Just Make Art

Art-making isn’t a vibe. It’s a practice that can feel exhausting, confusing, and sometimes flat-out miserable, yet we still wake up wanting to go back. We sit with a blunt question that every working artist eventually faces: what is making art giving us even when it doesn’t feel good?

We start by de-romanticizing the work through Hugo Winder-Lind’s reminder that painting doesn’t always feel good, especially now that artists are expected to be multi-faceted creators. From there we get honest about envy, creative cycles, and the kindness we owe other artists when they’re in the ditch. We also call out the social media highlight reel, the edited two minutes that hides the seven hours of staring, failing, quitting, and starting again.

Then we move into what the studio actually gives back. Mark Bradford frames labor as a way to slow down until you can hear yourself think and reach the quieter voice with the better idea. Sheila Hicks adds the bigger frame: discovery is part of being alive, so hang in there because you never know what the next discovery might be. Along the way we talk logistics, perfectionism, routines that prime the pump, excluding distractions so actions match goals, and Noel W. Anderson shares why the studio nourishes us in ways we can’t fully explain.

If you’ve been stuck, burned out, or questioning why you keep doing this, hit play. Subscribe, share this with an artist friend, and leave a review, then tell us: what does your creative process give you when it’s not giving you joy?
Audio artist clips from:
TimeStamps: https://www.instagram.com/time____stamp/
Louisiana Channel: https://www.instagram.com/louisianachannel/
Artists:
Hugo Winder-Lind: https://www.instagram.com/hugowinderlind/
Noel W. Anderson: https://www.instagram.com/nwa_studios/
Sheila Hicks: https://www.instagram.com/hastingshicks/
Mark Bradford: https://www.hauserwirth.com/artists/2838-mark-bradford/

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Make sure to follow us on Instagram here:
@justmakeartpodcast   @tynathanclark   @nathanterborg
Watch the Video Episode on Youtube or Spotify,
https://www.youtube.com/@JustMakeArtPodcast

This is a replay from Season 1. A single line from Cy Twombly cracks open a huge question for artists: “One must desire the ultimate essence even if it is contaminated.” We sit with that tension between purity and grit and ask what “essence” really means in abstract expressionism, mark making, and the real studio process where rust, dust, scraps, and revisions refuse to stay out of the frame.

From there, we trace why Twombly still feels so magnetic and so misunderstood. He left few interviews and little public persona, which forces viewers to do the work themselves. We talk through Joshua Rivkin’s Here We Go Chalk and the image that won’t let go: the unswept floor. What’s more contaminated than what falls, gets cast aside, and ends up as leftovers? Rivkin treats that debris like a mosaic, and it becomes a clean way to see how Twombly gathers fragments of history, poetry, the body, and the mind, then buries and reveals them through layers.

We also get practical about how art communicates. What does it mean for a painting to “claim the room it inhabits” when the artist is not there to explain it? How much context should titles and statements provide, and when does mystery make the work stronger? If you’ve ever stood in a museum and felt pulled into a surface like an archaeologist, this one puts language to that experience and gives you a better way to look.

If this sparks a reaction, share the episode with an artist friend, subscribe so you do not miss the next conversation, and leave a review to help more people find the show.
Send us a message - we would love to hear from you!
Make sure to follow us on Instagram here:
@justmakeartpodcast   @tynathanclark   @nathanterborg
Watch the Video Episode on Youtube or Spotify,
https://www.youtube.com/@JustMakeArtPodcast

Nobody is asking you to make your art. Jeff Musser thinks that’s exactly why you have to make it anyway.

Jeff is a Northern California figurative painter who builds images from collage, family photographs, sketches, and historical source material. We talk about painting as a primal need to make marks, why the studio can feel like a scratch-off ticket you keep buying with your time, and how the best ideas often arrive only after you start. Along the way we bounce off quotes from artists like Jenny Saville, Julian Schnabel, Kerry James Marshall, Ai Weiwei, Lisa Yuskavage, Gerhard Richter, and Chuck Close to get specific about process, risk, and the messy realities of creative work.

