, the business of sports photography and talks the logistics of photographing an NBA game.
Ep. 035 Lee LaBier - Installation Artist
Wes and Todd talk with Denver artist, Lee LaBier. A multidisciplinary artist, LaBier creates with photography, video and installation to fully interpret specific projects. LaBier defines the work as autobiographical confessional art, mainly composed of self-portraits, exploring identity, its formation and transitions.
LaBier investigates the self, gender, physical, factual, illusory, artificial, and why certain identities are acquired. A method of introspection, LaBier contrasts dark subject matter, such as trauma, veiled by beauty.
Ep. 034 Dean Sobel - Clyfford Still Museum
Wes and Todd talk with Dean Sobel, Director of the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver, Colorado. Sobel talks about his career before joining the Still Museum, who is Clyfford Still, the artist, was, Abstract Expressionism, how the museum came to be in Denver, and what the future holds for both the Clyfford Still Museum and himself.
Ep. 033 Louise Martorano - RedLine
Wes and Todd talk with Louise Martorano, Executive Director of RedLine Contemporary Art Center in Denver, Colorado. Martorano talks about the mission of RedLine, it’s history, it’s work for social justice, community outreach, art grants, the Colorado Artist Relief Fund, and RedLine’s Artist-in-Residence program.
Ep. 032 Todd Gustafson
Wes and Todd talk with world renowned wildlife photographer, Todd Gustafson. Gustafson talks about growing up in Tanzania, how he became interested in photography, going on safari and how it led him to start his own company leading photo safaris all over the world.
Gustafson also talks about his conservation work and his documentary series “To the Ends of the Earth,” composing the music, producing the companion books of his wildlife photography for the series and getting Dr. Jane Goodall involved in the project.
Ep. 031 Topher Straus -Digital Nature Painter
Wes and Todd talk with artist, Topher Straus about his journey to becoming an artist, his unique process in producing his paintings, the different series he has explored, tools he uses to market his art, and how he leverages social media to promote and sell his work.
Ep. 030 Lisa Garness Mallory -Etched Photography
Wes and Todd visit with fine art photography artist, Lisa Garness Mallory. They talk about Lisa’s unique process of etching photographs, how she came up with it, entering international photography competitions, etching international wildlife photographer Todd Gustafson’s photographs, and her Rocky Mountain PBS Art District episode….
Ep. 029 Fritz Anders - Wood Artist
Wes and Todd visit with fine wood burning artist, Fritz Anders. They talk about his journey to becoming a full-time artist, his process in creating his wood masterpieces, pricing, galleries, the virtues of being frugal and always keeping an open mind as you never know how or where you might get that next big sale.
Ep. 028 W. Max Thomason - Painter of Realism & Abstraction
Wes and Todd visit with artist and gallerist, W. Max Thomason. They talk about his journey as an artist, the different series he has explored, promotion and pricing, and then we change gears and talk about his gallery, Bitfactory, how it came about, the mission of the gallery, the studios that he runs in conjunction with the gallery, and the business side of having a gallery.
Ep. 027 Lisa Siciliano - Concert & Documentary Photographer
Wes and Todd visit with renowned Boulder photographer, Lisa Siciliano. They talk about documenting the icons of Rock & Roll for her various clients, concert photography etiquette, business, giving back to the community, and her awe-inspiring new work called the Lumin Project.
Ep. 026 Dan Drossman - Graffiti, Cartooning, & Abstraction Merge
This week, Wes and Todd visit with Denver artist, Dan Drossman. They talk about art as therapy and meditation, staying true to your vision as an artist, promotion and social media, process and staying creative during the pandemic. Searching for a visual language that teeters the line between figurative and abstraction, intellect and emotion, construction and deconstruction.