The FASO Podcast

Latest Episodes:

199 Donna Montgomery — Be Fearless & Do the Work Oct 07, 2026

Show notes

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https://artists.boldbrush.com/p/the-faso-show
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To kick off season 16, we sat down with Donna Montgomery, a retired teacher and accomplished watercolorist who looked at her own landscapes and felt something was missing. What she found was play: she now treats her studio days like a kid's day at the playground, layering line, color, collage, and more into intuitive abstracts. Donna says letting go of the fear of mistakes—and embracing the messy middle—helped her find greater creative freedom. She encourages artists to make time for regular studio practice, try things without worrying about wasting materials, and learn to recognize when a painting feels finished. She also highlights the value of community for learning the business of art, finding opportunities, and staying connected. Her advice to aspiring artists is to do the work, discover what feels authentic, build a cohesive body of work, and have the courage to put it out into the world. Finally, Donna tells us about her watercolor workshops at Simcoe Woods Community Center.

Donna's FASO site:
https://donnamontgomeryart.com/

Donna's Workshops:
https://donnamontgomeryart.com/events

Donna's Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/donnamontgomeryart/

198 Nicole Troup — How Saying "YES" Can Open Doors Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

Join our next FASO Show Live!
https://artists.boldbrush.com/p/the-faso-show
Learn the magic of marketing with us here at BoldBrush!
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For today's episode, we sat down with Nicole Troup, a Pennsylvania-based portrait artist and instructor who specializes in oil and charcoal commissions, leads workshops both online and in person, and runs her storytelling-driven nonprofit initiative, Portraits for a Cause. Nicole emphasizes the importance of saying yes to opportunities such as exhibitions, workshops, and collaborations, even when they feel outside your comfort zone, because those “yeses” often open unexpected doors for your career. She advises artists to join local and national art organizations, both for community and for the practical benefits of newsletters, exhibition calls, teaching opportunities, and referrals. Nicole stresses branding yourself clearly (for her, branding herself as a portrait artist) so that when someone needs that specific kind of work, your name comes to mind. In terms of style and artistic voice, she recommends looking more at your own work than at others online, building on what feels natural such as your own brushstrokes, colors, and tendencies, instead of constantly comparing yourself. For balance, she suggests setting clear work hours and boundaries so art doesn’t eclipse health and family, and using a separate studio space if possible to reduce distractions and increase focus. Finally, she encourages artists to follow what genuinely excites them because that intrinsic motivation is what sustains a long-term, meaningful art career. Don't forget to check out her website to see her upcoming workshops such as her upcoming online workshop with the Scottsdale Artists’ School, and her art retreat “Sketchbook Adventures in Italy".

Nicole's FASO site:
nicoletroupmasterpiece.com/

Nicole's "Portraits for a Cause":
nicoletroupmasterpiece.com/collections/139905

Nicole's Upcoming Workshop "Sketchbook Adventures in Italy":
hotelleonemarche.com/en/retreats/art-retreat-italy/sketchbook-adventure-in-italy-nicole-troup/

Nicole's Social Media:
instagram.com/nicoletroupmasterpiece/
facebook.com/nicoletroupmasterpiece/

Nicole's YouTube Channel:
youtube.com/@nicoletroupmasterpiece

197 JM Brodrick — Invest in Yourself First Sep 16, 2026

Show notes

Join our next FASO Show Live!
https://artists.boldbrush.com/p/the-faso-show
Learn the magic of marketing with us here at BoldBrush!
boldbrushshow.com

For today's episode we sat down with JM Brodrick, a wildlife painter originally from Detroit, Michigan, who trained early under her Finnish grandmother and now creates large, ethereal acrylic works that often get mistaken for oils. She explains her deep connection to wildlife—especially birds and white animals—and how she merges realism with abstraction, inspired by double-negative film accidents and her dislike of traditional, detailed backgrounds. JM describes her years in Fairbanks, Alaska, where she balanced single motherhood, a full-time career in commercial insurance, and work as a composite artist for law enforcement, all while steadily pursuing her art on evenings and weekends. She talks about the fear and liberation of going full-time in 2005, emphasizing how competitions, self-criticism, and painting faster pushed her to continually “up her game.” As business advice, she recommends watching the market while staying true to your voice, using an 80/20 balance between gallery-friendly work and more experimental competition pieces, and always investing in archival, professional materials. For artists who want to go full-time, her core guidance is to never give up on yourself, build strong drawing and color foundations, learn from “failed” paintings, be disciplined with time, and accept that a job along the way can be part of what ultimately makes you a better, more resilient artist. Finally, JM tells us about her upcoming participation at an exhibition with the American Professional Artists League at the Salmagundi Club and an upcoming group show at Cole Gallery.

