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PODCAST · arts
Talking with Painters
by Maria Stoljar
Maria Stoljar talks with Australian painters about how they became an artist, their painting techniques, influences and current work.
Episodes
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Nolan: Origins – Inside the exhibition with curator Denise Mimmocchi
It was great to catch up with Denise Mimmocchi, Senior Curator of Australian Art of the Art Gallery of NSW, to talk about the exhibition Nolan: Origins which opened on the weekend. We talk about the people, places and ideas that shaped Sidney Nolan’s work – from his time in the Wimmera and at…
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Richard Lewer After the Archibald Win + Excerpts from Our 2025 Conversation
Watch a 2 minute highlights video of this episode on the YouTube channel here In this special episode of Talking with Painters, I’m bringing you my conversation with Richard Lewer recorded shortly after he was announced as the winner of the 2026 Archibald Prize at the Art Gallery of New South...
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Ep 172: Ann Thomson on International Women’s Day
Watch a short highlights video of this episode on the TWP YouTube channel In this special International Women’s Day episode I speak with acclaimed artist, and previous podcast guest, Ann Thomson about building a career in the male-dominated art world of the mid-20th century. Born in 1933, Ann’s…
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Ep 171: Mary Tonkin
Watch highlights from this conversation on the Talking with Painters YouTube channel I loved this conversation with Mary Tonkin at the S.H. Ervin Gallery in Sydney, before the start of her survey exhibition Among the Trees (opening 3 January 2026). The show brings together paintings, drawings and...
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Ep 170: Aida Tomescu – ‘Messiaen’
A highlights video from this episode will also be coming soon to the Talking with Painters YouTube channel In this episode, I visit the studio of acclaimed abstract painter Aida Tomescu just days before the opening of her exhibition Messiaen at Fox Jensen Gallery in Sydney. The exhibition…
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Ep 169: 12 finalists, 12 landscapes
Watch an edited video version of this episode on the Talking with Painters YouTube channel here Podcast listeners see the works we talk about here or go to talkingwithpainters.com (ep 169) When I travelled to Hobart for the announcement of the Hadley’s Art Prize, I not only interviewed the…
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Ep 168 Sophie Cape wins the Hadley’s Art Prize
Watch an edited video version of this conversation on the YouTube channel here Sophie Cape has just taken out the $100,000 Hadley’s Art Prize for landscape with her powerful painting Thunder Shifts the Shivering Sands. It’s a raw and visceral work on canvas made using rust, charcoal, soil…
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Ep 167 Remembering William Robinson with Davida Allen (2020)
Australia has lost one of its great painters. William Robinson has passed away at the age of 89. I was lucky enough to meet Bill in 2020 when I interviewed his close friend, artist Davida Allen. At Davida’s suggestion, Bill joined the conversation —and what unfolded was something special. In this...
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Ep 166: Julie Fragar wins the 2025 Archibald Prize
Watch an edited video version of this conversation on the YouTube channel here It’s one of the most thrilling days on the Australian art calendar—and this year, Julie Fragar has taken out the Archibald Prize with a captivating portrait of fellow artist and colleague Justene Williams. Her large...
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Ep 165: Richard Lewer
Watch this interview on the Talking with Painters YouTube channel here Step into the gripping world of Richard Lewer — where drawing, painting, and video meet the raw edges of human experience. Richard doesn’t look away from life’s toughest stories. From the deeply personal — like the final days…
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Ep 164: New Videos, Loading Dock Invite & What’s Next
Catch up on the latest YouTube videos and Instagram reels, and don’t miss the chance to be part of my next Loading Dock interview at the Art Gallery of NSW! Justin Williams (video) Justin Williams – ep 60 podcast interview Robert Malherbe and Keith Burt (video) Loading Dock Interviews Playlist…
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Robert Malherbe and Keith Burt (live at the Tweed Regional Gallery)
See the video version of the interview on YouTube here My conversation with two remarkable Australian artists, Robert Malherbe and Keith Burt was in front of a fabulous audience at the Tweed Regional Gallery. Robert and Keith completed residencies at the gallery’s Nancy Fairfax Artist in…
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Ingrid Hedgcock at the Margaret Olley Art Centre
Ingrid Hedgcock, director of the Tweed Regional Gallery, shows me around the amazing Margaret Olley Art Centre which is the relocation of Margaret Olley’s home studio from Paddington in Sydney. Famous for being like an Aladdin’s cave of eclectic objects, the recreated home studio contains the...
