Illustrator, author, and former ad man Tommy Kane talks about his journey from obsessively drawing as a child to obsessively drawing as an adult, the creative business of making ads, and the role of serendipity and persistence in his fascinating career.

🖼️ Check out Tom's work + buy his books on his website: https://www.tommykane.com/

💻 Add SneakyArt to your inbox: https://sneakyart.substack.com/

📖 Buy Nishant's book "Make (Sneaky) Art": https://geni.us/makesneakyart

☕️ Like this episode? Buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/thesneakyartist/

In this episode, host Nishant Jain speaks with Amy Stewart at the Broadway Books in Portland (OR) at the penultimate stop of his book tour. They speak about creative growth, interactions with readers at book events, and Nishant's philosophies around drawing. The conversation is followed by insightful questions from the audience.

📚 Buy the book: https://geni.us/makesneakyart

💻 Watch this conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/IDAJYa-6zdU

💌 Sign up to Nishant's newsletter: https://sneakyart.substack.com/

❤️ If you enjoyed this episode, buy Nishant a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/thesneakyartist

 

 

 

 

London-based educator, artist and author Jeff Schmidt, speaks about his book "Heart Attack - Finding hope, joy and inspiration in adversity". This conversation is about the big and small things that can transform our life in unexpected ways, and Jeff's resolution to live inspired - by making room for the things that bring joy to his life.

📚 Buy Jeff's book, Heart Attack - Finding hope, joy and inspiration in adversity.

☕ Like this episode? Buy me a coffee.

🔥 Love the show? Take the summer deal to become a SneakyArt Insider.

💡 For all the good ideas from this episode, join thousands of readers of the SneakyArt Post.

📲 Follow Jeff Schmidt on Instagram and check out his website.

✍🏼 Follow SneakyArt on IG, Twitter, and TikTok.

California-based illustrator Nina Khashchina shares the experience of daily video calls with her parents in Kharkiv, after Ukraine was invaded and the bombs fell everyday. She speaks about recommitting to the Ukrainian language as part of her war effort. A wild book list appears.

This is the second of a two-part conversation.

🎙 Listen to the first part, Ep 64 Growing up in Ukraine w Nina Khaschina.

☕ Like this episode? Buy me a coffee.

🔥 Love the show? Become a SneakyArt Insider (and get a special listener discount!)

💡 For all the good ideas from this episode, read the show notes.

📲 Follow Nina Khashchina on Instagram and check out her Substack newsletter.

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California-based illustrator Nina Khashchina speaks about her childhood in Kharkiv, Ukraine, growing up in the former USSR, her lifelong journey with art, and how she documents her life through sketchbooks. . This is the first of a two-part conversation.

☕ Like this episode? Buy me a coffee.

🔥 Love the show? Become a SneakyArt Insider (grab the summer discount!)

💡 For all the good ideas from this episode, join 9000+ people and become a reader of the SneakyArt Post.

📲 Follow Nina Khashchina on Instagram and check out her Substack newsletter.

✍🏼 Follow SneakyArt on IG, Twitter, and TikTok.

Cincinatti-based Christina Wald speaks about how to live and thrive as an independent artist and illustrator. They discuss Kickstarter, Patreon, and ways to keep the creative process at the heart of your practice, and the creator in the economy. This episode is the second part of the conversation from Ep 62.

☕ Like this episode? Buy me a coffee.

🔥 Love the show? Become a SneakyArt Insider.

💡 For all the good ideas from this podcast, join 8000+ people to become a reader of the SneakyArt Post.

📲 Follow Christina Wald on Instagram and check out her linktree for the latest projects.

✅ Catch the Kickstarter discussion supercut

✍🏼 Follow SneakyArt on IG, Twitter, and TikTok.

Cincinatti-based Christina Wald speaks about how to live as, and making a living from, being an independent artist and illustrator.

This is a conversation about how to work for yourself while meeting client expectations. It is about Christina's multiple successful Kickstarter projects, including her latest book (link below).

This episode is for anyone eager to chart their own path as an independent creator. Lots of practical advice, listen carefully!

💡 For all the good ideas from this conversation, become a reader and join 8000+ readers of the SneakyArt Post.

📲 Follow Christina Wald on Instagram and check out her linktree for the latest projects.

📚 Buy Sketching Here & Everywhere: My Sketching Obsession by Christina Wald.

✍🏼 Follow SneakyArt on IG, Twitter, and TikTok.

☕ Like this episode? Buy me a coffee. (and say hello!)

🔥 Love the show? Become a SneakyArt Insider. (and join the Kickstarter discussion next week!)

Utrecht-based sketcher, illustrator and educator Ellen Vesters speaks about the design-thinking approach to life and all the things she does. After practicing as a psychologist, and getting an MA in Illustration, Ellen founded the Venster Academy to teach art and illustration.

Nishant also shares the story of how he accidentally became an artist while trying to become a writer after quitting his PhD program in Neuroscience. If you have wondered about taking a big leap in your life, this conversation will give you some ideas!

💡 For all the links and ideas from this conversation, read the show notes.

📲 Follow Ellen's work on Instagram and check out her website.

🏫 Visit the Venster Academy.

🎙 Listen to Ellen and Nishant's conversation while sketching in Utrecht, Netherlands.

