Art Dealer Diaries Podcast

I had Thomas "Breeze" Marcus on the podcast today. He goes by Breeze and in fact, his name is really kind of synonymous to the type of imagery that he does in his fine art paintings. This guy is just so unique. I had such a fun time with this podcast because it was one of those where it's a full conversation, not just an artist's biography. It made me think about where we're going and about things that I may never have even thought about in regard to art and when that happens I find it extremely enjoyable.It just scratches that itch, you know? The itch that I get when trying to understand someone as complex as Breeze. From being a graffiti artist and what that entails and where that world catapulted him, to doing murals for big cities and big museums. He did one for Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West that is tremendous. I recommend people go and visit this mural as its an ode to his people (O'odham) but also a tribute to Ed Mell, who he respected and was mentored by. This podcast that might change the way you look at graffiti art and murals and even Native art as a whole. Breeze is a very unique person, an important artist, and you'll be hearing a lot more about his work in the future.

I did the Scottsdale Ferrari Art Week in March and they had a wonderful panel about the legendary art dealer Elaine Horwitch featuring Josh Rose, Julie Sasse, and two artists, Billy Schenck and Tom Palmore. Schenck and Palmore showed at Elaine Horwitch Gallery, which was in Santa Fe, Scottsdale, and Palm Springs and Julie was her gallery director. It's important for history to capture voices like this. Elaine showed some really famous artists such as Fritz Scholder and Louise Nevelson. She was clearly an important individual. That whole time frame was unique. I remember parts of it as I was getting in the business myself in 1992.If you get a chance next year, they're going to have the show again, the Scottsdale Ferrari Art Week. I recommend that you mark your calendars for the third week in March. They had some amazing lectures and it was not only full of great art, but it was a very educational experience as well.So I hope you enjoy. This is the most comprehensive talk on the legacy of art dealer Elaine Horwitch on Art Dealer Diaries Podcast episode 347.

I had Susan Tarman on today and it was just a joyful conversation. I've known Susan professionally for 30 years, going into her galleries and getting appraisals from her. She's very, very smart and her story is all about what Santa Fe was like in the early 80s all the way through today.She talks about a guy named Vic Hansen who was this very interesting character that  I never had the chance to meet, but keep hearing stories about him even today. So she goes into detail about how instrumental that man was in her life and ultimately how she bought his gallery and made it her own.Fast forward to today and, though her gallery closed, Susan is still one of the best appraisers in the business. So if you want to get a great sense of what the Santa Fe art world was like in the 80s, who the players were, and what her role was and is in our field, than this is an excellent podcast to listen to. 

This podcast is a recording of a special presentation given by contemporary fine art photographer Cara Romero (Chemehuevi) at the Tucson Museum of Art on April 16, 2025.A big thank you to Cara Romero and to our host, Senior Curator of TMA, Christine Brindza for letting us record and publish this talk for our listeners (and viewers). If you are interested in learning more about Christine, be sure to listen to Art Dealer Diaries Podcast #81.I hope you enjoy. I'm a collector and a big fan of Cara's photography. If you are unfamiliar with her work, you can find it on her website: cararomero.com

Once in a while you come across somebody and you realize in that moment they're an important figure in art history, and maybe their story hasn't been told yet. In this case, I don't think it really has.You see, my guest today is Shahrokh Rezvani and he's a very interesting man to say the least. What makes him so interesting is this journey that he's had with people like Fritz Scholder and Dale Chihuly and working with them to create monotypes, cyanotypes, and all sorts of different kinds of prints.He came to my booth at Scottsdale Ferrari Art Week and I could see him looking at the work by Fritz Scholder that I was showing. I could tell there was a connection, and not a connection in the way you might see with a collector or an acolyte even... but a different kind of connection.I approached him and asked if he knew Scholder personally. He said back to me: ”oh, yeah, he was a great person. I knew Fritz and I knew him well." I said “okay, well, tell me about it.” After that he spoke to me all about Fritz and their working relationship from 1977 to 1993. Fast forward to today and Shahrokh is at that age where health can be a problem. I said, well, I want to come up to your house and I want to hear the rest of the story, hence this podcast. Now you'll get to hear the story of this wonderful journey of this man's life as an artist and as a master printmaker.He makes wonderful art himself and I hope that this podcast is as intriguing for you as it was for me. I think this is the type of interview that's going to be used when people tell the story of Fritz Scholder and that connection and collaboration, that he had with Shahrokh. So I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Shahrokh Rezvani on Art Dealer Diaries Podcast episode 344.

I had Ray Dewey on my podcast today. I had him on a couple of years ago (episode 259) and we went through his life story, from his childhood up until he closed his gallery in Santa Fe, which was one of the best Southwest art galleries of all time.Well, he happened to be in Tucson today so I asked him if he'd do another podcast and he obliged. Ray loves Maynard Dixon just like I do so we always have plenty to talk about. In fact, he had a Maynard Dixon and Ed Mell show in 1985. Really the first Dixon/Mell show that was ever done like that. He was a great friend of Ed's and had represented Ed for years. So in this podcast we talked about the people that have come in and out of Ray's life. There's a variety of interesting people and artists from R.C. Gorman to Allan Houser to Louise Nevelson to Charles Loloma.  We also spoke about his relationship with Nat Owings, who was one of these great art dealers of Santa Fe and someone that we hope to have on the podcast sometime soon.I can't not mention Ray's wife, Judy, who worked in the gallery for 20+ years running the backend of the business (just like my lovely wife Kathleen does for Medicine Man Gallery) which is so immensely important. We don't succeed without the Judys and Kathleens in our lives. So, you know, if you really want to know the backstory of the Santa Fe art scene and the players that made it happen, then you have to listen to Ray Dewey on episode 343 of the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast.

