In this episode, sculptor Tom Waugh talks about how he got the idea for sculpting in stone everyday objects such as crumpled cardboard boxes, takeaway coffee lids, jerry cans and wheelie bins, how these serve as both amusing but also carry an environmental message, the techniques he uses to create the hyperreal effect, how some... Continue Reading →

Dola Posh is a young prize-winning photographer from Nigeria, now resident in England. In this episode, she talks about the difficulties adapting to life in the UK, how lockdown inspired her to document her pregnancy and ensuing motherhood through photography, how she experienced postpartum depression, how winning the Leica Women Foto Project Award in 2024... Continue Reading →

Jim Murray is an actor well known for Masters of the Air, Primeval and playing Prince Andrew in The Crown. In this episode, he talks about how his love for art and action painting was ignited as a way to process his grief following the death of his young daughter 16 years ago, how his... Continue Reading →

In this episode, Lucinda talks about her family’s artistic inclinations, how she became an elite skier, how she used her business studies to aid her career as an artist, how she uses projection mapping, animation and AI in her creative process, the influence of George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984 on her works’ themes and why... Continue Reading →

Shocked by the complete omission of all women artists from the main referential book on art history, Janson’s History of Art, American painter Coral Woodbury decided to right this wrong. In this episode, she talks about ripping out the book’s pages and painting portraits in black ink of women artists upon them, how she uses... Continue Reading →

John Monks has been described as one of Britain’s finest figurative painters whose works can be found in many prestigious collections such as the Metropolitan in New York and the V and A in London. In this episode, he talks about the history behind his two studios, why he’s fascinated with dilapidated interior rooms, how... Continue Reading →

89 year-old Basil King has known and worked with some of the greatest names in American art. In this episode, he talks about his life in the east end of London before his family emigrated to the US when he was 11, enrolling at the legendary Black Mountain College as a teenager, meeting Elaine and... Continue Reading →

British artist Juliette Losq is an internationally established artist whose awards include the Jerwood Drawing Prize, the John Moores Prize and the John Ruskin Prize. In this episode, she talks about her grandfather’s unusual war experience, how she came late to practising art, how an etching course determined her painting style, how she paints large-scale... Continue Reading →

Miriam Escofet’s works have evolved over the years from still life, fantasy, architecture and portraiture. In this episode, she explains the trauma behind her family’s move from Spain to England when she was 12, the difficulties she experienced at art school, her early obsession with architecture and celestial charts, her love of process and making,... Continue Reading →

Molly Hatch is an American fine art ceramicist who has become internationally famous for her multi-plate art installations. In this episode, she speaks about how she studied drawing, painting and printmaking but fell in love with the process of working with clay. She talks about how she successfully built up her own designer brand on... Continue Reading →

Saad Qureshi’s artworks range from painting, works on paper to sculpture. He is a multi prize-winner and has exhibited the world over. In this episode, he talks about memories of his childhood in Pakistan and the experience of moving to Bradford where he was later to witness riots. He speaks about how memory is a... Continue Reading →

In this episode, Catarina Diaz talks about how memories of a childhood in the Portuguese colony of Angola are central to her collages, how a period of depression turned her from a successful career in education to becoming a full time artist, how her art emphasises the beauty of life and seeks to empower viewers... Continue Reading →

In this episode, Matt Jacob talks about his artistic mission to capture different peoples and cultures across the world, how an illness in his youth focused his mind on life’s fragility, his journey towards becoming a professional photographer, some of the stories behind his series taken in often remote parts of the world, the technical... Continue Reading →

In this episode, Ben Edge talks about his paintings that document the extraordinary ancient customs and rituals that abound in Britain, how he was inspired by eccentric family members, how a trip to the Tower of London first fired his passion for folklore, some of the interesting characters he has come across, what old folk... Continue Reading →

In this episode, Laura talks about her childhood in a fairground family in Wales, the early influence of magical, other-worldly artists, how she was nearly thrown out of art school, representing Wales at the 2005 Venice Biennale, why her works can be bitter-sweet and wrapped in absurdist humour, and about some of the pieces in... Continue Reading →

In this episode, Lottie talks about how she became interested in painting her signature period interiors and why people are absent from them, how she makes references to modern British mainly female artists, the importance of making work that’s visually appealing that bursts with symbolism and deeper meaning for those who want it, the influence... Continue Reading →

