Jill Basham: 0:00

Know, I think sticking together and sort of helping each other out however we can is it's a good thing and and I definitely value my friendships, my artists friendships, a

Scott Ruthven: 0:13

trick I would pass along is to nurture your community, your collectors don't always look to just sell, you

Stephanie Thomson: 0:21

can just get uplifted and sort of get out of your own mind. You know, painting is so often, as I said, isolating. We get way too deep into our own psyche, and it's such a benefit to not only paint from life, but to do so with other artists and grow together.

Laura Arango Baier: 0:41

Welcome to the BoldBrush show, where we believe that fortune favors a bold brush. My name is Laura Arango Baier, and I'm your host. For those of you who are new to the podcast, we are a podcast that covers art marketing techniques and all sorts of business tips specifically to help artists learn to better sell their work. We interview artists at all stages of their careers, as well as others who are in careers tied to the art world. In order to hear their advice and insights. For this episode, we created a compilation of our past guests discussing the importance of networking and community for artists personal and professional growth. We share how joining organizations, attending workshops and participating in events like conventions and plenary gatherings foster valuable connections and learning opportunities. Personal recommendations and genuine relationships are emphasized as key to gaining gallery representation and advancing in the art world. This compilation also covers the benefits of balancing solitary studio work with fellowship among like minded artists, both in person and online initiatives such as starting local life drawing groups or online communities like Stephanie Thompson's broadcasting brushers are encouraged to overcome isolation and support artistic development. Overall, this episode underscores that sharing knowledge, nurturing relationships and building community are essential for a fulfilling and successful artistic journey.

Steve Atkinson: 1:58

Well, you know, it's it's funny that that you bring that up because I've met some of my best friends going to the oil painters of America, either the Western Regional or the National shows. That's where I've I've made most of my connections of meeting the artists that I admire a lot. You know you're in a show where it really raises your level of what you think that you can do. And so I've met artists that are at that show that we've gotten together afterwards, and we've done photo shoots now. We've hired cowboys and Indians to come together and and we all come with our own ideas for the stories, and we can set up scenes. So I've done I've done that. I've met the gallery owner for the Western Regional oil painters of America. Show was one of the galleries that I got into. I had gotten the second place medal, and she came up to me afterward and said, we'd love to have you in the gallery, you know, let's talk. And I said, Sure, you know, let's let's talk afterwards. And so she was just excited about having me in the gallery and to be that was a Western Regional show, but to be in a show like that and have the gallery on her really call you out and say, We love your work. We really want to represent you. That's one of the things that I get out of being with the oil painters of America. I'm not a real joining kind of person, you know, I don't join a lot of different organizations, but the oil painters of America, it's made me a better painter than I would otherwise have been, because I know if I want to get into the national show, I have to do my very best work and Western it. They're not just Western art. I mean, they're art of all different representational genres, so a very small portion of it is Western art, and so I really have to stand out if I'm going to be in that. And I know that if I get into that show, that I've done my job, you know, and you hope that it sells, doesn't always sell, but, but you meet great people. Some of the other things that I love doing with that is I go to the show, and usually they have an artist that will be doing a demo, so I can, I can watch them paint. I can really figure out what it is that they're doing and what maybe I can incorporate into me, into my work. And the other thing is that there's, there's a lot of get togethers, there's, there's talks. A lot of times gallery owners will get together and they'll talk, talk about what they're looking for in their gallery. You know, because so many artists, that's the first question they ask. Is, how do I get into your gallery? And so that it helps to find out from the gallery owners what they're looking for and what will help you, whether they want you to call them on the phone, because 50 times a day they're going to get a phone call saying, How do I get into your gallery, or if they want you to send them an email with a portfolio or send it drop it off at the gallery. You know, it helps to learn all those different kinds of things, so, but I would just say on that call the gallery and ask them how they like to get their submissions. That's usually the best way. But the other way to get into a gallery is to have somebody who will advocate for you. So whether it's a collector who buys from that gallery, it helps to have them whisper into the gallery owner's ear. And another way is to have one of their artists talk about you to the gallery owner. A personal recommendation is one of the best ways to get noticed by a gallery. I've found that you know, having other artists say to the gallery owner, you know, this guy is really good. He's up and coming. You may want to take a chance on him and see what happens. Most artists are not territorial when it comes to their galleries. At least I've found, you know, a lot of times you know, you hear, well, artists don't want to recommend you, because that's taking work away. But your work, if you get into a gallery, it lifts other people's works up, and they can get better artists in there, and the better caliber artists that you can be in a gallery, the better it is for you, because the collectors look at this gallery and say, This is a wonderful gallery. Let's see who else is there? Maybe people that I haven't heard of. So that's one of the things that I've learned from the OPA and being in some of the other art groups. I was with the Western artists of America. I think they're defunct now, but I was with them for a little while, and we started our own which was became defunct. But being in different groups, it can really help to lift your work up and make you paint better than you ever thought you could, because you're not just going to let anything out of this studio. You know, I think Richard Schmid once said he never lets anything out of the studio that he's not completely happy with, you know. But I've heard from other people that there are no finished oil paintings. There's just abandoned oil paintings. So