💌 Join 8000+ readers, add SneakyArt to your inbox.

✍🏼 Follow SneakyArt on IG, Twitter, and TikTok.

☕ Like this episode? Buy me a coffee. (and say hello!)

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Host Nishant Jain presents the idea that writing and drawing are literally the same thing. If you can do one, you can also do the other. 

This episode was recorded for paid subscribers of SneakyArt.

❤️ Love this show? Become a SneakyArt Insider to support it!

More good ideas:

💻 Read The Role of Art in the Age of AI.

📖 Learn why Nishant self-published his first book of art

🔁 Play Finite v Infinite Games and take the Long Path to success

💻 Watch the latest Zoom demo for SneakyArt Insiders

📚 Celebrate Little Free Library Week

✍🏼 For more good ideas every week, add SneakyArt to your inbox.

Host Nishant Jain takes a look at Goodhart's Law, originally coined to describe monetary policy, but applies it instead to the business of being an artist today. No matter how successful (or unsuccessful) you are at social media, here are some good reasons to never look at the numbers.

"When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a useful measure." - Goodhart's Law.

❤️ Love this episode? Become a SneakyArt Insider and get future Insider episodes directly in your inbox.

👂 Listen to the latest episode shared with Insiders!

🎙 Listen to Ep 43 with Jim Richards

🎯 Read Nishant's plans for an ambitious 2023 without setting any goals

✍🏼 Read the show notes, best ideas, and tangents from the episode.

Author, artist, and designer George McCalman speaks about making his award-winning book (Illustrated Black History: Honoring the Iconic and the Unseen) at the intersection of twin curiosities - to learn more about black history, and to find out if he could be an artist.

This is a conversation about curiosity, the importance of following your own compass, and the need for every artist to be a work-in-progress.

💡 For all the links and ideas from this conversation, read the show notes.

📲 Follow George's work on Instagram

📚 Learn more about his art/design work and buy the book!

💌 Join 7000+ readers, add SneakyArt to your inbox.

✍🏼 Follow SneakyArt on IG, Twitter, and TikTok.

☕ Like this episode? Buy me a coffee. (and say hello!)

🔥 Love the show? Become a SneakyArt Insider. (and support my work!)

San Francisco based artist, naturalist and educator John Muir Laws talks about nature-journaling and the many benefits of paying deep attention to our natural environment.

(00:13:50) Sketching in the wild

(00:43:21) Ways to keep a nature journal.

(00:59:23) John's lifelong obsession with field guides and nature conservancy.

(01:24:13) They read poems to each other. Aww.

(1:34:40) BREAK

(1:44:21) How to draw a bird

(2:28:55) Nature stewardship, the role of the amateur, and the Wild Wonder Foundation

💡 For all the links and ideas from this conversation, read the show notes.

📲 Follow John's work on Instagram, visit his website, and learn more about the Wild Wonder Foundation.

✍🏼 Follow SneakyArt on IG, Twitter, and TikTok.

☕ Like this episode? Buy me a coffee. (and say hello!)

🔥 Love the show? Become a SneakyArt Insider. (and support my work!)

Standing on stage in front of strangers to talk about your book may sound terrifying - and sometimes it can be! - but what are some good reasons to embrace the discomfort?

Halfway through the Sneaky Book Tour, I share lessons from the road, and reflect on what excites me about speaking about my book with as many people as possible.

🗓️ Next stops are in Vancouver, Portland, and Seattle. Come see me: https://www.sneakyartist.com/book-tour

📚 Buy Make (Sneaky) Art: https://geni.us/makesneakyart

✍🏼 [Read] On the Road with Make (Sneaky) Art: https://sneakyart.substack.com/p/302

✍🏼 [Read] The books I talk about (when I talk about my book): https://sneakyart.substack.com/p/303

✍🏼 [Read] Things go Wrong but that's Alright: https://sneakyart.substack.com/p/304

☕️ Liked this episode? To show your appreciation just buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/thesneakyartist/

❤️ Love this show? Become a supporter via Substack: https://sneakyart.substack.com/subscribe

The SneakyArt Podcast returns for a new season. Host Nishant Jain speaks about his recent art residency aboard the TransLink, Vancouver's public transit system.

What can be learned from drawing on trains? Nishant speaks about pushing outside his comfort zone, engaging with the public, and facing his fears.

✍🏼 Read about his experience and see all the drawings.

📺 Catch his TV segment on CBC Vancouver Evening News

📻 Listen to his radio spot on CBC Early Morning Edition with Stephen Quinn.

☕️ Like this episode? Buy Nishant a coffee!

❤️ Love his work? Become a SneakyArt Insider!

Seattle-based artist and traveller Sunil Shinde speaks about retracing the 1839 expedition of British artist David Roberts through the biblical Holy Land.

This conversation is at the intersection of travel, history, and art. In this respect, it is really about three distinct journeys - Sunil's journey through the Middle East, the 1839 expedition of David Roberts, and Sunil's effort to combine his words and lines into an excellent book - "From Cairo to Beirut".

📚 BUY THE BOOK, "From Cairo to Beirut" - (Amazon US) (Amazon CA)

🔍 (5:05) The first journey - the origins of Sunil's curiosities - how history led to travel, and how both led to sketching.

