The FASO Podcast

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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/

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
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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):
156 Shanna Kunz
165 Cindy Baron
112 Philippe Gandiol
179 Tanner Steed
142 Grace DeVito
144 Christine Code
137 Chris Krupinski
104 Thomas Schaller
121 Paul Batch
120 Kim Casebeer
145 Erik Koeppel
175 Emma Kalff
159 Barbara Jaenicke
167 Stephanie Marzella
165 Cindy Baron
133 Ginny Butcher
126 Scott Tallman Powers
116 Liz Haywood Sullivan
114 Kyle Stuckey
105 S.C. Mummert
190 Robert Goldman

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
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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/
facebook.com/Eldiasinmujeres/
Kate's Youtube:
youtube.com/@katevandorenArt

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
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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:
77 Aaron Westerberg
104 Thomas Schaller
116 Liz Haywood-Sullivan
159 Barbara Jaenicke
174 Matthew James Collins
179 Tanner Steed

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
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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