There’s a moment in life when something shifts—quietly, almost accidentally—and it takes on an unexpected new direction. For Dr. Debbie Mueller, that moment came on a rainy day in Sarasota, Florida, with a reluctant brushstroke and a “really bad painting.” It changed everything for her.
In this episode of The Artful Painter, I converse with Debbie Mueller to explore her remarkable transition from a career in medicine to becoming a full-time artist. Though she found her work as a doctor in a successful OB-GYN practice rewarding, that one “really bad painting” sparked a decade-long journey that eventually lead to her leaving medicine and to pursue painting full-time.
Debbie’s paintings are known for their luminous quality, thoughtful composition, and inviting sense of presence. She exhibits nationally, teaches workshops, and continues to expand her reach through galleries and competitions.
Here are a few tantalizing talking points Debbie shares in her conversation:
Why it’s never too late to start painting
How Debbie transitioned from medicine to full-time art
The power of daily painting challenges (and what they teach you)
A step-by-step breakdown of her painting process
How to balance self-critique without self-sabotage
Why community matters—especially for solo artists
How rejection (even at high levels) is part of the journey
Your first painting doesn’t have to be good—it just has to begin something
Growth comes from volume and repetition, not perfection
Strong artists develop self-awareness, not just technical skill
Limiting your palette can actually expand your creativity
Emotional connection matters just as much as technical accuracy
The bottom line: sometimes, all it takes is one small decision to begin. I’m sure Debbie is in for an exciting ride of her life as she pursues fine art painting full-time. I’m so glad to share with you Debbie’s story in this delightful and inspiring conversation.
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Nicholas Coleman - The Lure of the West
Episode 76
Thursday, February 12, 2026 • Duration 01:00:04
In this episode of The Artful Painter, I sit down with Western artist Nicholas Coleman to talk about what actually drives his painting process — it's not just technique, but also curiosity, memory, history, and places that won't let go of you.
Raised in the studio of his father, Michael Coleman, Nicholas grew up surrounded by Native models, reference materials, taxidermy, and the working realities of the art business. What stayed with him wasn't just technique — it was a deep respect for history and for the places that shaped it.
In this episode, we discuss his return to the Coors Western Art Exhibit, the tension between authenticity and trend-chasing, his recent exploration of African wildlife inspired in part by painters like Wilhelm Kuhnert, and why he sometimes ignores deadlines to get a painting "out of his head." We also talk about art school battles, conservation history, spaghetti westerns, and what happens when an artist receives a fifty-page contract connected to George Lucas. Have I got your attention now?
If you care about painting, place, and preserving something larger than yourself, this conversation will resonate.
Brian Buckrell is a full-time Canadian painter. After a long, successful career as a Professor of Veterinary Medicine, he made the decision to switch to a career doing one of the hardest things known to humankind: painting fine art.
The transition wasn't easy - especially doing so much later in life while in his sixties. He admits there were times he felt like quitting. However, he stuck with it. Brian doggedly continued developing his painting skills. Recognizing the importance of learning the fundamentals of the craft, he attended many workshops and enrolled full-time at the highly acclaimed Jeff Watts Atelier. Buckrell's determination and dedication to the craft finally paid off.
Today, despite challenging health issues that both he and his wife, Cathy, have to deal with, he enthusiastically creates bold, beautiful, expressive paintings of the great outdoors that they so much enjoy together. Because of the joy viewers experience in seeing his art, Brian's colorful paintings grace the homes of many collectors around the world.
Acrylic is Brian's medium of choice. Modern innovations and developments in acrylic paint provide an exciting medium and playground for Brian to explore and experiment. It allows him to paint quickly what he loves to paint in the way he wants to paint. And, most of all – have fun! Now in his late seventies, Brian Buckrell proves that it's never too late to paint and have the Freedom to Play.
Alla Prima - Everything I Know About Painting – And More, by Richard Schmid
Mitchell Albala - Mystery and Atmosphere
Episode 66
Saturday, January 29, 2022 • Duration 01:40:42
Mitchell Albala is a fine art painter, noted author, and beloved workshop instructor. His first book, Landscape Painting: Essential Concepts and Techniques for Plein Air and Studio Practice, is a well-worn reference in my personal library since 2009 when it was first published.