🔍 (33:55) The second journey - retracing an expedition nearly 200 years ago, noting what has changed and what has stayed the same.

🔍 (1:53:40)The third journey - writing the book, approaching agents and publishers.

💡 For more detailed notes (with timestamps) and the best ideas from this conversation, read the show notes.

🙌🏽 Follow Sunil Shinde on Instagram.

✍🏼 Follow SneakyArt on IG, Twitter, and TikTok.

☕ Like this episode? Buy me a coffee. (and say hello!)

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This conversation was recorded immediately after the recordings for Episodes 38 and 39 in April 2022. Sandi and Nishant draw portraits of one another while tying up some loose ends from their epic conversation.

Nishant asks how he can build and sustain a YouTube channel. Sandi has some excellent ideas.

✍🏼 To check out their portraits, a summary of the ideas in this episode, and links to other previously paywalled content, visit The SneakyArt Post.
📹 Check out Sandi's amazing YouTube channel and visit her website.
✍🏼 Follow SneakyArt on IG, Twitter, and TikTok.
☕ Like this episode? Buy me a coffee (and say hello!)
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Best-selling author Amy Stewart ("Flower Confidential", "Drunken Botanist", "Girl Waits with Gun") talks about her disinclination to pick a lane, the ideas that have helped her navigate a successful writing career, and the role of art in her creative practice.

This conversation addresses several dichotomies of the creative life - instant vs delayed gratification, processes vs results, art vs writing, and sticking to a lane vs sticking to one's convictions. It is about understanding how Amy gets so many things done.

It is a conversation about many things and then some more - cocktails, 19th century feminism, gardening, poisons, the global flower industry, and people who collect trees. It is an episode about "one and a half things."

Catch all the best ideas in the show notes.

🔍 Last week I completed Book 1 of the Kopp Sisters' stories - Girl Waits with Gun. I highly recommend it!

🙌🏽 Check out Amy's other books, her art, and her online classes on her website. Sign up to her Substack newsletter.

✍🏼 Follow SneakyArt on IG, Twitter, and TikTok.

📭 Read the show notes to follow the threads, rabbitholes and best ideas from this episode.

☕ Like this episode? Buy me a coffee. (and say hello!)

🔥 Love the show? Become a SneakyArt Insider. (and support my work!)

New York-based artist, educator, and author Samantha Dion Baker shares the profound impact a daily sketchbook practice had on her creative journey. She explains her brave decision to go freelance, and discusses what it means to follow one's own compass.

Is art a solitary pursuit? Would you make art on a deserted island? Why or why not? This conversation has some good answers.

********

🙌🏽 Follow Sam on Instagram and visit her website to follow her other work.

✍🏼 Follow SneakyArt on IG, Twitter, and TikTok.

📭 Check out the show notes and best ideas from this episode.

☕ Like this episode? Buy me a coffee. (and say hello!)

🔥 Love the show? Become a SneakyArt Insider. (to support my work!)

We're back! After a refreshing summer hiatus, the SneakyArt Podcast returns with a conversation with Amsterdam-based artist and YouTuber Koosje Koene. They speak about her book "Life is Better when you Draw (it)" and the experience of self-publishing from raw concept to finished product and beyond!

📚 Buy the book! Also find Koosje's work on IG, and YouTube.

🎙 Listen to our previous conversation, Ep 29 - Doing What's Fun with Koosje Koene. Also catch the bonus Post-Script segment, about self-publishing and being creative entrepreneurs.

⛳️ Follow SneakyArt as it happens on IG, Twitter, and TikTok.

📭 Find all the links and best ideas from this episode. Share your thoughts too!

☕ Like this episode? Buy me a coffee. (and say hi!)

🔥 Love the show? Become a SneakyArt Insider. (and support my work!)

The SneakyArt Podcast is currently on summer break. During this period, host Nishant Jain offers a second listen to underrated gems from the archives.

***

(Originally aired: July 16, 2021)

Mumbai-based artist Zainab Tambawalla speaks about her sketch-reportage project to document the lives of various artisans in Mumbai (India) during the first wave of the pandemic.

Her project urges us to notice the lives of other people and pay closer attention to the humanity that constitutes our urban landscape.

***

👍🏼 Follow Zainab's work on Instagram.

⛳️ Follow SneakyArt on IG, Twitter, and TikTok.

☕ Liked the conversation? Buy Nishant a coffee!

🔥 Love the show? Become a SneakyArt Insider!

📭 For the best ideas from the show, add SneakyArt to your inbox: The SneakyArt Post.

The SneakyArt Podcast is currently on summer break. During this period, host Nishant Jain offers a second listen to underrated gems from the archives.

***

(Originally aired: May 7, 2021)

Roisin Cure, an urban sketcher and illustrator in Galway (Ireland), talks about learning to draw from comic books and the ways that urban sketching has transformed her art and approach to life.

***

⛳️ Follow SneakyArt on IG, Twitter, and TikTok.

📭 Add SneakyArt to your inbox: The SneakyArt Post.

☕ Liked the conversation? Buy Nishant a coffee!

🔥 Love the show? Become a SneakyArt Insider!