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Sophie Perez and Sarah McDonald (with edited version on YouTube)
See an edited version of this episode (5 mins) on the talking with Painters YouTube channel An artist’s residency provides more than just uninterrupted time to work; it’s also a valuable space for risk-taking, experimentation, and self-reflection. That’s what I learned when I caught up with…
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Karen Black
Podcast listeners click here to view the works Through layers of paint in varying translucency, Karen Black explores not only the physical nature of the female form but through her use of abstraction and considered use of colour she brings out another dimension – an emotional layer. There is a...
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Laura Jones wins the 2024 Archibald Prize
Watch the video version of my interview with Laura Jones here on the Talking with Painters YouTube channel Congratulations to previous podcast guest Laura Jones on winning the Archibald Prize – Australia’s most famous portrait prize – with a sensitive and meaningful portrait of writer and...
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The Loading Dock Interviews (also on YouTube)
See the video version of this episode on the TWP YouTube channel here. This is my 5th collection of Loading Dock Interviews of entrants to the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes. Six brave painters fronted my camera and microphone as they delivered their work to the packing room at the Art…
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Caroline Zilinsky
See highlights of this interview on the YouTube Channel Caroline Zilinsky’s paintings freeze pivotal moments in our culture’s history, encouraging us to reflect upon our times, whether it’s the absurdity, the horror or the humour. At the risk of being labelled a conspiracy theorist, she’s…
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The Story Behind the Painting (Part 2)
Podcast listeners click here to see images of the work Over the years, podcast guests have shared some fascinating back stories to paintings they have made, stories which you could never have guessed just on viewing the work. Sometimes that back story has made me look at the work in a totally...
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The story behind the painting: Fantauzzo, Flint, Quilty and Dobell
Podcast listeners click here to see images of the works Over the years, podcast guests have shared some fascinating back stories to paintings they have made, stories which you could never have guessed on merely viewing the work. Sometimes that back story has made me look at the work in a totally...
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Inspiration from the archives | The Flow State
Podcast guests talk with me about the flow state! See below for timestamps and links to each guest’s full podcast interview and video 3:39 Julie Nicholson and Fiona Verity – Podcast | Instagram video 6:40 Ann Thomson – Podcast | YouTube 7:54 Joshua Yeldham – Podcast | YouTube 10:15 Antonia...
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Jan Senbergs
Above photo of Jan Senbergs by Riste Andrievski Click play for my podcast introduction to this interview and scroll down for the transcript. Podcast listeners click here and scroll down for transcript. Watch the YouTube video of Jan Senbergs’ studio and work here Links Jan Senbergs’ website Jan...
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‘Kandinsky’ with co-curator Jackie Dunn and artist Desmond Lazaro
See a video version of the interview with curator Jackie Dunn here See a video version of the interview with artist Desmond Lazaro here The largest exhibition of Kandinsky’s work ever to be seen in Australia has just opened at the Art Gallery of NSW! The exhibition, titled simply ‘Kandinsky’,...
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James Powditch live at the AGNSW
This episode is a conversation between James Powditch and Maria Stoljar in front of an audience at the Art Gallery of NSW, recorded by the Art Gallery Society James Powditch has always loved the movies. As a child in the 70s and 80s he would watch whatever he could get away with – from Taxi…
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Inspiration from the Archives | Risk
Risk. Some painters want it in their toolbox while others are terrified by it. But nearly every painter will tell you that you need it in order to move forward in your practice. It might be using a new material, drastically altering the composition of a nearly completed painting or creating a...
