Artful Painter – Details, episodes & analysis

Kami Mendlik’s exquisite landscape paintings shimmer and vibrate with animated light and color. Her life-long journey of curiosity and keen observation of the natural world began when she was a young child. The Minnesota farmland she grew up on was fertile not just for crops, but also for a young mind curious about the wonders of the land that was her home. She was entranced by the beauty of nature's rhythm and harmony and its myriad colors.

Kami thinks of herself as a lifelong student. Each seeming advance of knowledge leads to more questions and a never-ending quest to answer them in her paintings. Her passion is the study of color. However, she does not keep what she learns to herself. Over the years she has taught well over 1,000 students a process to help achieve the illusion of light and vibration in their paintings.

Over ten years in the making, she has codified the lessons she has learned about color in a new book titled: Color Relativity–Creating the Illusion of Light With Paint. This gorgeous new book is due to be released towards the end of the summer of 2022. In this episode, Kami reveals that she has struggled with dyslexia. However, the challenge of dyslexia did not prevent her from developing a deep love of books, and the writing of Color Relativity. She opens up about what is involved in creating, editing, and publishing a quality art book.

If you were to observe Kami Mendlik painting outdoors or in her studio, just as she begins to make her colors dance, you might see a smile flicker upon her face, a slight inhale of a calming breath, and, then, with quiet abandon see her Surrender to the Process.

Links:

Kami Mendlik

Website: https://www.kamimendlik.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kamimendlik/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kami.polzin
New Book: Color Relativity–Creating the Illusion of Light With Paint: https://www.colorrelativity.com/

About the Artful Painter:

Website: https://theartfulpainter.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CarlOlsonArt

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.

Greg Newbold is a fine art painter and illustrator based near Salt Lake City, Utah. Greg says that for him, “art is a soulful expression.” His hope is that a piece of him comes out at the end of his brush onto the surface of a painting and connects with the spirit of the viewer.

Greg’s compelling visions of the American West are distilled through the filter of his own life experiences. Building upon that, he applies his own unique creative filters of simplification, light, color, shape, and texture. This creative alchemy results in paintings that feature bold composition, strong value structure, sensitive color, and intriguing narrative.

Greg’s evocative, contemporary paintings are eagerly desired by collectors from around the globe. Greg characterizes his approach to painting as Stylized Realism. Greg explains how his experience as an illustrator helped him develop a diverse vocabulary that he can draw upon for his oil paintings. He explains that doing the hard work of putting in the brush mileage he put into his illustrations and paintings allowed his unique voice to appear naturally.

Greg gained valuable insights into how many famous artists worked as he developed the illustrations in a series of children's books authored by his wife, Amy. The first of these books is titled, If Picasso Painter a Snowman. That successful volume was followed up by, If da Vinci Painted a Dinosaur, which includes a recreation of Coolidge’s famous Dogs Playing Poker painting reimagined as Dinosaurs Playing Poker. For each book, Greg did a deep dive into the methods of famous artists so that he could create the whimsical paintings used in each book. Greg is comfortable with both traditional and digital techniques. He embraces the use of technology where it makes sense to do so in his art.

Greg and his wife Amy are also active in encouraging youth in schools with their delightful lectures about art and art-making. Greg loves to award each student with their own copy of a Creative License. The students are encouraged to express themselves and create art in their own voice, in their own way. No one can tell them they have to do it just one way because now they have their own Creative License. Personally, I think no matter how young or old we are, we can all use Greg’s Creative License!

Painting outdoors is an important component of Greg’s artmaking. Even more important to Greg is also painting outdoors with others who are much better than he is. It is key to his artistic growth. Greg explains why he is drawn to painting landscapes inspired by the South West. He discusses how he develops a painting and how he upscales a painting from a study and the challenges involved in doing so. He talks about the materials he likes to use, and the effects his mark-making leaves on the surface of each of his paintings.

Just as the ancient cliffs of sandstone show evidence of the effect of the relentless forces of water and wind, so do the tactile, expressive marks upon the surface of a Greg Newbold painting give Evidence of Process.