To celebrate the milestone of 50 episodes, the tables are turned on host Nishant Jain. Uma Kelkar steps in to host an AMA-style (Ask Me Anything) episode, posing the best questions crowdsourced from fans of the show and past guests. Nishant speaks about his journey to be an artist, how the podcast began, and the directions he is now keen to explore.

The show is going on a brief summer hiatus. Nishant will be recording new material while travelling! To stay in the loop, add SneakyArt to your inbox.

🎙 Follow Uma's work on Instagram and visit her studio.

📭 The best words & ideas from this episode - SneakyArt Post.

☕️ Liked this episode? Buy Nishant a coffee and share your thoughts.

🔥 Love the show? Support it by becoming a SneakyArt Insider.

Gavin Snider finds stillness in the busy streets of New York. He talks about growing up in Kansas, drawing with his twin brother Grant (cartoonist of Incidental Comics) and the decision to become an architect. We learn about how Gavin came to New York city, how he began to paint his world, and what it is like to paint the most iconic city in the world.

🖊 Find Gavin's work on IG or visit his website.
⛳️ Follow SneakyArt on IG, Twitter, and TikTok.
📭 Read the show notes and best insights from this episode: The SneakyArt Post.
☕ Did you enjoy the conversation? Buy Nishant a coffee! (and say hello!)
🔥 Do you like the show? Become a SneakyArt Insider!

Artist, writer, educator, architect James Richards talks about his new book - The Travel Artist - the one that he was "born to write".

What does it mean to hold to your creative vision even in the face of contrary professional advice? What do we learn, and what must we unlearn, to take a creative project from ideation to execution? What are the ideas we pick up from traveling and observing the world, and how does Jim embody the spirit of il dolce far niente (the sweetness of doing nothing)?

This is a conversation about doing everything and doing nothing, and a life weaving through both of these philosophies.

🎨 Find Jim's work on his website (www.JamesRichardsSketchbook.com) or visit his Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/jrsketchbook/).

📚 Buy The Travel Artist: https://oroeditions.com/product/travel-artist

📚 Buy Nishant's book Make (Sneaky) Art: https://geni.us/makesneakyart

🤳🏼 Follow Nishant's work on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/thesneakyartist/) or sign up to the weekly newsletter if you (too) are sick of social media: https://sneakyart.substack.com/

☕️ If you liked this episode, buy Nishant a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/thesneakyartist/

❤️ If you love the show, support it as a paying subscriber: https://sneakyart.substack.com/subscribe

 

Malaysia-based Alvin Chong talks about finding his way back to art as an adult after deciding to become a tattoo artist. This conversation is about the value of chasing your curiosity, and having the courage to chart your own path.

🖊 Find Alvin's work on IG or check out links to his work.

⛳️ Follow SneakyArt on IG, Twitter, and TikTok.

📭 Read the show notes and best insights from this episode: The SneakyArt Post.

☕ Did you enjoy the conversation? Buy Nishant a coffee! (and say hello!)

🔥 Do you like the show? Become a SneakyArt Insider! (just one cup of coffee per episode!)

Montreal-based artist Marc Taro Holmes (Citizen Sketcher) speaks about two art challenges organizes for thousands of artists around the world - "OneWeek100People" and "30x30 Direct Watercolor". They discuss the value of compounding good ideas through a daily practice, and the benefits of participating with an online community.

This episode releases on Day 24 of 30x30 Direct Watercolor. Check out the FB group.

Follow Marc's work on his Website and Instagram.

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📭 All the good links and ideas from the conversation on my Substack publication: SneakyArt Post.

☕ Like the episode? Buy Nishant a coffee (and start a conversation!)

🔥 Like the show? Become a SneakyArt Insider (at a special annual discount!)

Matthew Cruickshank (Art Director at Google Doodles) speaks about his sketchbook-ing road-trip down historic Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles to create a … doodle!

The question that drives the conversation is this - How far will a Doodler go for a Google Doodle? The answer ~2500 miles! But another answer - hundreds of pages of sketchbook drawings. Still another answer - hours under a hot sun by the side of a desolate road.

Matthew speaks about the abiding role of sketchbooks in his life, drawing from real life as a way to "be grounded", and the incredible work of Google Doodles in our lives.

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🙌🏽 Follow Matthew's work on his website and Twitter.

🔍 Visit the Google Doodle project.

🚐 Check out the Route 66 Doodle!

📭 Show-notes, links & atttributions, and best insights from the episode: The SneakyArt Post.

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☕ Did you like the show? Buy Nishant a coffee! (and say hello!)

🔥 Support SneakyArt, become a SneakyArt Insider!

Mike Shisler speaks about leaving home and career to cycle across the US, work as an artist, and live out of a van. Next week, Mike begins a 4000mi bike-packing trip from the northern tip of Alaska to San Diego, California. He speaks about the incredible physical and mental endurance required for the solo journey, and his plan to make a painting every day along the way.

This conversation emphasizes the importance of slowing down to appreciate the world, even parts of it that are not 5-star destinations on Google Maps.

🙌🏽 Follow Mike's work on IG, his Kickstarter, and visit his website.

⛺️ Check out the Sēkr app ****to locate campsites and essential public services, and connect with other campers.

----

📭 Read the show-notes and best insights from this episode: The SneakyArt Post.