When people that I'm interested in talking to come into my gallery, I want to grab them and take them to my studio and talk to them. Well, lucky for me, Robert Sommers walked into my store today. He's a long time friend, a very knowledgeable art dealer, and the owner of Blue Heron Gallery.I had recorded a podcast with him seven years or so ago, but we'd always talked about doing another one, and this one was a completely different podcast than our first one. Robert's background is covered in that one, and sure we touch on his origin story a little in this one too, but I just kind of wanted to find out the path that he's been on since the first podcast  and how he's seeing and interpreting the art world in 2025. He's been doing this for 50 years so it was a good conversation - definitely less of an interview when compared to a typical episode of the podcast. We talked like two old friends do, rehashing our lives, what we've done professionally and how we've intersected through the years. Robert is just such a unique, brilliant individual. He's a very talented writer, an awesome photographer, and a storied art dealer. He's just one of those people that you want to talk to and spend time with. I don't even know how long we talked, I just had an enjoyable conversation with somebody who's knowledgeable, loves what he does, and hopefully you'll enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

I had Kathryn Haigh on the podcast today and she is the President and CEO of the Eiteljorg Museum, which is one of my favorite museums in North America. The reason being, for one thing, it's a beautiful building inspired by Ancestral Puebloan architecture. It was founded by Harrison Eiteljorg in 1989 and he put this magnificent collection of Western and Native Art together.I'm happy to say the museum has continued Harrison's mission. It's a large museum  on seven acres in Indianapolis, and they have an incredible Indian market every year in June. They also have an event called Quest for the West, which is a Western fine art show that takes place in September of every year. I've gone to those events and they're terrific.And Katie's story, of course, is fascinating. She's a creative and intellectual person who grew up in Cincinnati, and was propelled into the museum world at an early age. She worked her way up the ranks at the Cincinnati Art Museum, followed by the Fine Arts Museum in Indianapolis, and now she runs the Eiteljorg. So she's quite experienced to say the least.Needless to say, the Eiteljorg is definitely a bucket list museum. To get to speak with the person in charge of such an institution and to really understand how their operation works, and what they're trying to accomplish... It was excellent. There's just some really amazing things in the works over there.So I found it fascinating. Just understanding the path of a museum director and what one does with that level of responsibility. I've spoken to many people in positions of leadership in the museum word but this interview was very unique. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. This is Kathryn Haigh on episode 341 of the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast.

I had Bob Melet on today. He's an old friend that I've known him for 30+ years. When people ask me what Bob does, I always say that I'm not 100% sure. I am sure however that he has this unique gift of looking at objects of all types, all cultures, and then using them in a fashion where individuals can get inspiration, primarily in the field of fine dress and clothing.Clothing isn't the only space where Bob's professional interests lie. He also works in theater, traditional art, antiques, you name it. If you're a creative person, you could probably benefit from Bob's wonderful eye. It's one of the best you'll ever see. He absolutely knows how to assemble an aesthetic and what it looks like when things make sense together.In fact, I told Bob "you know, you're a dealer, but you're really not. You're a creative person whose creation has to do with how you see the world and letting people into your vision." So he is just a truly interesting individual. I enjoyed this podcast immensely, and I think you will too. This is Bob Melet on Art Dealer Diaries Podcast episode 340.

This podcast is a little different because it was filmed on location at Scottsdale Ferrari Art Week 2025. Tony Abeyta is a famous painter, jeweler, and curator, and he assembled all of these modernist voices together for the exhibit "Modernism in the Desert." The artists include: Fritz Scholder, Charles Loloma, Michael Kabotie, Lloyd Kiva New, Paolo Soleri, Ed Mell, and more.There's a group of individuals that all connect to the same time frame of about 1950 to 1970 and they have relationships with Arizona, whether they were born here or the worked here. Tony was kind enough to walk us through the exhibit and speak on the individual works.You see, Tony is such a wealth of information when it comes to art. The exhibit he put together took a lot of time and effort and I'm not sure anything like this has ever been done before, and I don't know if it'll ever be done again.

One of the reasons I started the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast was to capture these important voices of artists, dealers, collectors, writers, and photographers. I wanted to preserve the stories of all of these individuals that have come into my life or that I've been aware of whose voices I felt needed to be captured. Jeff Aeling was one of those important voices and he just recently passed. Jeff was a good friend, and I represented him for 25+ years. It's interesting when you look back at a career of an artist and an art dealer, all of the things that you go through, the good times, the bad times... But every time Jeff and I were talking to each other, whether it was business related or just personal - we would always have these intimate talks about creative writing, art, and cinema.Jeff passed this past week, and I wanted to make sure that people had the opportunity to listen to this unique voice who changed the way I saw things.Rest in peace, Jeff. Thank you for everything.-------Originally Published Dec 12, 2018:Renowned landscape painter Jeff Aeling shares his circuitous road from musician to a theatrical stage production to finding his love of painting. Jeff discusses what skills are required to become an artist and the three types of landscape paintings. He also speaks on the time and influences required to make a successful painting and how to pick the right subject matter to stimulates your creativity.

THE RUSSELL AUCTION • March 20-22, 2025 • Featuring over 125 historic pieces, including more than 20 iconic works by Charles M. Russell. Visit cmrussell.org to learn more.I had Duane Braaten on today and he's a very interesting guy. It just goes to show that when you grow up in an art community like Great Falls, MT  it can affect you and it certainly affected Duane. I think in a way it may have affected him more than he even realizes.You see, Duane goes to pharmacy school, but he discovers his love for the creative world, art, and art museums. What happens is he works as a security guard at the school art gallery. This alters his trajectory a great deal, and he winds up at the Charlie Russell Museum as a preparator, eventually becoming the  Director of Art and Philanthropy and he's been there since 1996.The big event we talk about in this podcast is the auction that the C.M. Russell Museum puts on annually called "The Russell." It's the main fundraiser for the C.M. Russell Museum, which is typically the third week in March.If you haven't gone to that event, believe me when I say that it's a fantastic experience. It's really worth doing. You have all of this interesting art that you can purchase and see, both contemporary and historic. I think 25 Charles Russell works will be for sale, that again, all help the museum, which is an important institution.So very interesting to talk to Duane about his life, about his career at the C.M. Russell Museum, and the annual auction that is happening March 20, 21, and 22 happening in Great Falls, Montana and online at the link below:https://www.liveauctioneers.com/auctioneer/1115/the-russell-a-western-art-experience/

Oreland Joe came by my gallery today. He's such an interesting individual. I've always admired his sculptures and his paintings. He's also a silversmith and his son Bo Joe (who I interviewed on episodes 249 and 250), is a master silversmith himself.He's gone through a lot of different things in his life and is still just pushing forward creatively. He's currently working on a commission that's coming up in Durango, which is a massive mural for a hospital, as well as working on a film about a prolific ancestor, Yellow Nose, a warrior who captured the seventh cavalry flag on June 25th of 1876 at the Battle of Little Bighorn. There's history thrown in with creativity and how he got to where he is today and what he's working on. So it's a really interesting, unique take on life, and he shares it with us. I am very happy he did and I'm even happier I get to share it with you.This is Oreland Joe on episode 336 of the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast.

