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Register for our live Q&A with artist David Meikle on Dec. 4th at 2 pm (MST) here:https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZElc-mrpzoqHdF4JjTcpGNUC5ZqZFPRIblI David Meikle was my guest on the podcast today and I just have to say that I love doing these interviews over a Zoom call. Initially, I thought that the personal process of listing to someone's life story was a process that I'd only want to do in the studio. After recording a few of these long-distance Zoom podcasts with artists in their studios, I've noticed that when the person being interviewed is in a comfortable and familiar setting they are much more relaxed and often get a better insight into their art and life. Today, we get the pleasure of seeing David's studio full of brand new paintings that are going to be in his upcoming show Desert Elements at Medicine Man Gallery, opening this December 4th.David is a very interesting guy who had his own unique way to achieve his goal as a fine art painter. He's is one of the great Southwestern landscape painters working today with a unique route coming from a design and illustration background and still works at the University of Utah designing graphics such as the logo for the 2020 Vice Presidential Debate. David is a very hard-working artist and is an artist's artist. I think anyone who is trying to make a living off of their talent and artwork will really enjoy this episode and the possibilities that await if you put in the time, effort, and emotional capital into becoming an artist.

I had John Coleman Cowboy Artist of America on the podcast today. John is just such a deep, interesting human being. John is one of the most successful artists of his generation but believe it or not, he didn't start out as an artist even though he knew he had this innate artistic talent inside him. John had to go through finding that artistic voice, which isn't an easy process. His earliest path was one of success as a business person, but it just wasn't the type of fulfillment he sought. Becoming a world-class sculptor and painter of Native American subject matter involved triumph and failure of many varieties, ultimately resulting in the man we get to hear from today.This podcast was an enlightening roadmap of perseverance. If you're an artist who says to themselves: "I don't know... I want to be an artist, but... do I have what it takes?" Well, maybe if you listen to this podcast, you'll see what it took for John to become the artist he is today. Quite frankly, it takes a lot of effort, but more than effort,  it requires the emotional investment to transform into that particular version of yourself. John Coleman put it all together, and I'm glad he joined us to tell his story.

I had the Director and CEO of the Tucson Museum of Art, Jeremy Mikolajczak, on today. Jeremy is a unique individual who has run the gamut in life. He was not only a world-class swimmer in high school and college but was an artist as well. He went the BFA route and then worked in the gallery circuit, but it was running his first museum where he really found his stride in life. He's run a couple of different museums, including significant ones, and has been our the director at Tucson Museum of Art for the last four years (having done a seriously impressive job so far, I might add). He's really interesting, fun to listen to, and quite adroit in the world of art. We discuss the Kasser Family Wing of Latin American Art which is both ancient and contemporary, as well as the future of Tucson art and how our Museum is steadily pushing ahead in the art world despite a global pandemic.

What a fun podcast I had with Jill Carver. Jill grew up in England and has been living in the Southwest since 2002. She had this circuitous road to becoming the well-respected painter she is today, beginning with her education in the UK and the thought of becoming a finance professional, getting a degree in history, to finally following her heart as an artist. Along the way, she gets a position at the National Portrait Gallery in London and works there for 12 years. Jill ends moving across the pond and now she's one of the foremost landscape painters of America. I'm very fortunate and proud to have her as one of my artists. This is a really great episode and I hope you enjoy this edition of the Art Dealer Diaries featuring Jill Carver.To see more of Jill Carver's artwork visit: https://www.medicinemangallery.com/western-fine-art/southwestern-contemporary-painters/carver-jill 

I had Utah artist Greg Newbold on the podcast today. I've represented Greg for only a couple years and, believe it or not, I found him on Facebook. For those artists out there that wonder: "how do I get into a great art gallery," people like myself look on social media from time to time and we find the artists that have a voice and unique sensibilities about their artwork. When I came across Greg's work, I immediately said "WOW! Who is this guy?" Greg is an interesting individual and we discuss his early days as an illustrator and his time teaching at BYU. During all of this, Greg had the desire to be a fine artist in the back of his mind and as of late he's blown away any doubt that he was meant to be a fine artist. He's one of those artists that keeps you hooked as you watch their reputation unfold in front of you. I  think he's at that point  now where when we look back ten years from now, we'll go "Oh my gosh, I could've had a Greg Newbold and it was actually affordable!" I ended up speaking with Greg for more than an hour and twenty minutes and it was effortless as he's just a fun guy to talk to. He recorded his portion of the zoom call in his studio and I think being able to see an artist discuss their artwork makes it a little more granular. This is a great podcast for everyone (especially artists), enjoy this episode of the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast featuring Greg Newbold.To view Greg Newbold's work visit: https://www.medicinemangallery.com/search/?q=greg%20newbold