☕ Did you enjoy the conversation? Buy me a coffee! (to say hello!)

🔥 Do you like the show? Become a SneakyArt Insider! (to support my work!)

The second half of the conversation with Florida-based artist, educator, author and architect James Richards, about traveling the world as an architect and as an educator, the concept of "stealing like an artist", and Jim's decision to pick creativity and autonomy at various stages of his professional life.

"To invent your own life's meaning is not easy, but it is still allowed. And I think you'll be happier for the trouble." - Bill Watterson (creator of Calvin and Hobbes).

❤️ Follow James Richards' work on Instagram and visit his website for information about upcoming workshops.

🤳🏼 Follow SneakyArt on Instagram | TikTok | Twitter

📭 All the links, quotes, insights, and ideas from the episode: SneakyArt Post.

☕ Like the episode? Buy Nishant a coffee! (and share your thoughts about the conversation)

🔥 Like the show? Become a SneakyArt Insider! (and get in line for exclusive giveaways and bonus content)

On his website, James Richard says - "I never saw myself as Monet in the studio. I wanted to be Anthony Bourdain with a sketchbook." What was the meaning of art in James' life? How far was Monet, and the world of fine art, from the world in which he grew up? What did it mean to be like Anthony Bourdain … but with a sketchbook? In many ways, this conversation is the long process of unpacking this beautiful quote.

Storyteller, artist, architect, educator - Jim has worn many hats in an epic and fascinating life. He speaks about growing up in Louisiana, learning to draw from Mad Magazine, and his close association with the built environment. We learn what it means to create a life that reflects our values, and the places we can go when guided by interests and curiosities.

Visit James Richards' website.

📭 All the links, quotes, insights, and ideas from the episode: SneakyArt Post.

☕ Like the episode? Buy Nishant a coffee! (and share your thoughts about the conversation)

🔥 Like the show? Become a SneakyArt Insider! (and get in line for exclusive giveaways and bonus content)

After completing "30 Days of Vancouver", Nishant looks back at the goals of this self-imposed drawing challenge and considers the lessons he has learned from drawing everyday. He speaks about conversations with Sandi Hester (Ep 38 & 39) and David Morales (Ep 37) that led to the decision to undertake this challenge, the compounding value of good habits, and the incredible importance of stepping out of one's comfort zone.

Also, why TikTok matters!

🎙 Read the best insights from this episode on The SneakyArt Post.

📆 Catch up on the '30 Days of Vancouver' project.

☕️ Liked this episode? Buy Nishant a coffee

🙌🏽 Like this show? Become a SneakyArt Insider.

🤳🏼 Follow SneakyArt on Instagram | TikTok | Twitter

Singapore-based comic artist Don Low talks about taking the leap from an engineering career to becoming a full-time creative. He shares stories from his lifelong journey of self-education and explains the role of urban sketching in his work.

Find his work on Instagram and visit his website.

The episode begins with Nishant sharing his plans after the 30 Days of Vancouver project. Skip ahead to 05:00 for the start the conversation.

🚀 Nishant just concluded "30 Days of Vancouver", a daily drawing challenge around the city. Learn more about it here.

📭 Read the show-notes + the top insights from this episode: The SneakyArt Post.

☕ Did you enjoy the conversation? Buy Nishant a coffee! (and say hello!)

🔥 Do you like the show? Become a SneakyArt Insider! (and support Nishant's work!)

Seattle-based artist Eleanor Doughty is an independent artist, illustrator and urban-sketcher whose work includes murals, large canvases, prints, Kickstarter campaigns, and now also a book. This conversation explores how an independent illustrator can chart their path, and find a home for their ideas in work for others and themselves.

This episode pairs well with Ep 38 and 39 with Sandi Hester, Ep 32 with Emma Carlisle, and Ep 26 with Anna Wilson.

Follow Eleanor's work on Instagram. Learn more about her other work, Kickstarter campaign, and the new book.

Follow Nishant (SneakyArtist) on Instagram.

🚀🚀 If you are reading this on April 22, it is Day 22 of 30 Days of Vancouver, Nishant's daily drawing challenge. Learn more about this project here.

📭 Get the best insights from this show straight into your inbox:  https://sneakyart.substack.com.

🎙 Check out the PostScript with Sandi Hester & David Morales.

☕ Like the episode? Buy Nishant a coffee! (and share your thoughts about the conversation)

🔥 Like the show? Become a SneakyArt Insider at 20% off! (and get in line for art giveaways and members-only content)

[Re-uploaded to edit a minor overlap in the audio. Sorry!]

In the second part of their extended conversation, Sandi Hester explains her creative process, her journey across various mediums and tools, and the role of observation in her art. Find Sandi Hester's work on Instagram and YouTube.

🎁 Have you ever thought about starting a YouTube channel? This conversation was followed by a bonus segment in which Sandi shares some great ideas to help Nishant get moving on a YouTube channel. To get the Ep 39 Post-Script in your inbox (releases Apr 17), become a SneakyArt Insider.

🚀🚀 If you are reading this on April 8, it is Day 8 of 30 Days of Vancouver, Nishant's daily drawing challenge. Learn more about this project here.

🎙 Curious about previous bonus content? Listen to the Post-Script with David Morales for free!