Oreland Joe came by my gallery today. He's such an interesting individual. I've always admired his sculptures and his paintings. He's also a silversmith and his son Bo Joe (who I interviewed on episodes 249 and 250), is a master silversmith himself.He's gone through a lot of different things in his life and is still just pushing forward creatively. He's currently working on a commission that's coming up in Durango, which is a massive mural for a hospital, as well as working on a film about a prolific ancestor, Yellow Nose, a warrior who captured the seventh cavalry flag on June 25th of 1876 at the Battle of Little Bighorn. There's history thrown in with creativity and how he got to where he is today and what he's working on. So it's a really interesting, unique take on life, and he shares it with us. I am very happy he did and I'm even happier I get to share it with you.This is Oreland Joe on episode 336 of the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast.

This iteration of the Masters of Drawing podcast was very interesting because I interviewed all of these artists, one after another, in a single day. Featuring Francis Livingston, Jill Carver, Dennis Ziemienski, Greg Newbold, Roseta Santiago, and Jordan K. Walker.You see, I was having a show that focused on drawing and had invited 47 artists for what I called "Masters of Drawing." These individuals are who I consider to be the very best in that field. They're all artists that primarily do paintings, but I wanted to really focus on that basic structure of most fine art, which is drawing.It's the thing that you do when you're a kid regardless of whether you're an artist or not, when you're three and you first get a crayon or a pencil. These individuals not only got that crayon and pencil, but they kept using it and using it. If you watch this podcast on YouTube, which I recommend, you can literally see them talking about drawing, speaking with their hands as if a pencil or pen was in their hands. It's really fascinating to watch because you can see each of these people's minds just go to that moment in time.So I hope you enjoy the third and final Masters of Drawing group podcast. This is episode 335 of Art Dealer Diaries hosted by Dr. Mark Sublette.

This episode is different than the usual format. I was having a show that focused on drawing and I had invited 47 artists for what I called "Masters of Drawing." These individuals are who I consider to be the very best in that field. They're all artists that primarily do paintings, but I wanted to really focus on that basic structure of most fine art, which is drawing.It's the thing that you do when you're a kid regardless of whether you're an artist or not, when you're three and you first get a crayon or a pencil. These individuals not only got that crayon and pencil, but they kept using it and using it. If you watch this podcast on YouTube, which I recommend, you can literally see them talking about drawing, speaking with their hands as if a pencil or pen was in their hands. It's really fascinating to watch because you can see each of these people's minds just go to that moment in time. So I learned a lot personally about drawing, and I think you will, too. These are three individuals on this first podcast that really have, you know, at 100 years of drawing underneath them or more.I have Chuck Pyle, Ezra Tucker, and Thomas Blackshear, the Masters of Drawing.

Mathieu Nozieres is a name you're going to remember...  I say that because I can just see something in this young man. His trajectory and the way he looks at art... his commitment to Western art specifically is incredible. He actually immigrated from France to Los Angeles with his wife, who's also a wonderful artist as well.You see, Mathieu has this unique story of being a comic book artist going into fine art, traveling and studying all over the world. From Romania to Belgium, India, China, Russia, all these different places, searching for knowledge to become a better artist and then finding Western art and going, "oh... that's it. Here's my lane. I love art history. I love the West. This is where I'm supposed to be."So it's a fun ride. Just hearing where he's mentally at this point in his career is a treat. We'll look back someday, you know, 20, 30 years from now and you'll go, oh yeah, that was the first time he stepped on the scene. That was who Mathieu Nozieres was when he started his legendary Western art career. So yeah, I enjoyed this podcast a great deal and I hope you do as well.

This is the only podcast I've ever done where I put six different individuals in one episode, all talking about one subject which is drawing. It's such an important part of being an artist because when you are just a little kid, you pick up those crayons, you pick up the pencils, you start drawing and  - the people that get excited and somehow get turned onto that? Well, those are our artists. I wanted to do this major show with all these artists and I've got 47 in this show called Masters of Drawing, where they get to show that expertise that they've had ever since they were little kids. I wanted to interview different artists and see what they had to say about the process.So it's really a focus on drawing and about the show. The individuals in this episode include Josh Gibson, Kathryn Stedham, William Haskell, Whitney Gardner, Howard Post and Jim Woodside. They all have the same thing in common. They are Masters of drawing. I think you'll find this fascinating. I know I did.

I had Susan Lyon on the podcast today. What a joyful person she is. I had never met Susan, but I'm very familiar with her work and her husband Scott Burdick's work and we had a great time. We talked about her life and how she got where she is today as an artist.We speak about how she found her voice not only as an artist, but as a teacher. Which she does through her own website and through Patreon, which she feels is as much her calling as the art. So people can hear those types of things that she teaches and does, and then you can take that and go and see and learn and even sign up for classes so you can work with a master.And she is a master and her drawings are amazing. We talk about a show that I'm doing, which is called Masters of Drawing that opens on February 15, 2025. She's a part of that show and it was fun just to discuss everything that goes into her drawings. So I had a great time. I think anyone who listens or watches this will realize what an immense gift that Susan Lyon is to the world of art.

Unique podcast today because I'm actually being interviewed by Michael Clawson, who's the editor of Western Art Collector and he has his own podcast, which is the American Art Collective. So you'll be able to listen to this podcast on either platform. He wanted to come down and talk to me about Maynard Dixon and interview me. And I said, well, why don't you just use my studio and we can do it together? You know, you interview me just like you would any other guest, and I'll tell you whatever you want to know. And we did that. I talked on Dixon for a very long time, for about an hour and 15 minutes. It was a very interesting podcast, because when I do a lecture, it's more of a chronological, you know, follow along, connect the dots kind of thing. This really was more of a question/answer format type of podcast. Michael specifically wanted to do this interview because I have a new Maynard Dixon and Native American Art Museum that opened next to my gallery here in Tucson, Arizona. He wanted to let his listeners and readers know about this museum, which is kind of a lifelong conglomeration of all the things that I've collected and learned about Maynard Dixon.So It was very kind of him to have me on his podcast to do that and to talk about Dixon while we celebrate his 150th birthday. If you like Maynard Dixon, I think you'll find this podcast very interesting.