Stephanie Birdsall: 7:54

I think they absolutely are. I have made so many great threat friends through going to some of the events, like the OPA national convention was just two weeks ago. I which I didn't go to this year because I wasn't wrong. But every time I go to one of those, first of all, it's a nonprofit, which I love. I love the nonprofits. Um, I see people I haven't seen that I see once a year or I haven't seen in 10 years. I learn because they have great demos. It takes me. It gets me way too into an absolutely, you know, art four days where that's all that's going on. The tips that you learn from each other are amazing. And the OPA, I'm not trying to really push Opa, but I'm using it because it's the most recent thing. They have shows all the time. When you get your work in those shows, and some of them are online, some of them, some of them aren't, but you're getting exposure and visibility. And when you go to those shows you just plain can't help but meet people. So I think those are great opportunities, and there are a lot of good organizations out there. I am I going to say you have to be in every organization that's out there. I couldn't keep up with it personally. But I think you pick and choose what you want to do. But some of the plein air events are so much fun. I've been at the the plein air convention before, and I've demoed there, and I've painted there, and I see people that I would never see again if I didn't go, or I get to paint with someone that I used to paint with, you know, eight years ago in Tucson. I mean, they're all great opportunities. I think in person. I think we can't do everything online. We need to get out there and see touch and feel, you know, and sit and talk.

Ruth Fitton: 9:54

I absolutely would. Yeah. So the the societies I'm. Like have membership with that I mentioned, that's not something you pay for. That's something that you get elected into. So you can't just decide I'm going to sign up for membership. However, whether it's a society like portrait society that has a paid membership section, or whether it's just applying to exhibit with a society like the ROI, the Royal Institute of royal painters, or the RP, the Royal Society of portrait painters, if you get into the show, obviously you go to the private view, and that's where you meet all the other artists who are exhibiting. So I think that's certainly, if you're based in the UK, I think those those shows are really good to enter for. Or even if you're not in the UK and are able to make the trip to London, if you get selected for the exhibition, it's, yeah, I mean, it's, it's a fantastic experience. You know, all the artists are there. Their work is on the wall. You can, literally, you know, walk up to a person's painting and talk with them about their work with an example of it right there. And you can go along even if you're if you get someone to take you as their plus one, you can go along even if you're not an exhibitor. And, yeah, they tend to be really fun events,

Laura Arango Baier: 11:22

nice. Yeah, it seems like it, it seems like it's, you know, a great way to meet maybe other artists who are maybe close to you, or close by to you, and then learn from them. Or even, I have heard others who have said that that's how they've met their galleries as well, and how they've connected in that way. Are there other ways that you would suggest for artists to network?