Mitchell now has an exciting new book available, The Landscape Painter's Workbook: Essential Studies in Shape, Composition, and Color. When I received this book a couple of months ago and read it, I knew this would also be a treasured – and much used – volume in my library.
This is a one-and-a-half-hour-long episode and it's much like taking a mini-workshop from Mitchell. For example, In this edition of the Artful Painter, some of the topics Mitchell covers include:
His journey from the first book to his latest book and how changes in his approach to teaching became the foundation of the new book.
The use of notan for capturing the basic shapes and patterns that drive a composition.
How plein air painting supports Mitchell's studio work.
Direct observation versus "informed modification."
The perils and pitfalls of working with photos and how to get the best results from using them in the studio.
The picture window format and how different aspect ratios affect the directional energy of a composition.
Telling the viewer everything they need to know in a painting versus asking the viewer to participate in the perceptual process.
Color strategies, simplification, abstract impressionism, and so much more!
In addition to Mitchell's love of teaching, he is also an accomplished fine art painter. His work is driven by three visual imperatives: the inherent abstraction within nature, pattern, and unified light. The landscape is an ideal subject with which to pursue his interest. Mitchell Albala's mastery of these visual imperatives is evident in his beautiful, evocative paintings that are filled with Mystery and Atmosphere.
Links:
Ariana Richards - Poetic Realism
Episode 65
Saturday, January 22, 2022 • Duration 01:00:03
Ariana Richards delights in expressing her creativity in both painting and acting. Encouraged by her family at an early age, she developed an intense interest in the arts. She developed her painting skills even though as a young child she was busy acting. Ariana has appeared in over 30 movies and television shows – including portraying the young computer wizard Lex in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park. She went on to earn a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts and Drama at Skidmore College. Her painting skills earned her the honor of being one of the youngest artists to become a member of the California Art Club. She is also a member of the Portrait Society of America.
Ariana's creative roots in the arts can be traced to one of her early ancestors: Renaissance painter Carlo Crivelli who lived during the 1400s. With a deep respect for the old masters and a keen appreciation of the Impressionists, Ariana has developed her own sensitive, expressive voice that is an amalgamation of both worlds. Her beautiful portraits gently capture a fleeting gesture of the subject. Her landscapes and seascapes encapsulate the beauty and light of a moment in time. The gorgeous result of Ariana Richard's finely honed creative voice is Poetic Realism.
Robert Henri's book The Art Spirit inevitably makes it in any artist's top ten artbook recommendations.
As passionate students of Art, we know Robert Henri. His paintings make up an extraordinary body of work. He is considered the "father" of the Ashcan School - a loose alliance of artists whose approach to painting had more in common with journalism than stuffy, academic Traditionalism. Henri taught in many art schools. By some estimates, he taught more than a thousand students – including Edward Hopper and George Bellows. He was universally beloved as a teacher by his students. Today we continue to benefit from his teaching preserved in the pages of The Art Spirit.
We have one of Henri's students to thank for preserving Henri's teaching: Margery Ryerson. She compiled a collection of his lecture notes, letters, and commentary together into the inspirational book The Art Spirit. It continues to be a valuable source of instruction and inspiration nearly 100 years after it was first published in 1923. The original text entered the public domain in 2019. What a remarkable gift!
Scott L. Christensen must paint - it is core to his very being. His keen eye and probing curiosity of nature reveal a deep love of not just being outdoors – but, rather, immersed in it with all senses engaged. His response to the landscape is visceral. He wants the viewer to feel a deep emotional connection with the landscape. The viewer is not a mere passing observer of a Christensen painting, but is also a participant in the scene – curious, seeking answers to their own internal questions.
Nature's beauty presents a cacophony of options. This excites Scott – he looks forward to the process of problem-solving and experimentation that long precedes making the first mark of a painting. Outdoor painting is just the beginning of the process. Developing ideas is fundamental to Scott's approach. Through this process of ideation, Scott seeks to find the key of a painting just as a composer decides the key of a song. It's a process that Scott Christensen appropriately likens to Managing Chaos.