Links:

Greg Newbold
Website: https://www.gregnewbold.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregnewboldart/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gregnewboldart/

Brian Rutenberg: Episode 11 of The Artful Painter: https://theartfulpainter.com/artful-painter/brian-rutenberg-11
Brian Rutenberg’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnjLpl20hRnPxkQf5UvBMcw

Rose Irelan: https://www.roseirelan.com/

Priya Gore in Episode 70 of the Artful Painter: https://theartfulpainter.com/artful-painter/priya-gore-70

Bill Farnsworth in Episode 18 of the Artful Painter: https://theartfulpainter.com/artful-painter/bill-farnsworth-18

Len Chmiel in Episode 42 of the Artful Painter: https://theartfulpainter.com/artful-painter/len-chmiel-42

Len Chmiel in Episode 12 of the Artful Painter: https://theartfulpainter.com/artful-painter/len-chmiel-12

Frank Serrano in Episode 61 of the Artful Painter: https://theartfulpainter.com/artful-painter/frank-serrano-61

Paul Foropoulos in Episode 49 of the Artful Painter: https://theartfulpainter.com/artful-painter/paul-foropoulos-49

David Boyd, Jr. in Episode 13 of the Artful Painter: https://theartfulpainter.com/artful-painter/david-boyd-jr-13

Forty Illustrators and How They Work, by Ernest W. Watson: https://amzn.to/3mVpX4A (paid link)

About the Artful Painter:
Website: https://theartfulpainter.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CarlOlsonArt
Join the Artful Methods Membership: https://theartfulpainter.com/artful-methods

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.

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.  

Links:

Britt Snyder
Website: https://www.brittsnyder.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brittsnyder_painter/
Maybaum Gallery: https://www.maybaumgallery.com/artists/82-britton-snyder/

Books: Bad Boy: My Life On and Off the Canvas, by Eric Fischl: https://amzn.to/3klDQHV (paid link) Just Kids, by Patti Smith: https://amzn.to/3gdBqtD (paid link)   Vision X Live 2021 Replay: Britt Snyder: Mood and Palette for Portraiture https://www.visionxlive.com/replay2021

About the Artful Painter:
Website: https://theartfulpainter.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CarlOlsonArt

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.

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.

Links:

Frank Serrano
Website: https://www.serranofineart.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/serranoartist/

Books
Plein Air Painting in Oil, by Frank Serrano: https://amzn.to/36Agt6M (paid link)
Starting Out In Oil Painting, by Robert Moore: https://amzn.to/3em8Epo  (paid link)
Fill Your Oil Paintings with Light & Color, by Kevin Macpherson: https://amzn.to/36HYCe0 (paid link)

About the Artful Painter:

Website: https://theartfulpainter.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CarlOlsonArt

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.

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.

Links:

Kevin Kehoe

Fine Art Paintings: http://www.kkpainter.com/

Fine Art Photography: http://kevinkehoe-simplebeauty.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kevinkehoeart/

Other Mentions:

Booth Western Art Museum https://boothmuseum.org

Vision X Live July 16-18, 2021 https://www.visionxlive.com

Leica V-Lux 5 20MB Superzoom Digital Camera with 25-400mm f/2.8-4 ASPH Lens: https://amzn.to/3h8IUxE (paid link)

About the Artful Painter:

Website: https://theartfulpainter.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CarlOlsonArt

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.

Denise LaRue Mahlke paints with soft pastels - which are to her the purest form of artist color. Unfettered with complicated materials, she is free to respond spontaneously to the unfolding spectacle of the big skies and ancient geology of the American West.

I first saw her beautiful, atmospheric pastel works of art in person at the Booth Museum. It was at a show called Painting Red Rocks Country, Past and Present. Her work was displayed alongside the works of G. Russell Case, Matt Smith, and Ray Roberts. 

Denise says “Painting allows me to communicate the celebratory beauty of God’s creation.” As we view Denise Mahlke’s sensitive paintings, we cannot help but be touched by her deep reverence. The result: we are rewarded with a sense of peace.

Links:

Denise LaRue Mahlke
Website: https://www.dlaruemahlke.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dlaruemahlke/

Other Mentions:

Terry Ludwig Pastels: https://terryludwig.com

The Painterly Approach: An Artist's Guide To Seeing, Painting And Expressing (by Bob Rohm): https://amzn.to/3zapzUX (paid link)

Harley Brown's Eternal Truths for Every Artist (by Harley Brown): https://amzn.to/2TVwpxz (paid link)

T. Allen Lawson: https://tallenlawson.com

About the Artful Painter:

Website: https://theartfulpainter.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CarlOlsonArt

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.

Eric Bowman could never have imagined the path his life would take for him to become a fine art painter. He wanted to go to art school but the prospect of spending two years in a junior college taking courses that had nothing to do with art - well, that was something he couldn't stomach. And so began a surprising journey with many side trips and destination stops and the serendipitous meeting of people who would forever shape the way he creates art today.

In this edition of the Artful Painter, Eric talks about his choice of subject to paint: often a solitary figure or two situated in a vast, cinematic  landscape. He talks about his Quonset studio, his design and painting processes, and tells us about the unexpected encounters with people who would influence his path to painting fine art.

As you listen to his remarkable journey on becoming a painter, you will be enthralled by Eric Bowman Following a Circuitous Path.