Ros Burgin combines her love of sculpture with a compulsion to express her feelings about environmental causes. In this episode, she talks about how a previous career on sailing ships first gave her a direct experience of pollution and climate change, how sculpture for her is object and material based, how water emerged as a... Continue Reading →

In this episode, British abstract artist and filmmaker Mark James talks about his tortuous route to securing a place at Goldsmith’s art college, how he witnessed the Freeze exhibition mounted by the so-called Young British Artists, YBAs, and how he made a subsequent film about it, the intrigue behind his first film about the American... Continue Reading →

London-based Portuguese artist Nelson Ferreira has studied different painting and drawing styles throughout the world including Russian and Greek iconography, Indian miniatures and old Master Flemish techniques. His own art reflects many of these influences. He is also a teacher of art and in this episode is highly critical of current art school teachers accusing... Continue Reading →

In this episode, much sought-after British photographer David Stewart talks about how he started taking pictures on Morecambe beach, how he learned the tricks of the trade as an assistant in London, how he developed an off-beat humorous style, how his 2015 Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize-winning photograph was about disconnection in the modern world and... Continue Reading →

Rosalind Robinson is an Academician at the Royal West of England Academy and a painter of portraits notable for their striking features and expressions, their symbolism, timelessness and art-historical references. In this episode, she talks about her early career as a scenic artist and muralist, why she drifted towards portraits featuring wild hair and headdresses,... Continue Reading →

Kelvin Okafor is a renowned hyperrealist pencil artist whose portraits of both celebrities and ordinary people have appeared in sell-out solo shows and TV art programmes. Here, he talks about his upbringing on a north London council estate, the turning points in his career, his process that takes many hours of concentration working both from... Continue Reading →

In this episode Laura talks about the large-scale sculptures she makes from willow with their muscular, energetic and often immersive forms. She describes how she began making as a child, how her artworks reflect the natural and historical environment of their settings, how one work inspired a classical music composition, and about her important forthcoming... Continue Reading →

In this episode, Sharon talks about her Caribbean heritage, her early connection to race equality campaigners and inspirations Eric and Jessica Huntley, how her wide education has informed her practice, how her collages celebrate Black women and seek to redress the balance of under- representation in mainstream media and art history, how she has questioned... Continue Reading →

In this episode, Gary Nicholls talks about steampunks, how he became one and the influence they have on his work, how he creates the images for his Imaginarium digital prints and book trilogy, the influence of Caravaggio, Dali and other Old Master painters on his images, the darker side of life for his themes, the... Continue Reading →

In this episode, British documentary photographer Polly Braden talks about some of her long-term projects. They include photographing a worker in a shoe factory in China, a group of people with autism and learning difficulties, single mothers facing challenges in an age of austerity, a flying eye hospital in Africa, the City of London both... Continue Reading →

In this episode, Brussels-based Polish sculptor Tatiana Wolska talks about the sculptures she makes from found or recycled materials, particularly wood. She describes herself as a “junk artist” who is commenting on the wastefulness of western society and breathing new life into redundant waste products. She talks about how her fabricated shelters are a plea... Continue Reading →

In this episode, the remarkable Californian husband and wife team talk about assemblage art in which they make sculptures out of found and discarded objects. Spencer talks about how decades in the music business led him into this art form, Esther describes how her training as a psychotherapist has influenced some of her work. They... Continue Reading →

In this episode, the London-based artist talks about living in Japan and its connection with her home country of New Zealand, why she chose to paint portraits and the responsibility this entails, the experience of coming out as a lesbian in her late twenties, how her paintings became largely autobiographical through painting others from the... Continue Reading →

In this episode, London-based Nigerian photographer Elizabeth Okoh talks about how she first began photographing in her childhood, why she left Nigeria to attend university in the UK, her initial difficulties in culturally acclimatising, how lots of her series and her commercial work focus on female empowerment, and how her current exhibition Women on the... Continue Reading →

In this episode, Attua talks about winning the Design Museum’s 2024 Ralph Saltzman Prize for design, how her work intersects design, craft and art, why she left Spain for the UK, the importance of sustainability in her process, her experiments in fusing borosilicate glass with clay to create sparkling ceramics, how a shelf-unit she made... Continue Reading →

In this episode, Caroline Burraway talks about why and how she has given voice to those disenfranchised and displaced on the margins of society, how she has focused recently on refugees like Tarik and Eden whom she has met in refugee camps and of whom she has made large-scale prize-winning drawings, about her Ungrievable Lives... Continue Reading →