I had Bob Ashley on today and what an interesting guy he is. I really enjoyed this podcast because it speaks to something that I've always enjoyed, which is  herpetology. As a child I was fascinated with reptiles and I'm still fascinated with them. Anybody who knows me has probably seen me move rattlesnakes off the road because I don't want them to get hurt. If you like herpetology, you're going to love this podcast  (plus it's the year of the snake). If you don't like herpetology and snakes, then you may not find it as interesting as I did.Bob has the Chiricahua Desert Museum, which is right on the border of New Mexico and Arizona off the I-10. It's not that far from Tucson and it's not only a museum of desert animals, but a museum that preserves and displays Apache material called the Apache Museum and Geronimo Events Center.He really is one of the top people in this field and a ton of different research gets done as a result of his commitment to herpetology, but he loves Native American art, specifically Apache because he lives and operates his museum in that region. He's very close to the point where Geronimo surrendered to the U.S. government. The museum has lots of different things that you can see and the whole history of that region from an indigenous standpoint, from Mimbres on up.Unique podcast, unique individual. I hope you do listen to it and I hope you go and visit it, which is at the Chiricahua Desert Museum, because it's a very interesting place to go. That's what this podcast is all about and that's what Bob Ashley is all about. He and I have, a similar love for snakes, herpetology, and Native American art. 

Artist William Haskell speaks on his art and life at the Mountain Oyster Club in Tucson, Arizona for the Friends of Western Art.

I did a different type of a podcast today. Maybe something I'll do more of, if I find a certain topic really interesting. That's the thing for me. If I'm going to talk or try to share stories, generally I am talking to a guest, I'm interviewing somebody and listening to their story. But I saw this movie with Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan.As I'm watching the movie, I'm thinking, you know, T.C. Cannon is so inspired by this guy, and you can see correlations. I can, because I understand and feel the relationships that T.C. Cannon had to Dylan's music. So I did a little bit of a deep dive just to find out a few things about them and how they connected and why and the things that would affect them, specifically, T.C. Cannon. I think it might give you a sense of who this person was, especially when you look at T.C. Cannon's paintings and his drawings because his drawings are some of the most personal, as they often are with his own writings, his own poetry, in some cases, even Dylan's songs and lyrics.In fact Cannon does a couple of paintings that are directly related to Dylan's lyrics. So before you go see the movie “ A Complete Unknown” you might want to listen to this podcast and just got a sense of Cannon and how he was affected and might make the viewing experience a little different for you. I know it did for me when I was watching it. Terrific movie, by the way.

I had Erin Hanson on today. She's such an interesting person because she's a terrific artist. I love her artwork, and I show it in my gallery. Erin is also a great businessperson and she's an innovator in the art space.Today we focused in on this process of 3D printing that she does with her paintings. She's really one of the only people that's doing such a thing. Understandably it's expensive, costing upwards of half a million dollars just to get the machines, not to mention the specialized highly skilled individuals required to do this process.Erin has also amassed a huge social media presence and she's done it organically, which is not an easy task. I think her Instagram is at 300k followers at the time of posting. So I hope you enjoy this. I think it's a very good, podcast for artists to learn and to see something new and interesting that really only Erin Hanson is doing.

I had Rachel Brownlee on today and she has such an interesting story. You have this individual who had never identified herself as an artist until several years ago, and now she's and award-winning artist.Growing up, she was homeschooled with her seven siblings, living life as a fifth generation Nebraskan rancher (she still is actually). But she finds her voice as an artist and just kind of had this insane, meteoric rise from 2021 until now where she wins the best of show award from the Mountain Oyster Club and starts getting invited to all of these different shows and being represented by important galleries across the West.Fast forward to today and Rachel is this kind of phenomenon in the art world, working with charcoal like nobody has before. A person who had no training in art other than her own ambition to learn and to create like crazy. This is a great story. I mean, it's shows that if you're committed to what you want to do in life, you can absolutely do it with enough hard work. She has two kids, she's married to a rancher and still works the ranch to some extent, but really is now a full-time artist, spending eight plus hours a day drawing in the studio.We go through this whole story of how she got where she is now and what she's currently working on. I myself am very excited that Rachel is going to be a part of my Masters of Drawing Group Exhibition in February 2025.So there you have it. Really interesting story. I hope you like it. I had a great time talking to Rachel Brownlee on episode 325 of the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast.

This is a really interesting and fun lecture that I did along with Dennis Ziemienski. It's to celebrate his 50th anniversary of being an artist, and we're having a retrospective at our gallery for those who might be listening to this sometime in the future (this was in December of 2024).I talked about Maynard Dixon and his illustrations and Dennis speaks on his own illustration career. It turns out there is a lot of very interesting parallels. For instance, they both went to New York at 33, hey both started doing fine art at about 45, 50, and when they first started their commercial art careers, there were serious economic events happening. For Dixon, it was the bank panic of 1907. For Ziemienski, it was the 1980, 81, bank crisis where we had the worst recession since the Great Depression with 11% unemployment.So those correlations  come from my part of the lecture and then Dennis talks about his life as a commercial artist and all the illustrations that he did for things like the Olympics, Academy Awards, Kentucky Derby, Super Bowl and those types of things. I hope you watch this on YouTube, because I think that is really the way to get the flavor of this podcast. Also, thank you to the Western Art Patrons (WAP) for being such a great crowd.