Britt Snyder focuses on capturing memories and feelings on canvas. Though influenced by late 19th century impressionism, Britt's paintings are clearly a modern take of impressionistic figurative, still life, and landscape painting. His portrayal of the human figure resembles a character who once inhabited our dreams of the night, and now their features slowly dissolve from our waking memory.
His paintings reference classical painting, photography and pop culture with an emphasis on capturing and presenting moments in time and presenting the core essence of the portrayed subject. Just as a film director of a feature film uses the concept of the "wandering eye" in a shot – a view of the actor's eyes without revealing what the actor sees – Britt invokes a similar feeling of curiosity and mystery in his paintings. We want to know what his subject sees and feels. We are left with questions as his figure glances beyond the edge of the canvas. When you view one of Britt Snyder's paintings, you begin to hear in your mind the music of life, and in the periphery of your vision you discern that there is A Sense of Something More.
Frank Serrano's paintings have a sense of atmospheric depth that seem to extend far beyond the two dimensional surface of a canvas. As you look at one of his Western landscape paintings, it's as if you can feel the summer heat enveloping California's Owens Valley. You feel a breeze gently tugging at your soul as you gaze in awe upon the purple glow of the fading light of the setting sun cast upon the immense Eastern Sierras. This is Edgar Payne country.
Inspired by Payne as well as artists Sam Hyde Harris, Frank Tenney Johnson, Maynard Dixon and others, Frank's paintings reflect his own developed style filled with incredible passion that beautifully capture the dramatic atmosphere and stunning light that infuses the vast landscape of the West. Frank says that painting on location enriches his life. His paintings do not exist as mere pictures. They are like a cinematic film that stirs your heart with a deep emotional response to the story that unfolds before you of the epic Western landscape and the people who inhabit its vast spaces.
Years of outdoor painting has honed Frank's sensitivity to the landscape. Frank Serrano's keen sense of observation and heartfelt emotional response to the Western landscape enable him to paint not only the scene before him, but also The Air Between Things.
Kevin Kehoe began his remarkable career as a fine art painter just a little over eight years ago. Though he had attended Art Institute of Boston, it would be another 30 years before he would pick up his paint brushes again. With the loving support of his wife, he abandoned a successful career in advertising to pursue fine art painting full time.
Kevin refers to himself as a painter with a camera. However, his thoughtfully composed photos are merely a jumping off point for his exquisite, expansive paintings that stir the heart. His goal is not to simply render a photo into a painting. Rather, Kevin seeks to express his subject matter – as he puts it – "like an emotionally conjured image." His paintings are about how he wants to recall a moment in time in his mind and heart.
Struck by the epic and awe-inspiring vistas of the American West, his paintings often capture the wonder and wanderlust of the West. Kevin says of the West: "In short, it's where you lose yourself to find yourself… The West is good medicine." Indeed, in this stress-filled world, Kevin Kehoe's magnificent paintings are just the right prescription and dosage we need of Western Therapy.
This page may contain affiliate links from which I earn a small commission. When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Conversations With Nature Oil Painting in the Tradition of Plein Air, by Kevin Macpherson https://amzn.to/35WBtIl (paid link)
Fill Your Oil Paintings with Light & Color, by Kevin Macpherson https://amzn.to/3Jp2AKE (paid link)
Landscape Painting Inside and Out: Capture the Vitality of Outdoor Painting in Your Studio With Oils, by Kevin Macpherson https://amzn.to/3qebLWv (paid link)
This page may contain affiliate links from which I earn a small commission. When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
This page may contain affiliate links from which I earn a small commission. When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
This page may contain affiliate links from which I earn a small commission. When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
This page may contain affiliate links from which I earn a small commission. When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
This page may contain affiliate links from which I earn a small commission. When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
This page may contain affiliate links from which I earn a small commission. When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
This page may contain affiliate links from which I earn a small commission. When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
This page may contain affiliate links from which I earn a small commission. When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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