In this episode, Romany talks about his upbringing during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, how he gave up practising as a lawyer to become an artist, how the death of a friend inspired his AIDS Memorial sculpture in Brighton, why he started painting, the influence of Francis Bacon, designing theatre sets and about his new... Continue Reading →

In this episode, Jersey-based fine art photographer Connor Daly talks about how photography became his passion, his struggles at art school, the adventurous spirit he inherited from his mother, how his photographs responded to a serious illness, how a car park provided a career turning point, how his influences owe more to painters than photographers,... Continue Reading →

In this episode, Kate talks about her passion for colour and what colour provides, how she discovered the Araash fresco practice during a trip to India as a teenager and how she subsequently went back to learn the process, the art objects she makes using it, her obsession with walls, the influence of Rothko’s use... Continue Reading →

In this episode, British sculptor Rebecca Stevenson talks about her love of wax as a material, how studying anatomical dissection influenced her work, how she has updated Baroque Vanitas paintings for the 21st century, how feminism underpins her oeuvre and how a recent artist residency at the Victoria and Albert Museum has altered the perspective... Continue Reading →

In this episode, James Mortimer talks about the reasons behind his works that depict strange, primeval and dramatic landscapes whose inhabitants have cast aside moral constraints and where humans and animals share equal status. James talks about how a dull, industrial town fed his imagination from early childhood, his travels in eastern Europe including Ukraine,... Continue Reading →

One of Britain’s leading stone sculptors, Paul Vanstone talks about his fascination with stone and how he loves the openness and risk-taking involved in carving it, the feeling of vibrancy that it gives him in particular marble for its variety of colours and texture, how he honed his carving skills in Italy and India, the... Continue Reading →

In this episode, Kristian Evju talks about his background in a remote part of Norway, the influence of psychology on his art, his time at Chelsea College of Art in London, how historical archive photos and research form the basis of many of his series including those of old technology and prisoner mugshots, and how... Continue Reading →

In this episode, HSWD talks about her aristocratic heritage, her philandering gambling father with whom she lived in Soho in the 1970s, how she encountered artists such as Francis Bacon and various other famous and infamous characters, how she decries the changing character of the area, how she discovered art and the inspirations for her... Continue Reading →

In this episode, Joanne talks about how being brought up as a working class girl in the rural north of England has given her a unique perspective for delving beneath the surface of the rural idyll to reveal hidden histories and issues of class, power, identity and poverty. She talks about her own experience of... Continue Reading →

In this episode, Ant talks about not being a stereotypical street artist, his experience of living in South Africa during the end of apartheid, studying graphic design and animation there, how he has fostered community relations with his street art since returning to the UK, conducting workshops as part of his art residency at St... Continue Reading →

In this episode, the Austrian-born UK-based potter talks about her family background in ceramics, the influence of her compatriot Lucie Rie on her works, the importance of shape, colour and integrity of her pieces, how she makes her own pastels and glazes, how a recent trip to Japan inspired many ideas, and her process of... Continue Reading →

In this episode, photographer Oli Kellett talks about how he discovered Paradise early in his career, how the idea emerged for his award-winning series Cross Road Blues, the concept behind it and how he photographed it, how ice-cream and eastern philosophy combined to inspire his Life Drawing Series, and how his current obsession is something... Continue Reading →

In this episode, Michael Pemberton talks about his career as an abstract painter in which he has investigated the relationship between our inner and outer selves, how a certain restlessness and thirst for new experiences has seen him live in different parts of the world, how concern for the environment has continued to inspire his... Continue Reading →

In this episode, Andrew Gow talks about his career’s early birthing pains, his technique for painting portraits that he regards as art’s greatest challenge and which has brought him widespread acclaim, and how he has recently added narrative paintings to his oeuvre that draw from his personal concerns about the state of the world and... Continue Reading →

In this episode, acclaimed painter Nick Archer talks about how his artistic vision changed while at the Royal Academy Schools in London, how he turned to landscapes after leaving London for the countryside, how his works explore the relationship between figures and the landscape, the influence of film directors on his paintings, how his process... Continue Reading →

In this episode, the internationally renowned Indian artist Suhasini Kejriwal talks about her work The Garden of Un-earthly Delights exhibited at Frieze Sculpture in London, why she studied art abroad, how surrealism became an early influence, how she builds imaginary scenes from real elements, how lockdown affected her view of nature, how she turned frenetic... Continue Reading →