A wonderful way to spend an afternoon is finding two people that walk into your gallery (or in this case my new Maynard Dixon & Native American Art Museum) who are authorities on Charles Lummis. Christian Rodriguez, who is the curator of the Lummis House (AKA El Alisal), and Kim Walters, who was the archivist for there for decades are both experts on this bigger than life individual. The three of us discuss this man's life and just go back and forth sharing a massive amount of information on a person that was critically important to an artist that I specialize in, Maynard Dixon.It's really fun because it's just we're all beaming in on what was important or how we saw it. I saw Lummis in a particular light based on my understanding of his and Dixon's relationship. The truth is he was such a complex and nuanced person in many different ways. He's still important to California and to the story of the West as a whole. In fact, he was one of the individuals responsible for the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles, which opened in 1907 and was absorbed by the Autry Museum in 2003. I just found it so fascinating and the conversation went on for two hours. There were things that I came away with going "okay, I didn't know this" or "I definitely want to learn more about this."  Now I plan on doing some follow up research because all of these good answers lead to better and better questions. My question to you is - do you want to just see how individuals who really love what they do interact, talk about  their expertise, and contemplate the inner-workings of one singular individual? Well in that case, this is the one for you.

I'm here at the Saguaro Theater in Wickenburg, AZ to give a presentation on my newest novel "Broken Promises: A Westin Blackwood Art Detective Mystery." This event was setup and hosted by my dear friends at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum.The museum itself is a wonderful place so I hope everyone can come out and visit them. I've been here dozens and dozens times. They have one of the greatest collections of Western and Native American art. This podcast is partly an art history lesson since I talk about the events that inspired my fictional novel. The aforementioned events are very interesting and are tied not only to where I grew up, but also to the city I call home.Broken Promises is available on my website in hardcover:https://www.medicinemangallery.com/products/broken-promises-a-westin-blackwood-art-detective-mystery-by-mark-sublette**Also available on all eBook platforms.

I had Maeve Eichelberger on today and I really like to call her just "Maeve." I think that's a good way to just brand her name, but maybe you'll hear that on the podcast. I don't remember if I talked about it in the podcast or if it was just in private, but that's the fun thing about podcast is you never know what's going to come out. Maeve and I talked about the new show she's having with Jordan K. Walker, Josh Gibson, and  Whitney Gardner which is the New Young Gun show. It was fun to just kind of catch up with her on what she's doing. We talked about her new studio and some of her relationships with individuals like Barbara Van Cleve and it's always unique to discuss art with individuals that see the world differently. Maeve really does see the world in her own way on so many levels, not only the way she makes her art, but the types of media that she uses as well.She uses acrylic for her saddles and now she's making clothing based sculptures which are really interesting and something I think will be sought after  when people find out what she's doing. I always have a great time talking to Maeve and I'm so happy she was able to take the time to come and do this podcast for our group exhibition, New Young Guns.

Whitney Gardner brought in new paintings for the New Young Guns Group Show, which opens in a few days so we decided to record a podcast at my studio in Tucson. The show features Jordan Walker, Josh Gibson, Maeve Eichelberger, and today's guest, Whitney. Now, she's been on the podcast before, which we filmed in November 2022, the same day I began representing her in my gallery. Two years and 100 episodes later, Whitney sheds light on what she's been up to the last couple of years.It's really quite interesting to speak to an artist at the beginning of their career, and then again while they are on the rise. You can feel it. It's wild to watch that cascade of interest pool up in smaller circles and eventually overflow into the Western art world at large. That's pretty much what's happened with Whitney since I've known her. She's won all these awards in the last two years and been picked up by another reputable gallery in Santa Fe, McLarry Fine Art. They had a show for her which did well, extremely well actually. These kinds of things begin adding up and next thing you know you're in museums, articles are being written on you in major magazines, and your art career is no longer a dream but a template for the next up-and-coming artist.I think all of these artists that make up the New Young Guns will feel that in some form or fashion. That's what you want as an artist. To be recognized by people for your hard work, dedication, and what you have to say. That being said, there are all-new responsibilities and considerations that come with having a shiny new platform like this.People tend to think "oh, fame is so great," or "wow, selling art is easier than ever." Well sure, it can be, but it also has the other aspects that go along with it. It becomes a duty of sorts to continue and produce work that resonates with people... and if it doesn't, well then you may not be able to pay the bills.Anyhow, this podcast was so fun. It's been a privilege to get to see Whitney's journey over the last two years. This upcoming show, which is going to be a really terrific will put her skills and the skills of her peers on full display. I genuinely hope you can make it.

I had Barbara Van Cleve on the podcast today and she is just incredible. Barbara spent her entire life as photographer, getting her first camera in 1946 at age 11. She has a photograph that is still being printed and published to this day that she took in 1950 when she was 15 while on a camping trip with her father. We talk about her life and how she managed to go from being a fourth generation rancher to the celebrated photographer she is today. Her family gets to Montana in 1889, years before Montana was even a state. Her love of the ranch, of horses, of cattle, of being a true Montanan fueled her early days of photography. To many people, Montana is a very special place. She is extremely proud of that heritage and has been the recipient of many, many awards from not only Montana, but from all over the place.Barbara and her work has been featured on CBS , CNN, and more. There's a documentary that's just finishing just on her life too. She's really important and we're very fortunate to have her in our gallery, thanks to Andrew Smith, who represented her for 40 years. When Andrew closed his brick and mortar gallery, we were fortunate to be able to open a new door and begin representing her at Medicine Man Gallery. For me, even more importantly, is getting the opportunity to begin a friendship with this person who's a very important artist, both personally and historically. That's what makes this podcast so much fun. I mean, those are the kind of podcasts that I just devour because it's real and she is so open and spontaneous. Real talk, if you don't like this podcast, you're probably not going to like any of my podcasts.Anyway, we had a lovely to talk and went for about two hours. So I'm going to make this into a part one and part two. So this is part two of western photography legend Barbara Van Cleve on Art Dealer Diaries Podcast episode 319.

