The Creative Kind

This week I’m joined by two returning guests, Wendy Marinich and Lucy Hersey, who answered questions that have come in from listeners over the past year. Wendy is a West Australian painter who paints with a mid-century modern twist, drawing on nostalgia and experimenting with memory and colour. Lucy is a painter from Loch in regional Victoria who came to art from scientific research and now lives on a cattle farm, where she makes earth paintings by grinding local soil, rocks and clay into her own paint.I enjoyed their conversation about how to find your people when you haven’t come through art school, whether imposter syndrome ever really goes away, and what to look for in a mentor. We also get into the pressure to make your work make sense as a neat story, how much of the messy, unfinished side of your practice to share, and how they’re thinking about AI and protecting their work online. We finish with pricing mistakes, moments of considering stepping back from being an artist, guilt and rest, and whether it’s possible to be ambitious without constantly feeling dissatisfied. I loved hearing where Wendy and Lucy agreed, the different ways they approached each question, and how openly they shared the less polished parts of their practices.If you have a question for the podcast, you can ask it here (or send me an email or DM).You can find Wendy Marinich here on Instagram and here on her websiteYou can find Lucy Hersey here on Instagram and here on her websitePrevious episodes:Wendy Marinich: Building a Body of Work With Wendy MarinichLucy Hersey: Art Without a Commercial Outcome with Lucy Hersey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I’m joined by two returning guests, Nick Smith and Laura Brandon, who answered questions that have come in from listeners over the past year. Nick is the founder and director of N. Smith Gallery in Sydney, representing artists across Australia and exhibiting internationally through museums, art fairs and major projects. Laura is a Sydney based art consultant and artist mentor with over 20 years’ experience across art archives and collections, public art education and arts writing.I enjoyed their conversation about the questions emerging artists should be asking themselves, how much social media matters for representation, and what to do when your work is being copied. There were also questions about prizes, how much work to show a gallery, when to raise your prices and what promotion to expect from your gallery. We finish with what makes an artist hard to work with, pay-to-enter competitions, and the etiquette of approaching a gallery or asking an arts professional for advice.I loved hearing where Nick and Laura agreed, how they built on each other’s answers, and the different perspectives they brought to this conversation.If you have a question for the podcast, you can ask it here (or send me an email or DM)You can find Nick Smith here on Instagram and here at N. Smith Gallery Instagram & WebsiteYou can find Laura Brandon here on Instagram and here on her websitePrevious episodes:Nick Smith: What Does it Mean to Represent an Artist - With Nick SmithLaura Brandon: Opportunities Beyond the Gallery Wall with Laura Brandon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Creative Kind I’m joined by curator, writer and arts mentor Amber Creswell Bell. During the year I have been collecting a whole lot of questions from listeners, so in this Q&A epsiode, we cover a wide range of things: from galleries and art prizes to pricing your work and building a career independently.Some of the questions came in around knowing when inspiration becomes too close to copying, developing your own visual language, what to do with a studio full of unsold work, and how to manage relationships with galleries. Amber has a very practical way of looking at these things, and there are lots of good reminders here about doing your research, asking questions and being clear about what you actually want.You can find my previous episode with Amber here: What Matters (and What Doesn’t) for Artists in 2026 with Amber Creswell BellFind Amber Creswell Bell here on instagram and here on her websiteFind The National Emerging Art Prize here on instagram and here on the websiteFind The Emerging Art Fair here on instagram and here on the websiteRecommendation:Genevieve Carroll at King Street Gallery, Sydney website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I'm talking with Joshua Brew, an Australian artist working on Whadjuk Noongar Boodja country in Perth. Joshua explores contemporary masculinity in his graphite drawings. His practice looks at identity & vulnerability, often turning the focus inward and using his own body as his subject, examining what it means to see and be seen.Joshua and I talk about his experience of being an emerging artist while balancing a full-time teaching job, a relationship, a mortgage and everything else that comes with life after art school. We talk about how he finds time to make work, using deadlines and awards to create structure, and making his practice more manageable by working at a smaller scale.Joshua discusses his ongoing exploration of masculinity and his interest in making different representations of male bodies visible. We also talk about life drawing, community, experimentation and giving yourself permission to play. Joshua shares some of the artists, books, shows and other things that have influenced or interested him, and talks about the challenge of believing that what you have to say is worth saying while also seeing the opportunities that come with being at an emerging stage of an art practice.You can find Joshua here on instagram and here on his websiteMentioned in this episode:Book- How to Art by Kate BryantTV Shows: The Great Pottery Throw Down & AdultsAndrew Sleeman on The Creative Kind Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I'm joined by two returning guests, Sarah Birtles and Rachael Parsons, who answered questions that have come in from listeners over the past year. Sarah is an art dealer and director of Sarah Birtles Gallery, who recently opened a new space in Springwood in the Blue Mountains. Rachael is the director of the New England Regional Art Museum (NERAM), marking 10 years in the role this year.We get into a lot of ground: what question emerging artists should actually be asking themselves, whether you need formal art training to be taken seriously, what happens when work doesn't sell at a gallery, and the sometimes-blurry line between decorative and fine art. We also talk about how much artists should share of their personal lives online, how to navigate working across different subjects or genres without losing collectors, and a discussion on AI, where it's a useful tool and where it isn't. We finish with practical advice on how to approach a gallerist or curator for feedback.This season is going to be made up of interviews plus a few Question and Answer episodes from different artists and arts professionals, and like Sarah and Rachael, they will all bring really different vantage points.I loved hearing both Rachael and Sarah’s answers today, what they agreed on, how they built on what each other said and their different perspectives from both the commercial and public gallery sectorsIf you have a question for the podcast, you can ask it here (or send me an email or dm)You can find Sarah Birtles here on Instagram and here on her websiteYou can find Rachael Parsons here on Instagram and here at NERAM Previous episodes: Rachael Parsons: Copy That: Rachael Parsons on copying in Art, copyright & AI Sarah Birtles: Art Fairs with Sarah Birtles Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.