I had Davison Koenig on the podcast today who is the Director/Curator of the Couse-Sharp Historical Museum in Taos, New Mexico. This Northern New Mexico museum is a wonderful experience as I've been there a couple of different times. I've visited the Couse residency before it was ever a museum and was amazing then and now it is spectacular. It was fun to hear the story of how someone falls into a position like Davison's as a director of such a unique museum. The path, in this case, begins with Davison working in a bronze foundry and leads to a side-job cutting trees where he meets his wife Susan Folwell who happens to be one of the premier Santa Clara potters of today. Towards the end of the podcast, Davison takes us on a guided tour through the museum and gives us some very enlightening bits of information regarding the great painter E.I. Couse, J. H. Sharp, and their family. This is a fun and interesting interview and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I had the award-winning Santa Clara potter Susan Folwell on the podcast today. She followed up a podcast that I recorded with her husband, Davison Keonig, the director of the Couse-Sharp Historic Site in Taos, NM. I loved this interview because I got to hear Susan's backstory in great and entertaining detail. Susan's mom, the famous contemporary potter Jody Folwell an important figure pueblo pottery. Jody Folwell was the ceramist who popularized asymmetrical pottery and inserting social commentary onto her pottery in the 20th century. Susan is one of the great pueblo potters in her own right plotting her trajectory of having a famous mother potter and the fact she really didn't want to go into pottery at all (she really wanted to do photography) and how all of that led up to what she's working on now. We discussed her recent and future exhibitions and how she's continued to be a figurehead in the pueblo potter community through all of the turmoil in 2020. This is a wonderful podcast and Susan was very delightful to speak with. Sit back and relax, and enjoy this episode of the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast with Susan Folwell.Big thank you to Charles King Galleries for supplying images of Susan's recent artwork

I had Jared Chavez on the podcast a silversmith I carry and a person that I really respect as an artist. His father San Felipe silversmith Richard Chavez who I started buying his work 20 years ago whose work graces numerous museum collections. Father and son have done collaborative work but their styles are different and very unique. Jared experienced an interesting upbringing in that he's a San Felipe kid that ends up going to Georgetown for his undergraduate BFA, later working in San Francisco learning new jewelry techniques. Jared has brought all of this together, his education, work experience, heritage, to form his own unique aesthetic. We talk about his art and about how he got where he is today, and of course about his famous father that recently had a major retrospective at the Heard Museum. This podcast is for anyone that likes Native American jewelry or likes to see how a person can succeed and become a well-known jewelry artist. I don't think Jared would think of himself as famous, but in my eyes, he fits the description of success at a high level. He's part of a new generation of New Mexico artists and I'm excited to see what's in store for Jared's bright future.

Had a wonderful discussion with the contemporary pueblo potter Russell Sanchez of San Ildefonso pueblo.  I've known Russell Sanchez for at least 30 years and we had a nice talk about what it means to be a potter and how pottery became his chosen field, including his tutelage from the famed pueblo potters Rose Gonzales and Tony and Anita Da who influenced him. It was interesting to get the sense of what it takes to be a Pueblo potter as a profession and how he's approached being one of the best in the field. If you love Pueblo Pottery, Russell Sanchez is one of the best, and this a podcast you can't afford to miss.

Kathleen Wall is a vibrant individual and well known Jemez potter who creates her figurine pots at Jemez New Mexico. She does wonderful figurines and masks, some of them being very large pieces. Kathleen explains her journey as a potter and how she got to where she is today and what it took to get there. It's a long hard road to be a potter especially when you're trying to do things that are unique and less traditional pueblo pottery, but Kathleen has triumphed. In fact, Kathleen was recently awarded the Living Treasure Award for New Mexico at MIAC (The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture) and was supposed to have a one-person show for this great honor. Unfortunately, it opened in April of 2020. Clearly, with all that's been going on with COVID-19, the show has been put off through 2021. Pandemic aside, Kathleen has mastered her art and I think anyone that enjoys raw passion and creativity will love Kathleen Wall.