Then the conversation turns toward meaning. Jeff shares how his work takes on the history and construct of race, especially the invention and evolution of whiteness, and how that construct shows up in family history and private thought. He also reflects on living in China as a visible outsider, experiencing attention and privilege that made power dynamics impossible to ignore. We talk about art as a form of self-repair, and why serious subject matter still needs play to stay alive.

If you’ve been waiting for permission, this is your reminder to build momentum and make the work. Subscribe, share this with an artist friend, and leave a review.
Find Jeff Musser on Instagram: @jeffmusserart and online at jeffmusser.com

Send us a message - we would love to hear from you!
Make sure to follow us on Instagram here:
@justmakeartpodcast   @tynathanclark   @nathanterborg
Watch the Video Episode on Youtube or Spotify,
https://www.youtube.com/@JustMakeArtPodcast

Three artists. One exhibition. A decade of friendship that turned into fuel for making braver work. Ty sits down with Vy Ngo and Eric Breish to explore how creative community shapes everything—from the courage to apply, to the way we process rejection, to the rituals that help us recover after the lights go down.

We start with origin stories and the rush of seeing our pieces hang together at Art Center Waco’s Amplified show. Then we dig into the practical spine of a thriving art practice: how to pick the right opportunities, why research beats volume, and how strong documentation (clear, well-lit photos and short videos) becomes your first studio visit. We talk about building a cohesive submission that tells a story instead of tossing in disconnected “greatest hits,” and we unpack the difference between galleries that simply move product and those that invest in your evolution.

The conversation gets honest around critique and growth. Safe feedback from trusted artist friends can be uncomfortable and necessary—pushing you to clarify intent, separate your voice from influence, and keep evolving. When no arrives, confidence returns to the work itself. One pivotal story turns a painful rejection into a better fit with a smaller gallery that encouraged risk and led to the most personal show of a career. The lesson: alignment and patience create momentum.

We also name the quiet crash after big openings—what we call post‑artum depression—and offer tools to navigate it: nature days, spiritual or wellness practices, journaling, and time with people who truly understand. Finally, we celebrate DIY paths and authentic networking. Show up for spaces you love without treating every hello like an angle. Be interested before trying to be interesting; your people will find you.

If this resonates, follow, share with an artist who needs it, and leave a review so more creatives can find the show. Your support helps us keep bringing real conversations—and practical tools—to the studio.
Vy Ngo: @vjngo_art
Eric Breish: @eric_breish_art
Send us a message - we would love to hear from you!
Make sure to follow us on Instagram here:
@justmakeartpodcast   @tynathanclark   @nathanterborg
Watch the Video Episode on Youtube or Spotify,
https://www.youtube.com/@JustMakeArtPodcast

What if the hardest days in the studio are not detours, but the path itself? We open up about the real fight behind the work—those sessions where flow vanishes, doubt gets loud, and the canvas refuses to cooperate—and why that tension can become your most reliable teacher. Drawing from Rashid Johnson’s candid reflection with Carrie Scott on battling the work, we unpack the difference between inspiration and perspiration and why chasing “perfect” kills momentum.

Along the way, we trade tools and stories: turning fight-or-flight into practical choices, switching pieces to redirect energy, and using rituals like Morning Pages, breath work, and device-free sessions to clear mental noise. Sun Tzu helps us name the real enemy—resistance expressed through fear and comparison—while Julia Cameron and Nick Cave remind us to cooperate with process, loosen our grip on control, and operate under the “cloud of artistic unknowing.” We talk about repainting, scrapping, and starting over, not as failure but as fidelity to the work’s evolving voice.

The thread tying it all together is permission. You don’t need a bigger studio, pricier materials, or the perfect plan to make authentic art. You need consent to be where you are, to use what you have, and to let mystery lead when the plan breaks. If you’ve asked yourself, “Have I lost it?” you’re in good company—and you’re exactly where growth happens. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a nudge, and leave a review telling us how you keep the conversation with your work alive.

The Episode from Carrie Scott with Rashid Johnson.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c41I_sre-Uk
Send us a message - we would love to hear from you!
Make sure to follow us on Instagram here:
@justmakeartpodcast   @tynathanclark   @nathanterborg
Watch the Video Episode on Youtube or Spotify,
https://www.youtube.com/@JustMakeArtPodcast