Ruth Fitton: 11:45

I would suggest, I think one of the best ways to network is actually to take workshops. So sign up for a workshop with your favorite artist, and you not only get to meet your favorite artist, but you get to meet half a dozen, a dozen people who are also learning to paint, who also love that artist. I mean, it's a fantastic it's a ready made networking opportunity, really, as well as things like the portrait Society of America conference or, I mean, I've never been to the other conferences in the States, but I would really like to sometime the plein air convention, that kind of thing. Yeah, I just think if you can actually get people together in person, that is the best way to network, definitely,

Jill Basham: 12:36

right? I think there's probably different ways, and I also think that it's important for you as an artist to be sure that you fit in the gallery. So I wouldn't just approach galleries without doing your homework and knowing what type of gallery they are, even talking to other artists that are in the gallery to see if it might be a scenario that would work for you. And as far as my personal experience, in one instance, it was that I had entered a show, not entered a show. I was asked to be in a show, I believe, at one of the galleries, and it was so they were inviting outside artists and and then they offered me to be a regular artist there, after seeing my work, that then I would suggest, you Know, not not barreling in with your work without an appointment, and just and showing up, I would suggest probably trying to make contact with with them via email and sharing images initially that way, and seeing About a response and then taking it from there also. I think again, networking is valuable. So if you have a friend who who is an artist in a particular gallery, and you think that that gallery really is a good fit for you as well, then then maybe, you know, talking to the friend, and maybe they can put in a good word too. So I think that might be helpful. Yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 14:24

yeah, definitely. Then that again, that really brings to mind how important it is to network and to, know, make genuine connections within the art world. And like, you know, make friends with other artists. And yeah, it really reminds us of how important human connection is, yes, yeah.

Jill Basham: 14:43

Well, I think for us artists too, we sort of are unique, a unique tribe and and so I think that we, you know, I think sticking together and sort of helping each other. Out how, however we can is it's a good thing. And, and I definitely value my friendships, my artists friendships. So, yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's a good thing.

Brian Bateman: 15:16

The past six or seven years, you know, I've learned quite a bit from not only research, photo shoots and other artists, the Western artists, are fantastic. They they are just good, decent, down to earth people who paint the American West and paint it the way that it was. And you know, they're just, they're just talking to them is fantastic, and they will teach you and and guide you so you can be on your way.

Laura Arango Baier: 15:54

And that's another really beautiful, wonderful thing. Because you mentioned, you know, a couple things there that immediately, network, right? Network is so important, you know, meet other artists, talk to other artists like that. Because oftentimes, it's actually, in my opinion, it's very rare to meet an artist who doesn't want to help their fellow artists, right? I find it much more rare, because, sure, some people have this weird perspective of like, oh, competition. But in reality, there isn't, because every voice is so unique. You know, there are collectors who might collect multiple artists, and that's awesome, you know, yes, please, yeah. So it's wonderful to also have that. I will teach you everything I know, perspective or like that, that mentality, because it really one. It helps others who are, you know, also becoming Western artists who want to become Western artists. And even if it's the same genre, quote, unquote, the paintings will be vastly different. That's one and two. It's beneficial for future generations, because that information gets carried down and it continues. And I think that's equally important, even though it's more of a long term sort of perspective. Yeah,

Brian Bateman: 17:09

I totally agree. And I think part of it is they are cognizant enough to know and to share their their knowledge, because they know they're not going to do this forever. I mean, these, some of these men and women are making six figures on some of their paintings. And these, these, these auctions are phenomenal. So some collectors are paying for some of this work. But they're not snooty, they're down to earth. They are absolutely fantastic people, and I, I I enjoy being a part of that that genre, because not only are they wonderful folks who share their knowledge, they accept you, no matter where your status is on the pecking order of of the of the genre. And there is no no hoity tweetiness about it, like some of these, some of these art shows and some of these art circles, and you'll, you'll have a little bit of an attitude, and you'll have this and that and the other. And that's, you know, that's not for me. That could be for somebody that's fine. I'm not. I'm not saying anything against it. I just don't enjoy it. And so I like the Down to Earth, meat and potatoes, type of, type of people that, that I can talk to and share, and they can share with me. And boy, I'm a sponge. I'm picking it up, and I'm I'm asking them at the art shows, what would you do to this paint? And they'll come and tell me, well, they're starters. And then, you know, and it's like, okay, I had a painting that that was in a in a big show in Tucson, and everything. I would sit, I would stand back, and I wouldn't watch the patrons go by. And they would stop and look at, you know, this, and stop and look at that, and they would look at mine. They keep going. And I kept watching that, and I called a guy over who's pretty prominent. God, he's good painter. And I said, did you give me a moment? Because, yeah, sure. What do you want, Brian? I said, I've got a painting over here that collectors are just passing by. What's going on with this? Why are they, why aren't they recognizing this? Why aren't Why isn't something grabbing and so, you know, you look at his name is Rs Riddick. He's He's good, and he's got a great, beautiful painting behind and he gave, gave me his time, and I've got my wife took a picture of him, give him the critique, which is great, but I still ask for critiques, because I want to learn. I want to get better. There's no such thing as being good enough. There just isn't. And so he would come up and he would he would tell me what was going on and what I could change, what I could fix. Dollars, and I did, and I sent it to a collector after it was revised, and she bought it again to not be sold on whatever it is, your final piece of work is because there's always probably something you could do better. Maybe the tonal quality could be adjusted. Maybe the values could be adjusted, because painting is just value anyway, with color. All things to learn. Maybe the figure was a little stiff, you know, so So things to look at, and that's what's part of that genre is so wonderful is because they they share, they care, and they're genuine people and and I absolutely just love being with them when I can be with them. They're just, they're fantastic folks. If

