In Episode 108, host Leroy Garcia sits down with Australian artist Lew Brennan, a self-taught master of oil and charcoal whose work bridges the ranching worlds of Australia and the American Southwest. Brennan—who traveled across the globe to join us in the studio—shares his personal story, his lifelong connection to horses, and how ranch life shaped both his eye and his artistic language.Together, Leroy and Lew discuss hyper-realism, the power of monumental scale, and the technical precision behind charcoal and oil. From the life and spirit inside the veins of a horse, to the challenge of painting “white on black,” to the hidden self-portrait within a chrome-finished Harley-Davidson, Brennan’s storytelling is as rich as his paintings. The episode also explores the cultural kinship between Australia and the Southwest, the role of tradition, and how music and lived experience influence the names behind his work.If you collect Western art, equine art, or hyper-realism, this is a must-listen introduction to an exciting new voice at Blue Rain Gallery.View Lew Brennan's work here: https://blueraingallery.com/artists/lew-brennanSubscribe to the Blue Rain Gallery Podcast for more artist interviews, cultural insights, and contemporary art discussions.This episode was hosted by gallery owner and founder Leroy Garcia, produced and edited by Leah Garcia, with original music by Mozart Gabriel Abeyta.Discover curated home goods and fine art prints by Blue Rain Gallery artists — only at BlueRainPrintShop.com. Bring the art you love into your everyday life.

In this episode of the Blue Rain Gallery Podcast, host Leroy Garcia speaks with painter Robin Jones about her newest exhibition, Nos Galan Gaeaf—a series inspired by Celtic ancestry, animism, and the thin veil between the spiritual and physical worlds. Jones discusses how researching her Welsh, Irish, and Scottish roots shaped this collection, and how her portraits of adolescent girls exist at a powerful threshold—between childhood and adulthood, the modern world and the ancestral, the living world and spirit. Nature becomes an active presence in the work: dragonflies, birds, stone cathedrals, ocean winds, and crumbling architecture all carry energy and symbolism. Throughout the conversation, Robin explains her animistic worldview, her process of creating environments alive with “personhood,” and why she uses architecture and sacred sites from Celtic lands to deepen the storytelling in her paintings. Leroy and Robin also explore themes of environmental stewardship, cultural inheritance, and how young people—especially young women—embody the future. 
View available work by Robin Jones: https://blueraingallery.com/artists/robin-jones/view-allSubscribe to the Blue Rain Gallery Podcast for more artist interviews, cultural insights, and contemporary art discussions.This episode was hosted by gallery owner and founder Leroy Garcia, produced and edited by Leah Garcia, with original music by Mozart Gabriel Abeyta.Discover curated home goods and fine art prints by Blue Rain Gallery artists — only at BlueRainPrintShop.com. Bring the art you love into your everyday life.

In this episode of the Blue Rain Gallery Podcast, host Leroy Garcia speaks with renowned figurative painter Mark Pugh, whose surreal and psychological works explore the human condition through symbolism, storytelling, and emotional depth. From his background in psychology to his breakthrough moment of artistic authenticity, Pugh discusses how curiosity about the human mind drives his art, merging technical mastery with narrative imagination.

About Mark PughMark Pugh is an award-winning figurative painter from Utah whose works blend realism, surrealism, and psychological narrative. Known for their emotional resonance and dreamlike quality, his paintings invite reflection on identity, connection, and the unseen layers of human experience. Pugh’s art has received multiple awards from the Portrait Society of America and is represented by Blue Rain Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.Find his available artwork here: https://blueraingallery.com/artists/surrealism-showSubscribe to the Blue Rain Gallery Podcast for more artist interviews, cultural insights, and contemporary art discussions.This episode was hosted by gallery owner and founder Leroy Garcia, produced and edited by Leah Garcia, with original music by Mozart Gabriel Abeyta.Discover curated home goods and fine art prints by Blue Rain Gallery artists — only at BlueRainPrintShop.com. Bring the art you love into your everyday life.