📭 Check out the best insights from this episode: https://sneakyart.substack.com.

☕ Like the episode? Buy Nishant a coffee! (and share your thoughts about the conversation)

🔥 Like the show? Become a SneakyArt Insider (at a special one-time discount!)

🤳🏼 Follow SneakyArt on Instagram!

Ottawa-based artist, urban sketcher, and designer Genine Carvalheira shares sketching adventures from drawing penguins in Chile to a 21-day adventure beyond the Arctic Circle in Norway.

A few years ago, when her partner offered Genine the chance to preview retirement, she leapt at the opportunity. How did this transform her art and her sketchbook practice? How does she feel about going back to work again? This is a conversation about belonging - to a country, to a group, even something as simple as a local community of sketchers.

🤳🏼 [Follow] Genine on Instagram

💻 [Watch] Genine's live workshop with Art Toolkit on Oct 4

🎨 [Join] Genine's in-person, week-long art-retreat in Italy in 2026

✍🏼 [Read] Nishant's newsletter of secretly drawn art of the world + share your thoughts about this episode.

📚 [Buy] Nishant's book - Make (Sneaky) Art: and other ideas to build your sketchbook habit.

🎟️ [Join] the Sneaky Book Tour! Nishant goes on the road to share his sketching experiences, the funny business of writing a book, and why you need a sketchbook habit. Next stop: Oct 13 in New York.

 

Tennessee-based painter Sandi Hester shares her life's journey with art, the ideas behind her wonderful YouTube channel, and how she keeps joy at the centre of her creative process. This episode is the first of a two-part conversation recorded over two days.

Find Sandi Hester's work on Instagram and YouTube.

🚀🚀 If you are reading this on April 1, it is Day 1 of 30 Days of Vancouver, Nishant's daily drawing challenge. Learn more about this project here.

📭 Check out the best insights from this episode, and good ideas for a creative life: https://sneakyart.substack.com/p/113.

☕ Like the episode? Buy Nishant a coffee! (and share your thoughts about the conversation)

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Today's conversation is about the many things you can gain from having a daily drawing practice. David Morales is an architect and sketcher famous for his linework style, and a daily drawing challenge he has maintained since 2018.

There's something about daily practice that pushes us to find subjects of art in ordinary situations, in ordinary places, on ordinary days. Does this make the artist a magician who can create art out of nothing? Or are they simply better able to notice the art that exists in all of our lives, hidden in plain sight?

Follow David's work on Instagram, and visit here for his prints and workshops.

🚀🚀 Taking inspiration from this conversation, Nishant is starting a 30 Day drawing challenge next month. To learn more, check out The SneakyArt Post.

📭 Check out the best insights from this episode, and good ideas for a creative life: https://sneakyart.substack.com.

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"The question that you should ask yourself is - why are you drawing this? What are you trying to show? And if the answer is not clear to you, it will never be clear to your audience..." - Rita Sabler.

Why is this question important, and is it worth the effort of answering every time? What does the audience stand to gain from this exercise? Rita's thoughts around this become the basis of this lovely conversation.

In her role as sketch-journalist, Rita covers events that she finds important and shares stories through a combination of location-art and reportage. She has covered various protests in Portland (Oregon, USA), and most recently the rallies to seek justice for George Floyd. Nishant asks also about her reportage of border-towns in Arizona, to document a world literally and figuratively divided by politics.

Rita explains how she balances the arduous responsibilities of artist and journalist. In this light they consider the why of her art, and the value that urban-sketching can offer in today's media-landscape of unlimited screens and limited attention spans.

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🖌 Find Rita's work on IG or visit her website to see her other fascinating projects.

🖌 Find Nishant's work on IG or visit here for other links.

☕ Like the episode? Buy Nishant a coffee! (+ share your thoughts about the conversation)

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📭 Every week, Nishant shares the best insights from the podcast, and ideas from his journey of self-education to be an artist: https://sneakyart.substack.com.

🖋 Read Nishant's 5 Reasons to Write Regularly, 4 Big Ideas for Creative Entrepreneurs, 3 Kinds of Permission Every Artist Needs.

 

In this episode, I speak with my good friend Donald Owen Colley, an artist based in Chicago.

Like the previous couple of episodes, this one is also a Second Conversation, i.e. a chance to catch up with guests who have already appeared on the show. I share with Don some new ideas I've imbibed from having conversations with so many wonderful guests, and hear his plans and ideas for his work. Jump ahead to 1:22:30 to hear the Second Conversation only.

Don and I met when I lived in Chicago. We immediately hit it off because we share a deep love for human activity and urban spaces. His work is characterized by a close observation of life and marked by a genuine empathy for other people. He brings sharp observation and a nuanced understanding to both his art and his arguments. I hope you will see that also from the conversation in this episode. Follow Don's work on Instagram.

To catch the best insights from every episode, and contribute to the conversation, sign up for the SneakyArt Post.

Montreal-based urban sketcher and educator Shari Blaukopf shares her journey to becoming a full-time artist, with practical tips, advice, and ideas for anyone on a similar path.