Links:

Eric Bowman
Website: https://www.ericbowman.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericbowmanart/

Other mentions:

Tim Solliday: http://timsollidayart.com
Rick Griffin: https://www.rickgriffindesigns.com/biography

About the Artful Painter:

Website: https://theartfulpainter.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CarlOlsonArt

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.

Vianna Szabo comfortably switches between painting with pastel,  watercolor, acrylic, or oil. She paints beautifully sensitive portraits. Her landscape paintings capture a fleeting moment in time. Expressive color is a hallmark of her paintings no matter the subject she chooses or the medium she uses.

In this episode you soon learn that Vianna has a passion for teaching other artists. Vianna's ability to take complex subjects and convey them in simple and relatable terms is a hallmark of her approach to teaching. Her students enthusiastically share their admiration and appreciation of her teaching methods. One such student emailed me and said that Vianna "has a delightful personality." After recording this interview and getting to know Vianna, I have to agree!

Vianna talks about a number of intriguing topics:

• How is color mixing like the movie Mean Girls?
• Can family members be successfully used as models?
• And speaking of models, how is plein air painting like painting a drunk model?
• How do you keep photo references from bossing you around?
• What are the do's and don't's of copying another artist's work?
• What is the story of the painting and how do you find it?

And there's so much more to this conversation. After listening to Vianna you will come away uplifted by her kindness, generosity, and positivity. Not surprisingly, all of those things are evident in each of her paintings. As you view and experience her beautiful paintings, you get a sense that Vianna Szabo has – in each one – succeeded in Finding the Why.

Links:

Vianna Szabo
Website: https://www.viannaszabo.com/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/viannaszabo

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viannaszabo/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vianna.szabo

Latest Artful Painter Associate Producer
Aliona Price: https://alionaprice.com

About the Artful Painter:

Website: https://carlolson.tv/artful-painter

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CarlOlsonArt

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.

Chris Kolupski began painting outdoors as a teenager in the forests of Upstate New York and Canada. He credits his high school art teacher David DeClerk for making a significant impact on his early artistic evolution. DeClerk took his class on outdoor painting field trips and introduced his students to representational American painters and illustrators such as Winslow Homer, Norman Rockwell, and the Wyeth family. 

Like many artists, Chris pursued career choices after high school that helped him earn a living as an illustrator, portrait artist, and taking on commission work. However, after a particularly exhausting large-scale commission, Chris had had enough. He felt depleted and looked forward to unwinding by painting natural landscapes outdoors during a vacation in Utah and Colorado with his wife Michele and their two children. That trip would prove to be a pivotal turning point for Chris. Inspired by the striking landscape of of American West, he resolved to refocus on his first painting love: landscapes.    In this episode, Chris talks about that transformative moment and why it was so important to him in his development as an artist. He talks about why landscape painting appeals to him and he shares a few of his outdoor adventures. He talks, too, about the effect his portraiture work has had on his landscape paintings, the materials and techniques he likes to use, and his thoughts on teaching. This conversation with Chris Kolupski will certainly inspire you to paint outdoors, seek its solitude, and disappear into time.   Links:   Chris Kolupski Website: https://www.chriskolupski.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriskolupski/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chriskolupskifineart/   Oak Hill Woodworking - Plein Air Kits https://www.oakhillwoodworking.com   Books The Painted Word (author Tom Wolfe) https://amzn.to/2PIVTfx (paid link)   About the Artful Painter:   Website: https://carlolson.tv/artful-painter YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CarlOlsonArt   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.

Shanna Kunz is a contemporary landscape painter whose work is a conscious play of mood, light and color. As a naturalist raised and rooted in the diverse landscapes of western America, a painting takes on deeper meaning for her. Each location is an encounter of spirit with the land, the trees, and the waters that have always given her a sense of connection and order.

When a location intrigues and inspires her, she paints the scene into a series using a range of keys or themes, experimenting and searching to learn more about the natural threads that tie the landscape together with complexity, subtlety and more importantly balance. Shanna looks for new ways to express spatial relationships and distance with layers of paint, brushwork, gradations, and diffusions of light.   Shanna says that hopefully her study of the landscape will bring her somewhat closer to an honest translation of both soul and land. To that end she pushes color and value into new compositions and continues a lifelong effort to communicate the emotional connection she feels with the environment. Indeed when you view her paintings you sense the serene, contemplative quietness and solitude of the landscape. Between you and the landscape she paints, Shanna Kunz is actively forging a visual connection.   Links:   Shanna Kunz Website: https://www.shannakunz.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shannakunz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shanna.allen.kunz.hernandez   Inspired to Paint (with Elizabeth Robbins): https://inspiredtopaint.com   About the Artful Painter:   Website: https://carlolson.tv/artful-painter YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CarlOlsonArt   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.