Laura Arango Baier: 20:54

you've been enjoying the podcast and also want to be able to ask our guest live questions, then you might want to join our monthly BoldBrush live webinars where our guest artists describe marketing tips, share inspiring stories and answer your burning questions in real time, whether you're a seasoned painter or just starting your creative journey, this is your chance to connect, learn and spark new ideas, and whether you're stuck on a canvas or building your creative business, this is where breakthroughs happen. Don't miss out, ignite your passion and transform your art practice by joining us. Our next BoldBrush Live Webinar is coming up on the 11th of September, with our special guest, Samuel Hoskins. You can find the sign up link in the show notes at BoldBrush, we inspire artists to inspire the world, because creating art creates magic, and the world is currently in desperate need of magic. BoldBrush provides artists with free art marketing, creativity and business ideas and information. This show is an example. We also offer written resources, articles and a free monthly art contest open to all visual artists. We believe that fortune favors the bold brush, and if you believe that too, sign up completely free@boldbrushshow.com that's B, O, L, d, b, r, U, S, H show.com. The BoldBrush Show is sponsored by Faso. Now more than ever, it's crucial to have a website when you're an artist, especially if you want to be a professional in your career. Thankfully, with our special link, faso.com, forward slash podcast, you can make that come true and also get over 50% off your first year on your artist website. Yes, that's basically the price of 12 lattes in one year, which I think is a really great deal, considering that you get sleek and beautiful website templates that are also mobile friendly, e commerce, print on demand in certain countries, as well as access to our marketing center that has our brand new art marketing calendar. And the art marketing calendar is something that you won't get with our competitor. The art marketing calendar gives you day by day, step by step, guides on what you should be doing today right now, in order to get your artwork out there and seen by the right eyes so that you can make more sales this year. So if you want to change your life and actually meet your sales goal this year, then start now by going to our special link, faso.com, forward slash podcast. That's F, A, S, o.com, forward slash podcast,

Scott Ruthven: 23:13

you know, and I always like to ask people, How did you find me? Whether it's a collector, I asked you this when you reached out to me, right? And it's, it fascinates me. The and I an example I just give is a recent I just picked up some commission for multiple paintings, right? And it's people that just live an hour away from me, but they found my work when they were visiting their son in California at a gallery in a show that I'm in. So, you know, I'm just a local guy for them, really, and but they saw my painting in person, and they like it. And they said, Hey, this is a Colorado guy. They looked me up. They signed up for my email, and now I've got some business from them. So you never know. It just such a great and the YouTube channel I started because I was getting more requests to teach workshops. I do teach plein air workshops, but they take a lot of time, and I'm teaching eight or 10 people because I don't like to have a huge crowd. I think I really want to have that individual attention that I give to my students. But there's only one of me, and the time is just, you know, I can't do the trade off in time is too much. So I started the YouTube channel as a way to just kind of do some live streams and that type of thing and and try to share how I paint. And then that became a community of people that tune in for those and the followership grew. I did monetize eventually, although I'm not gonna, you know, it's like, it'd be my full time job, because it's, it's not what I want to do. But I like to teach. I like to share. And so that's a community of its own. I've sold work to that community. But, you know, really, I try to, I try to give more than, you know, a tree. I would pass along is to nurture your community. Your collectors don't always look to just sell. Can I make a buck from this person? What can you give? How can you you know, and giving might just be taking an interest in their life, sending them a nice note, remembering a birthday, texting them. I mean, I'm on with I text with my collectors. I'm sure a lot of the you know, artists do as well, but that's a great thing to do, because it doesn't really take anything. Everybody texts today. It's an easy thing if, you know, somebody's birthday, text them a happy birthday. And so, you know, seek to give some value, rather than always just pulling value out of your audience, whether it's YouTube or your email list, your your galleries, that kind of thing, because this emotional bank concept, if you've heard of it, you know, you can't, you can't keep making withdrawals out of your bank account without putting deposits in. So, you know, I seek to make more deposits than withdrawals.