JM's FASO website:
jmbrodrick.com/

JM's Instagram:
instagram.com/j.m.brodrick/

196 Marketing for Artists Who Hate Marketing Sep 11, 2026

Show notes

Join our next FASO Show Live!
https://artists.boldbrush.com/p/the-faso-show
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Welcome back to another compilation episode. Today's topic is the one almost every artist either loves to hate or just quietly avoids: marketing. Social media, email lists, galleries versus going direct. We pulled the most practical, most repeatable advice on this from across the show's run. No growth hacks, no algorithm tricks that'll be outdated by the time you hear this; just the stuff that actually holds up. Let's get into it.

Guests in order of appearance:

32 Jason Polins
114 Kyle Stuckey
12 Clint Watson
132 Keith Bond
61 Nanci France-Vaz
14 Jeanne Rosier Smith
33 Diego Glazer
71 Matthew White
125 Mary Aslin
117 Poppy Balser
118 Shuang Li
133 Ginny Butcher
52 Sarah Sedwick
63 Noah Buchanan
64 Oliver Sin
37 Catherine Bobkoski
165 Cindy Baron
32 Jason Polins
129 Brian Bateman
89 Orlando Whitfield
60 Gladys Roldan-De-Moras
94 Karen Blackwood
105 SC Mummert
34 Christopher Remmers

195 Gallery Representation 101 — How to Approach, Apply, and Build Relationships Sep 09, 2026

Show notes

Join our next FASO Show Live!
https://artists.boldbrush.com/p/the-faso-show
Learn the magic of marketing with us here at BoldBrush!
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Welcome back to another compilation episode. Today we're going deep on one relationship that shapes many painting careers, whether you love it or dread it: the one between an artist and a gallery. We pulled the best, most specific moments on this topic from across the show's run, from first impressions to knowing when to walk away. No new guest today, just the collected wisdom of the artists who've actually lived this. Let's get into it.

Guests in order of appearance:

111 Matt Smith
138 Michelle Dunaway
124 Hilarie Couture
184 Jennifer Balkan
176 Ellen Howard
121 Paul Batch
112 Philippe Gandiol
122 Russell Gordon
128 Sarah Yeoman
118 Shuang Li
105 S.C. Mummert
168 Stacey Peterson
164 Sandra Duran Wilson
123 Michael Orwick
144 Christine Code
111 Matt Smith
145 Erik Koeppel
132 Keith Bond
111 Matt Smith
110 Robert Johnson
138 Michelle Dunaway
170 Kim Lordier

194 Rich Nelson — Get Really Good, Then Get It Out There Sep 02, 2026

Show notes

Join our next FASO Show Live!
https://artists.boldbrush.com/p/the-faso-show
Learn the magic of marketing with us here at BoldBrush!
boldbrushshow.com

For today's episode we sat down with Rich Nelson, a signature member of both the Portrait Society of America and Oil Painters of America, with a career that grew out of an unlikely start playing in a rock band before formal illustration training pulled him toward fine art. In this episode, he breaks down Sargent's blunt advice that you can't shortcut your way into portraiture: you have to become a real, all-around artist first, mastering anatomy, landscape, and still life before you ever specialize. He'll also make you rethink what goes in your portfolio, with a simple rule: never show work you don't want to get hired to do more of, because clients will always call back asking for exactly what they saw. And he shares the deceptively simple habit that's opened more doors for him than almost anything else: reaching out to other artists and asking real questions, and maybe even visiting their studio. If you're anywhere near Tryon, North Carolina, don't miss Rich's stacked 42-piece solo show at the Tryon Fine Arts Center — up through October 17th and almost entirely painted from life. And this October, his Plein Air Painters of the East crew rolls into Charleston for a week that culminates in a can't-miss group show at the Meyer Vogel Gallery.

Rich's FASO site:

richardchristiannelson.com/

Rich's Social Media:

instagram.com/richardchristiannelson/

facebook.com/RichardChristianNelson/

Rich's YouTube Channel:

youtube.com/@richnelsonpainter

Rich's Band:

richnelsonband.com/

193 So You Wanna Be a Full-Time Artist — Our Best Advice Aug 26, 2026

Show notes

Join our next FASO Show Live!
https://artists.boldbrush.com/p/the-faso-show
Learn the magic of marketing with us here at BoldBrush!
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Welcome to a special edition of The FASO Show. If you've listened for a while, you already know the drill: near the end of almost every conversation, we ask our guest some version of the same question. What advice would you give to someone who wants to make this a full time life? Over a hundred episodes, we've collected a hundred different answers. So today, we're doing something different. No new guest, no new interview. Just the best of that advice, all in one place, back to back. Consider this your one-stop pep talk from a room full of working painters. Let's get into it!