I had Barbara Van Cleve on the podcast today and she is just incredible. Barbara spent her entire life as photographer, getting her first camera in 1946 at age 11. She has a photograph that is still being printed and published to this day that she took in 1950 when she was 15 while on a camping trip with her father. We talk about her life and how she managed to go from being a fourth generation rancher to the celebrated photographer she is today. Her family gets to Montana in 1889, years before Montana was even a state. Her love of the ranch, of horses, of cattle, of being a true Montanan fueled her early days of photography. To many people, Montana is a very special place. She is extremely proud of that heritage and has been the recipient of many, many awards from not only Montana, but from all over the place.Barbara and her work has been featured on CBS , CNN, and more. There's a documentary that's just finishing just on her life too. She's really important and we're very fortunate to have her in our gallery, thanks to Andrew Smith, who represented her for 40 years. When Andrew closed his brick and mortar gallery, we were fortunate to be able to open a new door and begin representing her at Medicine Man Gallery. For me, even more importantly, is getting the opportunity to begin a friendship with this person who's a very important artist, both personally and historically. That's what makes this podcast so much fun. I mean, those are the kind of podcasts that I just devour because it's real and she is so open and spontaneous. Real talk, if you don't like this podcast, you're probably not going to like any of my podcasts.Anyway, we had a lovely to talk and went for about two hours. So I'm going to make this into a part one and part two. So this is part one of western photography legend Barbara Van Cleve on Art Dealer Diaries Podcast episode 318.

I had Dennis Ziemienski on today, and I've known Dennis for a long time, represented him for about 20 years, and we're doing a retrospective for him on December 6th in Tucson. He's going to turn 77 in May, and he's been working on this for over a year. There's a new on Dennis that just came out and we're going to have over 60 paintings in the show. It's a big deal for artists to have their lives celebrated. Dennis definitely needs to be celebrated because he's a remarkable artist. As an illustrator he did some things that were gigantic. The Super Bowl, Academy Awards, Olympics, Kentucky Derby, you name it, he did it. Then after being a successful illustrator, he transitioned into fine art and succeeds in spades. So and he makes it look easy.He loves to create. Every time I talk to him, he's excited and happy to be talking about the art that he's painting and what he's doing. So for me, it's a thrill to have his retrospective at our gallery this year (again, December 6, 2024).To see all that work together is going to be so compelling, I have no doubt. Not only will it be the fine art, but we're doing something in our new Maynard Dixon and Native American Art Museum, which will be a show of illustrations juxtaposed against Maynard Dixon's commercial art. So we just talk about it, right? We just talk about his life and how he got into art in the first place. I really wanted to focus on the paintings in his book and the retrospective, and I think we got it. I think it's a great podcast, and it will be one of those that's noted, when people are doing research is an important one because you can see his life laid out just as you'll see it in his retrospective coming up, Dennis Ziemienski.

I had Allyson Scheumaker on today, and we talked about the A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art, of which she is the Executive Director. It's a very interesting museum  with some amazing illustrators that Mitchell had traded with.  So it's a unique kind of podcast, understanding how a smaller museum can not only survive, but thrive.They have illustration shows, they have shows related to the photographs that Mitchell took, and of course, A.R. Mitchell was a very interesting guy. He did over 150 covers for magazines between 1927 and 1942. He's born in like 1889 and dies in 1977 so he lived a long, interesting life. All of this is in Trinidad, Colorado... A place that you may have never heard about. I've never been, but I plan to go. I've had conversations with artists and clients alike and they've all been impressed with the art that is in this museum. So, I hope you enjoy episode 316 of the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast featuring the Executive Director of the A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art, Allyson Scheumaker.

I had Jon Flaming on today. I'm a big fan of his work, I love it. I think he's so unusual and has a very personal, unique take on Western art. It comes from a place that is deeply ingrained in him because he is a true Westerner. His family owned ranch in Kansas. His grandfather's father was from that area, but Jon's been in Texas since he was five years old. Clearly, he's a Texan through and through. His art is a modern synthesis of what the West can be through the eyes of somebody who sees things differently. He had a design firm of his own, which helped him understand the concepts that he wanted to bring to fine art, which he's done beautifully. One of the things I loved about this podcast, which is a two parter, is that he doesn't pull any punches of what it takes to do it and how you can succeed if you are committed. He speaks on the types of elements that you have to have to succeed and the kinds of people that he would like to work with.Jon is one of these rare individuals who can not only make his work, but also sell and market it himself and he does it very well. So I had a great time talking to Jon. I think he's a terrific individual and his art just as outstanding and fun. So this is Jon Flaming on the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast, part two.

I had Jon Fleming on today. I'm a big fan of his work, I love it. I think he's so unusual and has a very personal,  unique take on Western art. It comes from a place that is deeply ingrained in him because he is a true Westerner. His family owned ranch in Kansas. His grandfather's father was from that area, but John's been in Texas since he was five years old. Clearly, he's a Texan through and through. His art is a modern synthesis of what the West can be through the eyes of somebody who sees things differently. He had a design firm of his own, which helped him understand the concepts that he wanted to bring to fine art, which he's done beautifully. One of the things I loved about this podcast, which is a two parter, is that he doesn't pull any punches of what it takes to do it and how you can succeed if you are committed. He speaks on the types of elements that you have to have to succeed and the kinds of people that he would like to work with.Jon is one of these rare individuals who can not only make his work, but also sell and market it himself and he does it very well. So I had a great time talking to Jon. I think he's a terrific individual and his art just as outstanding and fun. So this is Jon Flaming on the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast, part one.

This podcast is a recording of a lecture that renowned jewelry artist Sam Patania gave at the Mountain Oyster Club in Tucson, AZ.Lecturing on his family of silversmiths to a crowd of Western jewelry collectors, Sam provides background on the techniques, tools, and wisdom passed down from his grandfather (Frank Patania, Sr.) to his father (Frank Patania, Jr.) and then to him.I was honored to have introduced him, and I hope you enjoy the story behind this legendary family tree of silversmiths. This is Sam Patania on Art Dealer Diaries episode 313.(This lecture was given to promote the release of the book "Legendary Patania Jewelry: In the Tradition of the Southwest, by Kim Messier and Pat Messier" available here: www.medicinemangallery.com/legendary-patania-jewelry)

I had Amery Bohling on my podcast today and I really enjoyed this one. You get the sense of who she is both as an artist and as a normal human being. She's such a bubbly, fun person and at the same time very a serious artist. Amery is most well-known for her Grand Canyon paintings and I've been very familiar with her work for over a decade. She's had her own studio/gallery in Scottsdale, at the heart of Main Street and now she's being represented by a couple of new galleries, Parsons Gallery in Taos and my gallery, Medicine Man Gallery in Tucson.It was lovely  to get to talk to her about art, but also to get to know her as a person. She speaks on her background, her artistic process, what motivates her, and how she got to where she is today. So, again I really enjoyed this interview and it was very interesting to learn about Amery. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. She's a lovely person, and an incredible painter. This is Amery Bohling on Art Dealer Diaries Podcast episode 312.