Ginny Butcher: 25:58

For me, one of the most helpful things has actually been to realize how common the War of Art is for many artists, that there's this real internal struggle, especially when, maybe when you are you're alone, usually, most of us are working alone. Spend a lot of time alone, and we like it, but we can sometimes be our own worst enemies if we don't realize there is actually this internal dialog going on sometimes that we have to recognize for what it is, and realize we're not alone in experiencing that and so in our in our aloneness of our practice, we also need the balance of fellowship with like minded people so that we realize, Oh, we're not actually alone in feeling this way. Because that's when you can just feel like you're nuts, or you don't fit with anybody, because most of the people around us really don't seem to deal with any of that, and it can make you feel like I don't know you just kind of weird, or you don't belong or or whatever. So I have finally found a balance between savoring and making the most of my like time in the studio or time outside painting where I am alone, but not neglecting getting together, whether it's on FaceTime or on the phone or in person, whatever way, getting together with other artists who have a similar understanding of that, because not all artists do. I mean, there's a lot of people out there with artistic talent who enjoy it but don't really pursue it, and I hung around with a lot of those people for a pretty long time, and it actually was hindering me in moving forward, because there was this sense of, you know, none of them Were interested in doing any of the things I was doing, and I was always trying to encourage them to you could sell your work on a website, you know, all sorts of things or or try this kind of thing, or that thing. And so it actually had a hindering effect on me. And when I had to leave, I just had to leave that that situation, and found some I didn't need a lot of people to just one or two, you know, who are on a similar journey and who have a passion to get better, because that's really one of the driving things for me, is I'm always wanting to get better, to learn more, to practice more, to just learn. Learn new things, learn, learn another way to do something that kind of keeps me going to some degree, and I like to share that stuff, too, with people, with other artists.

Donald Yatomi: 29:55

Okay, so you know, you know how they say. It's not what you know, it's who you know. That is so true. That is so true. There's been so many times when I'm when I was in video games, a young person will call me up and say, hey, hey, Donald, can I buy you a coffee, you know? And now, and I'm looking at this kid, I'm like, okay, he wants me to, he wants a job, you know, wants me to get into so we would meet and have coffee. And all he wanted, all he wanted was to just be connected with artists. Long story short, years later, I did hire him. At the moment, he wasn't looking for a job, but it's because he stayed connected with me. And it's, it's about who you know. So, so there's that, and then I just never stopped trying to connect with and doesn't always have to be artists. It could be non artists. It's who you know that's gonna help you along the way. So don't just sit in your studio and just draw, you know, try to get out there and connect with people, that's what I would