In this conversation, Nishant asks Shari about the various decisions that led to her becoming a full-time, independent artist, many years after she had given up on the idea of having an artistic career. Shari explains how the first job of the artist is to 'see' things differently. They discuss how seeing is also a function of the art-tools one decides to use, and the personal inclinations of the artist. How does Shari bring incremental progress to her work? What are the motivations behind her daily painting practice?

In the Second Conversation (beginning from 1:06:38), Nishant and Shari catch up after 1.5 years, to reconnect with each other's lives and art practice. With the experience of 30+ conversations since their previous recording, Nishant asks for Shari's thoughts on a set of ideas he has accumulated about surviving and thriving as an independent artist in the creator economy.

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🖌 Find Shari's work on IG or subscribe to her blog.

🖌 Find Nishant's work on IG or visit here for more links.

☕ Like the episode? Buy me a coffee! (+ give Nishant personal feedback about the episode)

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📭 Every week, Nishant shares the best insights from the podcast, and ideas from his own journey of self-education to be an artist, on the SneakyArt Post. Add it to your inbox: https://sneakyart.substack.com.

🖋 Read Nishant's 4 Big Ideas for Creative Entrepreneurs, 3 Kinds of Permission Every Artist Needs, and Notes from the Second Conversation with Paul Heaston.

In this episode, Paul and Nishant discuss specific ideas around being solo independent artists in the creator economy. As a Second Conversation, this episode naturally builds upon their first conversation (Ep 2 Drawing Lines with Paul Heaston). They discuss balancing work and play, and finding the ikigai, or beautiful intersection, of the two.

Being a trained fine artist, how does Paul perceive the evolution of the freedoms afforded to artists, and the responsibilities incumbent upon them in today's time? Considering that "all content is just more content", they discuss sharing work across multiple platforms, and the impact of meme-culture to explain how we reach across cultures and nationalities to interact with a global audience.

(To skip ahead to the latest conversation, go to 1:30:35 mark.)

Follow Paul's work on Instagram, and check out his TikTok channel.

To follow SneakyArt, visit Nishant's Instagram, Twitter, and website.

☕ Like the episode? Buy me a coffee! (+ get access to the SneakyArt Discord)

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Get the best ideas from the episode straight in your inbox by signing up to The SneakyArt Post - a free email newsletter.

 

In this episode, Nishant speaks with Cornwall-based illustrator and artist Emma Carlisle about her work as an illustrator, and how adverse circumstances pushed her to engage in new and meaningful ways with both her art and her thousands of fans. In this respect, they speak about the many pitfalls of Instagram from the point of view of both creatives and fans. Emma talks candidly about suffering from burnout, and how she eventually rekindled the joy she would find in her work. They discuss the various influences that helped this process - including location drawing, a renewed focus on self-fulfilment, and friends with valuable lessons to share - as a model for how to craft a sustainable and fulfilling artistic career in today's world.

Follow Emma's work on Instagram, and check out her Patreon page.

To follow SneakyArt, visit Nishant's Instagram, Twitter, and website.

☕ Like the episode? Buy me a coffee! (+ get access to the SneakyArt Discord)

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This episode comes with a bonus Post-Script. In this exclusive, extended segment, Nishant and Emma unwind and chat while drawing portraits of each other. Emma speaks about having a creative consultant to guide her career. Nishant makes a case for why quick sketching can be a useful practice exercise. Become an Insider (using the link above) to catch this segment as well as see their portraits of each other!

Get the best ideas from the episode straight in your inbox by signing up to The SneakyArt Post - a free weekly email newsletter.

In this episode, I speak with LA-based urban sketcher and educator Virginia Hein about her education to be a fine artist, her work in the toy industry, and her discovery of urban sketching. Despite intending to become a painter, Virginia found herself working in the toy industry fresh out of art school. Did she find this troubling, and how did she equip herself for the subtle differences between commercial and fine art? As an educator at Otis College of Art and Design, how does she communicate these distinctions to students today, and what skills do toy designers need today to enter this market?

We also discuss urban sketching and how that once again transformed Virginia's idea of herself as an artist, when she became a sketch correspondent on Gabi Campanario's Urban Sketchers Blog. Successful careers rarely follow a pre-determined trajectory. A consistent theme running across this conversation is the idea of 'permission' - to try styles, to do things, to be a different person than we had envisioned becoming - and how we subconsciously seek it from the various influential people and entities in our world.

Follow Virginia's work on Instagram. To follow my work, find SneakyArt on Instagram, Twitter, or visit my website.

☕ Like this episode? Buy me a coffee! (+ get access to the SneakyArt Discord)

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I share my best ideas from this episode in The SneakyArt Post - my free email newsletter.

I speak with Vienna-based researcher and illustrator Oliver Hoeller about the field of science illustration, and what he finds in the practice of urban sketching to make him a better illustrator, a more patient observer, and a happier person. He tells me about his path to a scientific career, and how he leapt at the opportunity to make his first science illustrations. We talk about where good ideas come from, and the ways an illustrator can and must build a mental library of reference material. We also speak about how he used observational drawing at a difficult time in his life to catalogue his memories and deal with adverse circumstances.

Check out Oliver's work on his website, or find him on Instagram.

Find SneakyArt on Instagram or visit my website for a summary transcript of this conversation.

☕ Like the episode? Buy me a coffee! (+ get access to the SneakyArt Discord)

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I share my best ideas from the episode in The SneakyArt Post - my free email newsletter.