I had artist Jerry Jordan on the podcast today. No surprise, it was a really great talk (My god, this guy is so deep). I've always been a fan of his paintings. The way he moves paint, the way that he looks at his subject matters, all of it. After talking with him for almost two hours I could understand where all this beauty comes from and it's from a deeper place. He just has this very personal, organic approach to painting.Jerry's story is an interesting one. It takes a bunch of twists and turns... From not being able to make it as a painter, to making it in the country music world, being comedian of the year. So many different paths that you wouldn't even think about. This struggle to get where he is today and that journey as a whole is just incredible. Jerry doesn't hold back anything in this interview and I love podcasts like that. The real and they have the capacity to be deeply profound. You can feel it, right? Like I said, It's a really wonderful podcast and it's going to be a two parter. This is part two of Jerry Jordan on Art Dealer Diaries episode 311.

I had artist Jerry Jordan on the podcast today. No surprise, it was a really great talk (My god, this guy is so deep). I've always been a fan of his paintings. The way he moves paint, the way that he looks at his subject matters, all of it. After talking with him for almost two hours I could understand where all this beauty comes from and it's from a deeper place. He just has this very personal, organic approach to painting.Jerry's story is an interesting one. It takes a bunch of twists and turns... From not being able to make it as a painter, to making it in the country music world, being comedian of the year. So many different paths that you wouldn't even think about. This struggle to get where he is today and that journey as a whole is just incredible. Jerry doesn't hold back anything in this interview and I love podcasts like that. The real and they have the capacity to be deeply profound. You can feel it, right? Like I said, It's a really wonderful podcast and it's going to be a two parter. This is part one of Jerry Jordan on Art Dealer Diaries episode 310.

I thought I would do something a little different with today's podcast - It's a lecture that I did for the Nevada Museum of Art. They recently had a large Maynard Dixon exhibit and there's a great book that goes with it on Dixon's Nevada pieces. So this is an hour long lecture on just Maynard Dixon and the West. You know, the whole story. Basically from when he was born to when he dies. It starts in the Gilded Age and goes all the way through to the Nuclear Age.You might find this episode more interesting to watch it on YouTube vs. listening to it, as I have all the images that I actually talk about in a powerpoint that I used for the presentation.So, I hope you enjoy this episode 309 of the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast and the lecture that I gave on Maynard Dixon's American West.

So for anyone who's never gone to Santa Fe Indian Market, I'll just give you the lowdown on what happens on the Friday beforehand. You have this event around noon-ish where they announce all of the winners for that year. Now, it's mainly for the artists and the press, but we were fortunate enough to have sponsored the grand prize, which is the Best of Show award and as a result we got to attend the ceremony. I asked SWAIA if we could film the event and release it as an episode of my podcast, got the all-clear, and now this episode is the recording of that incredible event.I mean, it's just like you're in the room. I would recommend watching this on YouTube so you can actually see their faces and the emotion in the room. The speeches which often have segments in the artists' Native languages are so compelling. I think it's so important to see what this world of Santa Fe indian Market means to the artists. Some of these people have worked for 50 years to get where they are such as the winner of the weaving category Isabel Gonzalez. It's such an amazing thing to see. The same goes for artist Dan Vallo, who won the Best of Show award. To see and hear the emotion, time, effort and energy it takes to do these  pieces... it was remarkable.Again, this podcast is the entire ceremony with all of the different Best of Classification awards. So I hope you take the time to listen (even better - watch on the YouTube) because you'll really get an insight into what it was like for those artists at that moment in time, and often winning these awards is genuinely life changing.The 2024 Santa Fe Indian Market Best of Show Award Ceremony was an incredible experience and I'm so glad to have sponsored the award for the last two years. We look forward to platforming and celebrating the incredible Native American artists for years to come.

I've known Michael Higgins for 35+ years and he was actually one of the first dealers that I met in Tucson when I moved here. You see, Michael has been actively buying and selling Native American arts since 1972. Michael got out of the military after serving in Vietnam, and went directly into the buying and selling of Native American art. His area of expertise ranges from the contemporary to historic Native American art, especially beadwork.It was wonderful to get to actually spend some time talking to Michael. We live in the same town, but life gets in the way. We get busy. We don't get to see each other as much as we'd like to. Regardless, he's a unique individual with a unique approach to Native American material. He's seen a lot, and this podcast is all about his backstory and about the core components of this business.So it was interesting to hear his stories and about the things that he's done and how he sees his role in the arts. I had a great time. This is Michael Higgins on Art Dealer Diaries Podcast episode 307.

I had Ron Munn on today. Ron's been in the business for 60+ years. He started his first gallery in 1968 and ran a very successful auction for decades. I've known him for over 30 years and he's always been one of the individuals I wanted to have on the podcast, because he has the longevity. He's known all of the players and he's seen the art and the art business over the past 60 years which it gives him a very unique perspective that other people don't have.He's still active too. He'll be showing in Albuquerque in early August 2024 at the 25th Annual Great Southwestern Antique Show. In fact, it's really fun to hear about the early days of this business because it's so much different than it once was.I was on the tail end of it. I started 35 years ago and the unfortunate truth is that most of the big time dealers from back then have all passed on. Luckily for us, Ron is able to pass their wisdom and stories on just like this podcast will pass Ron's and even my own stories on to the next generation.So this is a podcast that offers a unique perspective into the world of Native arts. Native American artwork as seen through the eyes of an early dealer and auctioneer. Ron Munn on episode 306 of the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast.

I had Terry DeWald on today. I've known Terry for over 30 years. He's a magnificent person and he's a dealer, but he's also an expert in Native American basketry and textiles, specifically Navajo. He's spent his entire life working with the Tohono O'Odham basket makers and knows them all very intimately and are a big part of  his life.I've been trying to get him to come for a long time because he has so much to say. He knows so many people. He did so many interesting things, from being a professional baseball player to a teacher to again finding his way into the Native American art field. He's what we refer to as an Indian art trader. That's what all these guys were kind of referred to as in the early 70s, late 60s up until today.  I've been trying to interview these individuals while they're here. Unfortunately we've lost a few, and we're going to lose a lot more.It's a subculture that's very unique in the whole of Americana. A group of non-Native individuals who dedicated their lives to Native American arts. Most of them work directly with different individuals, contemporary native artists, but also having this great love for historical material and really understanding it like very few can.So it was a real gem of a podcast.  I think you'll really enjoy this one with Native American art expert Terry DeWald.