I had the pleasure of interviewing the contemporary artist Marla Allison today on Art Dealer Diaries. Marla is full of energy, creativity, smart, and was a very interesting guest. We discuss growing up in New Mexico at the historic Laguna Pueblo, and what it's like being Laguna, Hopi,  Jemez, and Anglo, and what those cultural elements provide to your art and perspective. Laguna is a small community and she goes from a small pueblo community to being IAIA trained and a School for Advanced Research fellow in Santa Fe, to accepting fellowships in Bahrain, and Bristol, UK, and participating in exhibitions in the United Arab Emirates and residencies in Saudi Arabia. Marla Allison has been a lot of different places and imbues this life experience into her art, with her heritage and sensibilities of historic pueblo pottery designs with a contemporary style. I enjoyed this podcast a great deal and for fans of contemporary art and historic pottery, I can assure you that you will too.

I had Mateo Romero on the podcast today. He is a fantastic painter and interesting individual and this interview is one of the more unique podcasts I've had the pleasure to record. On the Art Dealer Diaries, we generally talk about art but with Mateo, we gravitated to the topic of the current racial divide in the United States. Mateo has been involved in a lawsuit for 20+ years against the Washington Redskins organization to change their name so we had a chance to discuss all of the recent developments in that arena,  as well as the obelisk monument in the center of the Santa Fe Plaza and what could be done to replace, or more importantly, recontextualize a monument that refers to Native Americans that lived in the region as the "savage Indians of New Mexico". We also spoke at length about Mateo's artistic process and the life experiences/academia that got him where he is today. This is longer than the usual podcast but is well worth the effort to listen to the entire podcast and was one of my favorite interviews. 

I had Kim Peone on the podcast today who is the newest Executive Director of the non-profit organization SWAIA (Southwestern Association For Indian Arts). Every year SWAIA's banner event the Santa Fe Indian Market brings in millions of dollars for Native artisans and acts as a huge boost for the local economy. The event is always in the third week of August and I myself have had the privilege of attending for the past 30 years. Well, this year the event got canceled. For the first time in 99 years, there will be no Indian Market on the Plaza due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. You can imagine the chaos Kim has had to deal with since taking her current position in April. Regardless, Kim and I had this wonderful interview. She speaks on her early years having grown up with two different tribal backgrounds (Colville and Eastern Cherokee) and the road that ultimately led her to Santa Fe. This is a terrific interview and Kim is clearly going to do an exceptional job as Executive Director. There's going to be a virtual Indian Market event held August 1st - 31st. More information can be found on SWAIA's website SWAIA.org.

I had Dr. Michael F. Brown on the podcast today and he's president of the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe, NM. I've been a long time supporter of this museum and institution and I highly encourage people to go to their website which is sarweb.org. The school supports native causes and various research projects in the region. It started as an archeology museum in 1922 and it's an amazing place with a huge array of pottery and artifacts, as well as some of the finest contemporary native art. Michael is a fascinating person that has done much in his life. From working in Peru to doing an interview with a gun pointed at him, he definitely has a story that needs to be told. The granulation of this story really adds to his passion and why he wanted to be in charge of this museum and what the museum is doing today. I had originally planned on traveling to Santa Fe this week to interview Michael and several other esteemed Native American artists and historians, even going so far as to set-up a temporary studio in the School for Advanced Research. These plans were put to a screeching halt by the mandatory 14-day quarantine on all inbound travelers installed by the governor of New Mexico. Ultimately, we decided to maintain our interview schedule and do them remotely, socially distancing at an effective 500+ miles. For the next few weeks, the podcast will be focusing on SAR and some of the Native American artisans involved in this wonderful organization. With all of that in mind, please enjoy this socially distant edition of the Art Dealer Diaries featuring Dr. Michael Brown president of SAR.