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Inspiration from the Archives | Colour (Part 2)
More inspiration from the archives! Here are another 12 past podcast guests talking with me about colour. Links to full podcast conversations and YouTube videos on each of the artists in this episode: 2:13 David Griggs – Podcast | YouTube 5:00 Laura Jones – Podcast | YouTube 9:08 Lewis Miller –...
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Inspiration from the Archives | Colour (Part 1)
This episode I’m bringing you some gems from the archives. Leading artists talk with me about colour! Episodes of featured artists: Jo Bertini Paul Newton Philip Wolfhagen Nicholas Harding John Wolseley Peter O’Doherty Links YouTube channel Talking with Painters website Sign up to the TWP...
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Ann Thomson in her 90th year
Watch an edited version of this conversation (4 mins) on the YouTube channel here Ann Thomson, one of Australia’s most important artists, might be in her 90th year but she shows no signs of putting down the brush. A powerful collection of works is currently hanging in a solo show at Sydney’s...
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Francis Giacco at his Australian Galleries exhibition
Watch the edited video version of this podcast episode on the Talking with Painters YouTube channel The exhibition of Francis Giacco’s paintings now showing at Australian Galleries in Sydney has been a long time coming. Covid pushed back the scheduling but it was worth the wait! I met Francis at...
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When I won that art prize (part 4) – Georgia Spain
In the final episode of the series ‘When I won that art prize’ we go back to 2021 when a 27 year old Georgia Spain won the Sir John Sulman Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW, the first time she had entered the prize. In the same week she was announced the winner of the Women’s Art Prize Tasmania....
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When I won that art prize (part 3) – Megan Seres
In this episode I’m taking you back to my interview with Megan Seres who won the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize in 2016. Megan received the $150,000 in prize money for her stunning painting, ‘Scarlett as Colonial girl’, which depicted her daughter in 19th century dress against a golden...
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Archibald winner Julia Gutman
You can see an edited video version of the interview with Julia Gutman here Australia’s most famous art prize was awarded yesterday at the Art Gallery of NSW together with the Wynne and Sulman prizes. The $100,000 prize went to a shocked but happy 29 year old Julia Gutman for her fabulous…
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When I won that art prize (part 2)- James Drinkwater
In part 2 of the series ‘When I won that art prize’ we go back to episode 29 when James Drinkwater recalled winning the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship in 2014. The award included a three month residency in Paris at the Cité Internationale des arts, a dream come true for any young...
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When I won that art prize (part 1) – Prudence Flint
Golden moments from the archives! While I’m busy updating my YouTube channel and taking a break from new interviews, I’m thrilled to bring you a new series featuring clips from past podcast guests. In my first series ‘When I won that art prize’ I look back at conversations I’ve had with painters...
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Idris Murphy: Backblocks (live at the S.H.Ervin Gallery)
See the YouTube video of Maria Stoljar’s earlier conversation with Idris Murphy here Last Thursday I was thrilled to speak with Idris Murphy, leading contemporary artist and a previous podcast guest, in front of a live audience at the S.H.Ervin Gallery in Sydney. It’s where the survey exhibition…
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Yvette Coppersmith
See video highlights of this interview on the YouTube channel here For those of you interested in portraiture in Australia, Yvette Coppersmith needs no introduction. She has painted dozens of portraits, including a collection of fascinating self-portraits, and is regularly shortlisted in the...
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Anthony White
The gestural marks in Anthony White’s work are often bold and demanding of the viewer’s attention. These abstract works vary from swirling lines in saturated colour, to textured surfaces and more formal collaged constructions. What is not apparent on the surface of the canvas is the time the…
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Paul Newton (part 2)
Most artists know that painting a portrait in a tradition where colour and form appear realistic takes years of training where trial and error play an important part. This is part 2 of my interview with leading portrait painter Paul Newton. He makes the analogy of a painter being like a cook and...