Stephen Datz gave a wonderful lecture for the Western Art Patrons at the Tucson Museum of Art and, you know, it's one thing to actually see paintings up-close and in person, and it's another to actually hear the artist talk about his journey and where those paintings fit in to the greater story. This was the first time Stephen has given a lecture like this and he did a fantastic job.So we wanted to share this lecture with you and I think it's much more enjoyable if you watch it on YouTube vs. listening to it, but at the same time it's a great to hear an orator like Stephen talk for over half an hour. I really enjoyed watching and hearing what he had to say and I'm sure you will too. 

I had photographer Scott Baxter on today and I enjoyed this interview a lot. I was listening to this man's life unfold in front of me and it came out so fluid and easily digestible. He's a loquacious individual but he's also just really interesting. You see, Scott gets a degree in history and just goes: "I'm not going to be a teacher, I'm going to be a photographer - and furthermore, I'm not going to be just a commercial photographer... I'm going to be a fine artist." And the projects that he's worked on are incredible. 100 Years, 100 Ranchers was such a pivotal exhibit. I remember seeing it at the Tucson Museum of Art and the individuals, the ranchers that he had interviewed and taken photos of were there.It was so captivating then and now to be ten or so years later, getting to interview him about that project was really rewarding for me. Sometimes in this podcast world that I inhabit, there are certain connections that happen. I interviewed Ed Mell and I interviewed Jay Dusard, both individuals affected Scott's life a great deal.This podcast came about because he wrote me this beautiful letter and said: "I just want to thank you. I really enjoyed these podcasts, and they meant a lot to me." I read that and thought, I've always wanted to interview this guy, and I love the project he did... Let's see what happens. So it was a very special podcast.You should  definitely know who Scott Baxter is, and if you don't this is the perfect entry point. He's a terrific photographer. We included images in video version, but to get the entire scope of his work you can go to his website.I'm a fan. I really am. The podcast was so compelling that we actually went a little long, which I love, because that means there's a two parter here. So this is part two of the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast with photographer Scott Baxter.*****If you're interested in seeing Scott's work including pieces he spoke about in this podcast, visit his website: www.scottbaxterphotographer.com

I had photographer Scott Baxter on today and I enjoyed this interview a lot. I was listening to this man's life unfold in front of me and it came out so fluid and easily digestible. He's a loquacious individual but he's also just really interesting. You see, Scott gets a degree in history and just goes: "I'm not going to be a teacher, I'm going to be a photographer - and furthermore, I'm not going to be just a commercial photographer... I'm going to be a fine artist." And the projects that he's worked on are incredible. 100 Years, 100 Ranchers was such a pivotal exhibit. I remember seeing it at the Tucson Museum of Art and the individuals, the ranchers that he had interviewed and taken photos of were there.It was so captivating then and now to be ten or so years later, getting to interview him about that project was really rewarding for me. Sometimes in this podcast world that I inhabit, there are certain connections that happen. I interviewed Ed Mell and I interviewed Jay Dusard,  both individuals affected Scott's life a great deal.This podcast came about because he wrote me this beautiful letter and said: "I just want to thank you. I really enjoyed these podcasts, and they meant a lot to me." I read that and thought, I've always wanted to interview this guy, and I love the project he did... Let's see what happens. So it was a very special podcast.You should  definitely know who Scott Baxter is, and if you don't this is the perfect entry point. He's a terrific photographer. We included images in video version, but to get the entire scope of his work you can go to his website.I'm a fan. I really am. The podcast was so compelling that we actually went a little long, which I love, because that means there's a two parter here. So this is part one of the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast with photographer Scott Baxter.

I had Mary Platt on today. It was a really fun talk because we were at the Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University in Orange, CA and she did a walk and talk of the Disney material, and that's her expertise. In fact, she's done a book on that specific area. So this is a great podcast to watch on YouTube because you can see the paintings and what we're talking about.We  just had a wonderful conversation in the museum, talking about the main animation related exhibit they have at the moment which is on Disney artist and animation pioneer: Mary Blair.So very interesting, enlightening talk with Mary Platt, Director of the Hilbert Museum of California Art.

I had Tim Peterson on today, and it was really a wonderful podcast. He's an individual I've wanted to have on for very long time. I've had many conversations with him over the years and he's been on the podcast recently, speaking on exhibits at the Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West, but this time I wanted HIS story.This is an individual who is a very serious collector. He's done around ten or so major exhibits on the different items he collects and they're always phenomenal exhibits. There's a multitude of them, Native American objects of art and Western paintings. The breadth is shocking and wonderful. Every time I go to the Western Spirit, I make sure to go see the permanent exhibit he curated: Courage and Crossroads.In this case, on this podcast, I learned about a painting that I've talked about before, which is a Herman Wendelborg Hansen, but I didn't realize it was the first really significant piece that he had ever collected.So it's a very unique podcast. You hear how somebody goes all in on collecting and giving back, because Tim's not just collecting for himself, it's just the opposite. He collects to build a story and he's giving it to the world to take it as is.We owe a debt of gratitude to people like Tim Peterson and I'm grateful he took the time to be a part of the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast episode 300.

Had a nice talk with artist Bob Coronato today, and it went on for a long time. We went over two hours so it's a two parter for sure. Bob's lived an interesting, unique life. He's been in Wyoming for most of his life at this point, but he actually grew up in New Jersey. In part two, we hear the story of Bob and a very special portrait of Russell Means. Now, for those who don't know who Russell Means is, he was a Lakota activist, writer, and actor, and he was highly involved in the AIM protest at Wounded Knee in 1970. Well, Bob had the privilege of painting this individual's likeness and the story behind this painting is quite compelling (spoiler alert - it winds up in the Smithsonian).We handle his etchings on occasion when I get them and he's just a super nice guy. So I hope you enjoy. Art Dealer Diaries Podcast epi 299 with Bob Coronato. This is part two.