In this episode, I speak with Amsterdam based art-educator Koosje Koene about how she used the restrictions of COVID lockdown to "discover an extended version of the artist" in her, with a simple philosophy of doing what's fun. How much can be achieved by doing what is fun? Can it spark new ideas? Can it help us accomplish big, important goals too? Koosje used this period to write a book and discover a new creative outlet in abstract art, and we talk about both of these interesting projects. Koosje has been an educator and art-entrepreneur for a decade, and we speak about that with relation to her journey at Sketchbook Skool and her successful YouTube channel. We talk about the unique task of being an independent creative - the burdens and responsibilities of such a job title, and also the unique opportunities it offers in today's landscape.

☕ Like the episode? Buy me a coffee! (+ get access to the SneakyArt Discord)

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This episode comes with a bonus section exclusively for SneakyArt Insiders. Insiders receive bonus material from various podcast episodes - Ep 15 with George Butler and Ep 28 with Tomas Pajdlhauser.

Best ideas from the episode in my free email newsletter. Transcript of the conversation on my website. Find links to Koosje's work here.

If the modern world runs on the attention economy, are we simply fuel for its fires? If the modern world runs on the attention economy, can we win by reclaiming our attention spans? In this episode, Nishant recounts his experience at the prestigious Aspen Ideas Festival, where he shared his Big Idea to save the world - a cheap sketchbook and a pen.

📚 Make (Sneaky) Art is now out in bookstores and available online. Grab your copy: https://geni.us/makesneakyart.

🎟️ Find Nishant on the SneakyArt Book Tour: https://www.sneakyartist.com/book-tour

✍🏼 [Read] How to Break out of Social Media Prison

✍🏼 [Read] Impressions from Aspen Ideas Festival

✍🏼 [Read] Working with a publisher when you only like working alone

✍🏼 [Read] On pub day, a mild existential crisis appears.

 

I speak with Ottawa-based Tom Pajdlhauser (aka Captain Tom) about his years of work in the animation industry. I ask him about the many responsibilities of an art director, and the hierarchy of workflows involved in the creation of an animated show. We talk about how he sees the relevance of traditional drawing skills in the age of digital art.

But as a career illustrator, what does Tom gain from the practice of urban-sketching? He tells me about a motorcycle trip through SE Asia when he arrived at the intersection of travel and art, and how it changed everything for him. We also share our respective experiences self-publishing books of our art, with reference to Tom's excellent Palestine Sketchbook, and my SneakyArt of Eau Claire.

🔥🔥🔥 This episode has ~45 minutes of bonus content, available to all SneakyArt Insiders. Subscribe to become an Insider and access bonus content + other privileges!

🎨 Follow Tom's work on IG, or visit his website.
✒ Follow the SneakyArtist on IG, or visit here for a transcript.

This show is 100% independent and runs on the generous support of listeners and patrons!

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🙏 Apple Podcast listeners, if you liked this episode, please leave me a review! 

 

In the new episode, I speak with NYC-based artist and urban-sketcher Katie Woodward. Katie has made paintings that are both very large and very small. As a scenic artist for the theater she has worked on backdrops spanning several feet, and as an urban-sketcher she makes tiny watercolor cityscapes just a couple of inches wide.

What's it like to make art for the theater? What is inherently different about painting big and small, and what is strangely similar to both?

Working in stage design demands a wide array of crafting skills, and Katie shares wonderful stories of some of her memorable work. We also talk about her upcoming book - Understanding Light - where she brings together the art and ideas of her favorite artists across different media.

Follow Katie's work on Instagram. To pre-order her book, visit here or find it on Amazon. Find a summarized transcript to this conversation on my website.

To support this show, and get an invite to the SneakyArt Discord, buy me a coffee. To signup for the free weekly newsletter or subscribe to the premium content, visit my Substack page.

In this episode, I speak with urban-sketcher and illustrator Anna Wilson. Anna is what I describe as a 'deliberate artist', in that she has taken strong decisions to change her career trajectory towards art and illustration.

I am always interested in speaking to 'deliberate artists', because they have such motivated and well-considered reasons for the things they do. What does a path of self-education in art look like? How do they gather influences, images, and inspirations, to guide this path? Anna tells me about the role that travel plays in shaping her perspectives, the lessons she picks from photography and carrying a little sketchbook, and what she carries from her formal education in human geography.

Check out Anna's work. To support this show, read my email newsletter, or follow me on social media, visit here.

In this episode, I speak with Berlin-based illustrator and artist Felix Scheinberger. Felix once described illustration as "applied imagination" and in this conversation I try to learn more about where this imagination comes from, and how it can be nurtured.

What is the role of on-location drawing in feeding this imagination? What are some ways to strengthen your imagination over time? What is the role of observation, what is the job of interpretation, and how can the artist translate the ideas in their mind into a visual language universally understood?

This episode took me into the mind of an illustrator whose work enchants me because it seems effortless, even though it is anything but. Felix makes his art with a carefree finesse that takes many, many years to master.

• Check out Felix's work on IG or visit here to buy his art
• Find SneakyArt on IG
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• Subscribe to my weekly email newsletter
• Join the private FB group for the podcast