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Paul Newton (part 1)
It was the 80s. Paul Newton had finished a science degree and was a singer in a band. He sensed, though, that this was not meant to be his life’s work. ‘I’m a bit of a perfectionist and unless I can do something really well I find it frustrating to do it at all’. So he decided to change course…
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Belinda Street
It’s hard to define what makes a good landscape painting but, if you investigate the backstory, you might find the artist has a close connection with that place. In Belinda Street’s October show at Straitjacket Artspace, ‘Keep your feet on the ground and your thoughts at lofty heights’, her bond...
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Nicholas Harding (2019)
We lost one of our greatest artists last night. Nicholas Harding – landscape, still life and portrait painter – and my heart sank when I heard the news. It’s early afternoon and already there are many tributes coming through in the newspapers and social media. It’s clear he will be greatly missed...
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Fred Fowler
You can also see a short video of Fred in his studio here There is something mesmerising about Fred Fowler’s paintings. The multitude of small, colour-filled shapes scattered across a monochrome background raise a lot of questions. Is that a pink cat? A cactus? An alien? Next to a mobile phone...
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Jacqui Stockdale and ‘Heads of the Family’
Jacqui Stockdale is a previous podcast guest . I asked her back onto the show after I saw a series of moving portraits she posted on Instagram. Her stepfather, George Stirling, was nearing the end of his life and Jacqui was painting the portraits of family and friends who were visiting over that...
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Idris Murphy
See an edited video version of this conversation on the Talking with Painters YouTube channel here ‘Colour, for me, is the main game’ Idris Murphy tells me as we sit in his studio in Sydney’s southern suburb of Kurnell, a stone’s throw from Botany Bay. On various easels around the room are works…
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Luke Sciberras (uncut)
For over 25 years, previous podcast guest Luke Sciberras has been immersing himself in landscapes across the world, returning to his studio to draw on the smaller works created from life. His paintings are bold and have a commanding presence. Many of those works, as well as drawings and prints,...
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Daniel Boyd
Click play for the podcast episode – you can also watch an edited video version of this episode on the TWP YouTube channel. Most artists remember their first show. Maybe they were lucky enough to sell a few works, usually to family and friends. Daniel Boyd remembers his. It was in the year he...
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Sam Leach
Scroll down to watch two videos of Sam on the TWP YouTube channel. In 2010 Sam Leach won the Archibald and Wynne Prizes, two of Australia’s most famous awards for portraiture and landscape painting, becoming only the third person in the prizes’ history to win both in the same year. The two…
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Blak Douglas, Nicholas Harding, Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro
It’s that time of the year! The winners of the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes have been announced at the Art Gallery of New South Wales and in this episode you’ll hear my interviews with each of those artists about their winning works: Blak Douglas (Archibald Prize) Nicholas Harding (Wynne...
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Del Kathryn Barton – ‘the women who fell to earth’
One of Australia’s most significant artists returns to the podcast! Del Kathryn Barton spoke with me the day before the opening of her spectacular exhibition ‘the women who fell to earth’ at Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, showing until 28 May 2022. Internationally renowned, Del is well known in Australia...
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Steve Lopes -‘Encountered’
See video highlights of this conversation on the Talking with Painters YouTube channel It’s not often that an artist gets to see almost a quarter of a century of their work in one space but in this episode Steve Lopes tells me what that feels like. The impressive survey exhibition ‘Encountered’,...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Talking with Painters have?
Talking with Painters currently has 174 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Talking with Painters about?
Maria Stoljar talks with Australian painters about how they became an artist, their painting techniques, influences and current work.
How often does Talking with Painters release new episodes?
Talking with Painters publishes regularly with 174 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Talking with Painters?
You can listen to Talking with Painters on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Talking with Painters?
Talking with Painters is created and hosted by Maria Stoljar.
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