Stephanie Thomson: 31:05

say. So painting from life is so vital for us, right? And in workshops, I would have models all lined up for me, and the pose all figured out, you know. And it's so inspiring because you have a teacher there that's teaching you, and you have all this energy in the room. And so painting is like, it's just, it's not hard to get inspired. And then when I would come home from these workshops, this is, this is backstory, before I get to broadcasting brushers. Um, then I would come home and I would realize, you know, okay, that that camp like energy that you have is gone a little bit, and now I'm responsible for hiring my own models or going and finding them. So when I was in my workshop circuit, I guess you could say I was in I took workshops for about four years and three or four a year, two, three or four a year, I was looking for life drawing groups for in between those workshops, so that I could be painting from life as much as possible. And there were some in my area. Some were very far away, and some there was a particular group that was so wonderful and inspiring and beneficial. And I loved painting with these artists. And some of them are still very good friends of mine today, but the lighting of the space that we had was so so poor, and the walls were this stark white with paintings hung on them, and so the background was just always this very uninspiring mesh of neutrals and then very hard angles and lines. And what was interesting was a lot of the people in the group were landscape painters, primarily, and so they were looking at it as just purely practice. And they didn't really care to push through to find an amazing composition or a pose. They just they were happy with anything. And again, the lighting was really tough. So after a year or so of going to these different life drawing classes around my area, and they weren't classes, they were just sessions, you know, you'd go and you'd pay everyone, pay the model, I was also really frustrated, because I wasn't really frustrated, but I was feeling a lack because I didn't know who the models were beforehand, so I would be in my mind all day preparing for this session, you know. Okay, how do I want to approach this? What weakness am I going to really target? And I would start to paint the painting in my mind, you know. How am I going to go about this in order to make it better than, you know, the last time I didn't take my values dark enough. And so I really need to get that value dark enough so that I can show the light and shadow, you know. And so I'd be having this mental process, and I'd show up and realize that, as I was thinking about getting my values dark enough, I had been mentally painting a brunette, and now there's a blonde on the model stand, and I just, I'm totally thrown out of my mental process. And, you know, I've been I realized I was painting this brunette all day, you know. So it was like, in order to really harness the creativity that was feeling so, so frustrated, I needed to be even more control. So I actually started my own life drawing group so that I could hire the models, so that I could think about the poses, you know, because I'd be looking at these master paintings and think I would love to paint that pose, but then I had no, no power to really make it happen. So I started inviting local artist friends to come paint with me, to also share the load, you know, because at 1819 to hire a model and spend $45 or $60 for us for three hours of painting, it was very prohibitive. So that's why I started this lecturing group. And it just became, we became special to each other. You know, this community of artists that we was getting together so frequently, it just was so bolstering to not only my artistic growth, but also just my creativity and my mental health. I guess you could say, as an artist, you know, we're so isolated so much of the time we. When we're making our serious work, which we should be, you know, because you really do have to, it's all, it's very mental painting, right? And a lot of that needs to be done by yourself, but too much by yourself. You start to not realize what you're doing well, you know, and everything looks terrible in your painting. And painting is so hard, and, you know, like, you can start going down these bad thought processes and then just getting together and painting with friends. Oh my gosh, wow. Look. She's using this penguin. I've never even heard of this, you know, when all of a sudden you're just getting this, like, you know, there's like, this irrational difficulty that sometimes, when we're too often alone painting, it's just painting is so hard, and I can't, I'm so bad, you know, and so painting in a group really just is so uplifting, and the time painting from life is so important, right? Okay, so that's sort of the backstory about, you know, my history of painting from life and life drawing groups this last year and a half that I have now become a mother and just grown up generally. You know, when I first started painting, I was 1718, was 1718, 1920, and to take off for two weeks to go to Scottsdale, Arizona, to take back to back workshops at the Scottsdale artist school was no big deal, because I would just, I would tell the families that I nannied for that I was going to be out of town, and I would arrange, you know, I didn't have a dog that I needed to I didn't have a house, I didn't have children, I didn't have a spouse, you know, like it was just I was the freest I will ever probably be in my life. And I don't want that freedom back now, you know, because then it would mean I don't have my son and I don't have this beautiful life that I built, but I capitalized on it then and when I became a mother, and or even before then I became a wife, you know, I realized the prime the majority of artists out in the world have real life responsibilities. They're not 17 years old and just very freewheeling in a way. And even 17 year olds might not have as much freedom as I had at that stage, right. And