Episodes mentioned (in order of appearance):

192 Kate Van Doren — When One Voice Heals, It Echoes Aug 19, 2026

Show notes

Join our next FASO Show Live!
https://artists.boldbrush.com/p/the-faso-show
Learn the magic of marketing with us here at BoldBrush!
boldbrushshow.com

For today's episode, we sat down with Kate Van Doren, a multidisciplinary artist and registered art therapist of over 25 years, for a conversation packed with hard-won advice for artists building a sustainable creative life. Kate shares how she structures her studio practice (ritual, routine, and blocking out five hours a day, whether or not inspiration shows up), why she treats marketing and social media as a scheduled, non-negotiable task rather than something to dread, and why finding a trusted mentor matters as much as any technical skill. Kate also opens up about her Healing Words Project, an initiative that began in 2020 during protests against femicide in Mexico and has since grown into a global collaboration with over 2,000 women and gender-expansive participants, each choosing their own words, images, and stories to reclaim their narrative. She also explains how self-care, energy, and creative output are directly connected. It's part studio-practice playbook, part meditation on why showing up, even imperfectly, is the whole game. Finally, Kate tells us about her upcoming show at the James Baird Gallery in Pouch Cove, as well as a TED Talk on healing she has coming up in January.

Kate's FASO sites:

katevandoren.com/

healingwordsproject.com/

Healing Words Virtual Exhibit:

https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=KqjMZCxyYzc

Kate's Substack:

https://katevandoren.substack.com/

Kate's Social Media:

instagram.com/katevandoren_art/

facebook.com/Katevandorenart/

instagram.com/healingwordsproject/

Kate's Youtube:

youtube.com/@katevandorenArt

191 The Art of Teaching Art — The Studio that Pays for Itself Aug 12, 2026

Show notes

Join our next FASO Show Live!
https://artists.boldbrush.com/p/the-faso-show
Learn the magic of marketing with us here at BoldBrush!
boldbrushshow.com

Most artists don't plan to teach. They plan to paint. To show. To sell. Teaching comes later; sometimes out of necessity, sometimes out of desperation, and sometimes almost by accident. But here's what every artist in today's episode will tell you: once they started, something unexpected happened. Teaching didn't just pay the bills. It changed them.

Today we're talking about the studio that pays for itself: the teaching side of an artist's career that rarely gets discussed openly. How do you start? When are you ready? How does it actually make you money? And what does it give back that has nothing to do with money at all?

Six artists. Six different paths into the classroom. All of them still painting, still teaching, and still surprised by what one has done for the other.

Episodes mentioned:

190 Robert Goldman — Trust Your Inner Voice Aug 05, 2026

Show notes

Join our next FASO Show Live!
https://artists.boldbrush.com/p/the-faso-show
Learn the magic of marketing with us here at BoldBrush!
boldbrushshow.com

For today's episode we sat down with Robert Goldman an American painter with over 50 years of experience, known for his vibrant, design-conscious canyon and landscape works, and his deep roots in plein air and illustration. He shares his journey as an artist, shaped early by a supportive, art-filled family and a lifelong commitment to drawing and painting. He explains how studying illustration, commercial art, and life drawing, along with influential teachers and peers, gave him the technical foundation to later develop his distinctive, color-rich canyon landscapes. Robert emphasizes the importance of critique and community, describing how feedback from his brother, his wife, and fellow painters keeps his work honest and evolving. In terms of process, he advises artists to start carefully from reference, establish strong values, and then gradually let instinct and the subconscious take over so the painting can depart from mere copying. As practical career guidance, he stresses discipline—“showing up” like a regular job, taking breaks for fresh eyes, and being prepared for a long, up-and-down journey that may require side income while you build your art life. His core piece of advice is that even if you can’t always “make a living” from art, you can “make a life” with it—by staying dedicated, continually learning, and remaining open to opportunities, community, and change. Finally, Robert tells us about his participation with the Annual Sedona Plein Air Festival and The Legacy Gallery Holiday Small Works Show.

Robert's FASO site:

robertgoldmanfineart.com/

Robert's Social Media:

instagram.com/robertgoldmanfineart/

Learn from Robert on Mastrius!

mentors.mastrius.com/user/494/RobertGoldman/profile