I did a podcast with Mark Winter a while back (Episodes 37 and 38). This was maybe 3 or 4 years ago, and I wanted to have Mark on again because we didn't get to talk about his vast knowledge of Saltillo Sarapes.

If you really want to immerse yourself in the depth of that subject, you have to go through Mark, because he is THE expert in the field. There are a few other experts of note, sure, but Mark is clearly one of the leading experts in the field.

So we had a wonderful talk. We went through the the ins and outs of Saltillo Serapes and Rio Grande blankets. It's more technical talk, but at the same time, it's the stories and how he got there and why he started collecting in the 1970s.

And it's a two parter since we had a lot to talk about. So this is part one of Art Dealer Diaries Podcast with Mark Winter.

Really interesting podcast today with Stephen Datz. You know, most of the podcasts are more about the history of the person and trying to figure out that journey. And in this case, it was really more of an educational understanding of the process of how Steven does his work and how that translates to our show, which is we're having a show and there will be opening very shortly (Friday April 26, 2024).

It's interesting because I know a lot of the things about Stephen, and as an art dealer, you get to understand your artist, how they tick and what works for them and doesn't work for them. Just like you were a family member. I know certain things about Stephen, but after hearing about his process, it really hones in on who he is and how he has to do things to make it work and also allows me to understand what I have to be aware of when he's going to do a show and the things that he has to deal with himself from a creative point of view, because he's a perfectionist.

This drive for perfection makes him slower than normal artist in the sense that his production can't be that big. He just has to have it a certain way before it ever leaves his studio. If you look at the show, you can see why. I mean, it's just a beautiful show, but it also relates to his color sense and how he sees the world through his eyes.

He has unique eyes because he's, synesthetic. It allows him to see colors and hear music and just perceive things a tad different than the normal human. It's a rare thing to have where a color can be a number and a shape.

I think anybody that wants to get inside the brain an artist. How their methods and creativity work, and what it requires for them to create. They'll enjoy hearing this one. This is Stephen Datz.

I've been wanting to do a podcast with Dominik Modlinski for a very long time. I've represented him for over a decade. He is just such an interesting, unique human being. Not like any other artist I've met actually. I represent him at my gallery not just because a skilled creative soul, but he's also just this, wanderlust incarnate-type person who has to go to the most interesting places on the planet to survive He immerses himself in these places for months at a time to capture the essence of wherever he is.

Sometimes he goes on these long sojourns where he's on a motorcycle for months at a time, paintings and riding through backwoods and boondocks. He just got back from Mexico and he brought us some Mexico pieces and he also was just down in Ecuador. He was there for like nine weeks while they were going through major protests, kind of a "the country is closed down" type of scenario.

He has a very unique unique story too. He comes from Poland initially, but he emigrated to Canada at 16 where he attended Art school. He's a fine artist that's academically trained and could be a very successful studio artist, but he just loves to travel the world.

So a unique human, that paints beautiful paintings. I really had a great time on this podcast. I think everyone will enjoy listening to such an interesting and well-traveled human being. This is Dominik Modlinski on Art Dealer Diaries Podcast episode 291.

View Dominik Modlinski paintings here:
https://www.medicinemangallery.com/collections/modlinski-dominik

One of the great things about this job is that sometimes these things come in that are just wonderful gifts. One of those gifts happened to come in today, and her name is Karen Schmidt. Karen's grandfather was Albert Schmidt, who was a very famous Santa Fe painter.

She came in with a large collection of paintings that she found in Albert's house after her grandmother passed in 1989. The house is not just any old house either. it's a house that was built and designed by artist William Pennhallow Henderson. It’s an important house. In fact, it’s a historical landmark and it's in Tesuque, NM.

So she comes in, I’m looking at the paintings and I’m thinking, wow, this is amazing. These paintings came with her grandfather’s house, and they somehow end up with me. Now I get the opportunity to sell this segment of the Albert Schmidt estate and it’s a very unique and rewarding thing that can happen as a dealer.

It's sort of a dream situation when you have that opportunity and I thought I would share it. So we sat down together for a little bit and recorded the conversation. It’s not a very long podcast, but it’s meaningful and just know that when you’re seeing this, it is in the moment of when I’m meeting her for the first time and seeing these paintings for the first time.