so doing what I did would be a lot harder for me now. And even getting to these life drawing sessions would be more difficult, you know, I started painting from life again when my son and hosting models in our studio, this in this space, when he was about three months old. And I could do that, even though he was, you know, full time nursing. And, you know, I'm a three month old, is so dependent was primary. And because of, you know, I had a very slow recovery and different things, I could do that because it was at my house, and I host the models and the artists come to me, you know, and to my studio, and I could give the baby to my husband, you know, who was upstairs when I was needing to paint, and I just thought, Okay, how, how could I create a place for artists like me that have real life responsibilities? Maybe it's not children, maybe it's that they're caregivers for an elderly family member. Or, you know, they just have a very demanding job there, for some reason, don't have the ability to be get from point A to point B. Or there's no life drawing classes or sessions in their area. Everyone is a landscape painter. Everyone's abstract. You know, how many times have I heard that at these different places, porch society, or even, you know, posting about the basement brushers, the group that I've hosted in my basement to do life drawing for all these years. I wish I lived in your area. I would come paint with you. No one is doing this. And this idea of broadcasting brushers came to mind. My husband and I, we disagree on whose idea it was first. So we've settled on the idea that it was a joint idea, you know, because I wanted to do harness this ability to paint online for a while, but just doing something like a class or a demo video really just wasn't inspiring enough to me. Everyone it's out there. Like I said, secrets to painting this, secrets to painting that you can find 100 instructional videos, but I really wanted to get more at this problem that I was seeing where, what if you, if you want to paint from life, but you have limitations, how could and you want to have an artistic community and grow together? How? How could I help this problem? You know, when you look at the great artists of the past and even the not too recent Pat maybe that's the wrong phrase. Not, I don't know if that phrase is right, but I'll just say the names like Richard Schmidt and the Putney painters, or everyone at the palette and chisel, or Everett, Raymond Kinsler and Michael Shane Neal. You know, great artists rise together, very few in isolation, you know, are becoming great at the level that I have wanted to become, all alone. You know, even looking back, Sargent was writing to Monet was writing to Mancini was writing to Degas was. Writing to Mary Cassatt was, you know, and they were getting together and going and painting abroad, you know, getting together and paint together. So important. So super long intro to this. Now concluded, but now you understand sort of where this idea for broadcasting brochures came from, and my spirit, my heart behind it. So what we have done, and we, as my husband and I, we have gotten all of the tech figured out to live stream in 4k resolution, because the in order to offer to artists all around the world, not just the country, but the world this access to very high quality reference material and give people the opportunity to paint from life. Of course, it is not from life, from life, from life. I get that, but that's where the 4k resolution really comes in. Is important, because if we can't paint from life, what are we painting from? We're painting from crappy cell phone pictures, primarily, right? Like, that's the 99% I feel maybe not that much percent, but that's our alternative. And you know, some of us have very nice cameras and are working with it, but some of us don't, and then we're just left with these terrible reference photos, terrible materials, and it's all still and already 2d already very chosen out for us. So what broadcasting brushers is is it's a twice monthly life drawing group where we are painting together for three hours. So I hire, I hire a model, they sit for three hours, and a camera is pointed at them, and their pose for that full three hours. So you see them as they're shifting and tilting and sitting from life in 4k resolution. So you can see individual hairs. You can see individual pores. You know, when I show the models, this is what they're seeing. If you a lot of them are wish they hadn't seen it. You know, it's very It's unbelievable the quality. Another camera is pointed at my canvas, and then a third camera is pointed at my palette, and then those two are in a picture, in picture, so you can see my painting and my palette at the same time, and watch not only has the painting is developing, but what the palette is is looking like, because the palette is the brain of the painting. It's, you know, in all my workshops, I paid so much attention to what their palette was doing. And then we're chatting throughout the entire thing. I'm talking through my process and talking to the model. And so far, we have 80 artists from all over the world joining our live streams and painting together. And it's it's just been my hypothesis was proven right very quickly, that people are hungry not only to paint from life, from very high quality reference material, but they also want to be in a community of artists and have you know, be vulnerable and share their work. We have a discord chat set up so that simultaneously as we're painting, people are sending progress photos of their painting for everyone to see. And if it makes you uncomfortable, you don't need to, but I encourage everyone to do so, because you can get you ask advice, you can just get uplifted and sort of get out of your own mind. You know, painting is so often, as I said, isolating. We get way too deep into our own psyche, and it's such a benefit to not only paint from life, but to do so with other artists and grow together. Yeah.