I had Jim Jacobs come to the gallery today to join me for an episode of the Art Dealer Diaries that is unlike any other so far. Jim is a realtor in Tucson, actually the BEST realtor in Tucson and someone that I've bought quite a few houses from over the years. He has great instincts about what architecture and art mean to a home and a homeowner. His backstory involves 20 years of fashion industry expertise in Atlanta and New York City before ever becoming a realtor as well as working at the Playboy Mansion in his early days valeting cars for stars like Johnny Carson. In my opinion, there are so many correlations between art and real estate and the way you conduct business ethically in both of these disciplines. I loved this interview and I feel that many people will find it very intriguing and if you're interested in Tucson real estate it might even inform your next home purchase

Frank Patania Jr. owner of the Thunderbird shop of Santa Fe and Tucson, and the son of Frank Patania Sr. tells the second half of his 87-year story in this edition of the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast. Frank and I spoke for almost 3 hours so this is a two-part podcast with the first portion of the story appearing in episode 107. Part two focuses on Frank Patania Jr's own career and the process behind some of his most important works. We hear about Frank using styrofoam to cast a 9ft tall cross in aluminum and passing the literal and figurative torch to his son Sam the third generation Thunderbird silversmith. I wanted to explore Frank Patania Jr's career and life experiences in Santa Fe and Tucson and the influence he had on the Patania family legacy and what is considered now to be Southwest jewelry. If you are a Patania collector or someone who's very interested in the history of southwest silversmithing, particularly in Santa Fe and Tucson, this podcast is one you will definitely enjoy.

I had an important historical figure on the podcast today, Frank Patania Jr. original owner of the Thunderbird shop of Santa Fe and Tucson, and the son of Frank Patania Sr. tells the story of the lives of three generations of silversmiths. I had Sam Patania, Frank Jr's son on an earlier podcast which you might want to listen to as well. Frank and I spoke for almost 3 hours so this is a two-part podcast with the remainder of the story appearing in episode 108 which is part two. Part one focuses on Frank Sr and their time in Santa Fe. We talk about how Frank Sr. got into the jewelry business, the opening of the first Thunderbird Shop in 1927 in Santa Fe, the second shop in Tucson in 1937, and finally the historic figures orbiting both shops in the mid 20th century. I really wanted to get into the weeds in part one as it's important for people to have this information for future use considering the sizable legacy of the Patania family. If you are a Patania collector or someone who's very interested in the history of southwest silversmithing, particularly in Santa Fe and Tucson, this podcast is one you will definitely enjoy.

Associate Director of the BYU Museum of Art, Ed Lind stopped by the gallery today to share his fascinating story. Ed is somebody who was born an artist, but his career path just didn't let him go that direction. He was involved in computers very early on in the '80s, realized he wanted to follow his passion, and then went back to school when he was in his 30's and received a fine art degree. He eventually got a call from Brigham Young University to be a part of their museum administration, becoming an associate director. This podcast is a must for all the people who love Dixon. This is THE podcast. BYU purchased 85 paintings from Dixon himself in 1937 for $3,700. The dean of the business school at the time, Harold R. Clark made this amazing deal with Maynard Dixon, and thus in 1937 BYU became one of the largest depositories of Maynard Dixon's work.  We have a great dialogue about Maynard Dixon and what he represents, where his legacy is headed, and how relevant he is to current events happening right now with the strife that's going on in America and the rest of the world.

Billy Schenck came to deliver some paintings and wound up in the Medicine Man Gallery Studio for this episode of the Art Dealer Diaries. There's no reason why I can't grab somebody for another podcast that's already done one, especially if it's Bill Schenck. I wanted to get an update on Billy and how he's doing, and it turns out he's has had some pretty traumatic stuff going on in his life recently, namely a heart attack and being in the hospital in the middle of a global pandemic. We also talk about the show at the Tucson Museum of Art titled Southwest Rising: Contemporary Art and the Influence of Elaine Horowitch, curated by the great Dr. Julie Sasse. Bill was an important part of Elaine's stable of artists and a part of this show as well as the companion book. The show is unfortunately not open because of the pandemic, but will be most likely resume in August, maybe late July. The show provides the backstory of what was going on with Horwitch's gallery back in the '70s and '80s. Later on in the podcast, we talk about his home becoming a museum and how he sees himself and his legacy. I think you'll really enjoy this podcast, it was a spur of the moment interview and those my friends are the best types of interviews.

Shirley Wagner was on the podcast today. She is a three-dimensional artist specializing in modern sculpture inspired by the great Louise Nevelson. An interesting podcast for any artist who is in the struggle to find a way to create and make a living in the difficult field of art. To live a full life while trying to follow your vision when life doesn't want to let you go down that alley is exactly what Shirley Wagner faced.  Whether it was her mom dying as soon as she graduated from art school or her husband Marius passing in 2017. This podcast addresses the obstacles that keep can stop the creative process and how to push through it. Shirley was very candid about her struggles and was really fascinating to hear her story and I hope it will be for you as well.