I knew who Albert Schmidt was. I’ve had his paintings. I love his paintings. So it’s a nice little inside scoop of how this collection became available and how it got to Medicine Man Gallery. Anyhow, I just wanted to share it with you and I hope you enjoy. This is Art Dealer Diaries Podcast featuring Karen Schmidt, speaking on the paintings of her grandfather, Albert Schmidt.

Usually my podcasts are about the lives, the history, the particular path of creativity one takes. With Jill Carver, it's always interesting because this is my third podcast with her and each time it's fresh and unique.

In this podcast - we're talking about her show "Land of Song - Grand Canyon Variations" which she's been working on for the last year and a half. That whole process of what it's like to go, "okay, I'm going to do a major show for a gallery and I want it to be fresh and different - and by the way, I'm going to do a subject that I've never done before, the Grand Canyon."

The Grand Canyon... That's a tough one to take on for any artist. Hell, Maynard Dixon didn't paint it until the very end of his life. It's no easy subject matter. There's just so much to look at. That's what this conversation really focused on and I think this is a great podcast for artists and for collectors alike to get an inside look at what's involved in not just making a painting, but an entire show. I think it's one of those podcasts that people can used as a reference.

Anyway it's a wonderful interview. I really enjoyed this podcast with Jill Carver and I hope you do as well.

See Jill Carver's work on our website:
https://www.medicinemangallery.com/collections/carver-jill

I had Amy and Andy Krane on today, and they own the magazine Art of the West. It's a longstanding magazine that has been around more than 36 years. The Krane's bought it in 2019. Since then, I have seen them at almost every show that I've gone to, and I've been at a lot of shows the last couple of years.

I was really glad to see them in Tucson and to get a chance to speak with them about what they do. It was interesting to hear about the magazine business and some of the hurdles that they had to overcome. Buying the magazine right before the pandemic was a huge one. I mean, the price of paper and ink shot up 40% above what it had been.

Luckily, Andy had experience running a very successful company before so he knew that steps he had to take to stay the course and stick it out. I think one major component was getting his family involved. The Kranes love art and it shows when they show up to all these events.

I hope you enjoy this podcast and check out their magazine. It's a beautiful magazine with really great images and it's printed on great paper with a focus on color accuracy. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy Art Dealer Diaries Podcast episode 288 with Amy and Andy Krane.

Recently I've been interviewing artists at various shows in front of various paintings for use on my podcast and for social media videos as well. I must admit, the information that flows from these creative minds while in front of their respective works is really amazing and different from what you'd hear from a normal podcast of mine. This episode follows this format and then some. With that in mind, I highly encourage you to watch the YouTube version if you can.

You see, the first half follows western artist Howard Post through his retrospective exhibit "Western Perspectives" at the Desert Caballeros Museum in Wickenburg, AZ. Howard speaks on some of his greatest paintings, sharing information about technique, inspiration, and just artistic insights in general from across the board. It was really great to journey through Howard Post's artistic career with him beside me narrating and guiding me from painting to painting.

The second half of this podcast is completely different, and a real treat. Howard and I went down the road to a roping event, also in Wickenburg. This part is great because Howard is a decorated rodeo athlete. He explained so many of the rules and the more nuanced parts of the event. Howard is a real cowboy painting real cowboy paintings and it's amazing to see this side of him up close in personal.

Howard is an amazing artist and friend. This whole experience was such a joy, and being able to share it with you made it even better. This is Howard Post on Art Dealer Diaries episode 287.

I had "Ranger of the Lost Art" Doug Leen on today. Very interesting, man, not only for what he's done for the arts, but just as much for what he's done for American history.

He starts out as a park ranger, and even before that, he's in Vietnam Ultimately he gets involved in Kent State after he gets back from the war and meets with Nixon and talked to him about the his opposition for the war.

It's also a story of discovery. You see, Doug finds this poster when he's in his mid-twenties, working as a park ranger. He makes this discovery and then decides that there's more to it and that he needs to figure it out. He keeps this poster his whole life. It goes with him from place to place and finally decides to solve the riddle he stumbled upon all of those years ago.

That's what this podcast is really about. The story of the missing National Parks posters that were done by WPA artists between 1938 and 1941. Doug has a book he just put out about his journey to uncover the missing pieces called "RANGER OF THE LOST ART–REDISCOVERING THE WPA POSTER ART OF OUR NATIONAL PARKS". To learn more about the book and to see various posters he found, visit his website: rangerdoug.com

So anyways, unique, fun, and interesting story. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Douglas Leen on episode 286 of Art Dealer Diaries Podcast.