Episode 111 of the Blue Rain Gallery Podcast welcomes acclaimed Caddo and Winnebago painter Dolores Purdy for an inspiring conversation about ledger art, Indigenous storytelling, identity, and the evolution of contemporary Native art. In this episode, Dolores shares her journey growing up in a military family, discovering her cultural roots, and developing her signature style that blends traditional ledger art influences with richly detailed contemporary compositions.

Hosted at Blue Rain Gallery, this in-depth artist interview explores the history of ledger art — from its origins among Plains warriors documenting personal and tribal histories on buffalo hides and paper, to Dolores Purdy’s modern interpretation using colored pencil, watercolor, and layered visual storytelling. Dolores discusses how women’s perspectives influence her work, the symbolism behind her female figures, textiles, and imagery, and how her art bridges historical traditions with contemporary Native expression.

Dolores also reflects on her 25-year career exhibiting at Santa Fe Indian Market, her work in museum and Smithsonian collections, and the importance of creating art that resonates beyond labels — art collected for its emotional depth, craftsmanship, and universal human connection.

If you’re passionate about Native American art, contemporary Indigenous artists, Southwest art, ledger art history, Santa Fe Indian Market, or collecting museum-quality contemporary Native artwork, this episode offers valuable insight into one of today’s respected Native painters.

View available artwork by Dolores Purdy: https://blueraingallery.com/artists/dolores-purdy

Subscribe to the Blue Rain Gallery Podcast for more artist interviews, cultural insights, and contemporary art conversations.

This episode was hosted by Laura Garcia, produced and edited by Leah Garcia, with original music by Mozart Gabriel Abeyta.

Discover curated home goods 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 welcomes painter Paige Pierson for a conversation exploring the journey behind her work and the influences that continue to shape her artistic voice. From her early beginnings in Oklahoma City and formative training in Texas to New Mexico, Pierson reflects on how place, memory, and experience have guided her path as an artist.The discussion highlights Pierson’s distinctive approach to painting, particularly her soft, atmospheric depictions of Northern New Mexico landscapes, adobe architecture, and culturally significant sites like La Plaza del Cerro. Alongside her landscape work, she shares insight into her figurative paintings and the role of observation, family history, and emotional nuance in her process. Together, Garcia and Pierson explore themes of artistic discipline, creative growth, and the importance of daily practice in building a meaningful life in art.Find original artwork by Paige Pierson available at Blue Rain Gallery: https://blueraingallery.com/artists/paige-piersonSubscribe to the Blue Rain Gallery Podcast for more artist interviews, cultural insights, and contemporary art conversations.This episode was hosted by Laura Garcia, produced and edited by Leah Garcia, with original music by Mozart Gabriel Abeyta.Discover curated home goods by Blue Rain Gallery artists — only at BlueRainPrintShop.com. Bring the art you love into your everyday life.

In Episode 109 of the Blue Rain Gallery Podcast, host Leroy Garcia welcomes painter Tony De Luz for an intimate studio conversation exploring the creative journey behind his upcoming show "66 and Beyond," an inspired body of work, and his evolving relationship with Blue Rain Gallery.

De Luz reflects on the cultural power of America’s historic highway, sharing how its vintage signage, neon-lit motels, and small-town storefronts have become central motifs in his paintings. From Flagstaff to Albuquerque and Durango, the landscapes and communities of the Southwest provide both visual language and emotional grounding for his art, celebrating nostalgia while reimagining it through a contemporary lens.

The episode also traces Tony’s path from commercial illustration to fine art, highlighting the persistence required to build a meaningful career in today’s creative economy. In a candid moment, he discusses his participation in the docuseries Glitter & Greed: The Lisa Frank Story, speaking openly about workplace culture, artistic integrity, and the importance of advocating for fair treatment in creative industries.

Throughout the conversation, Garcia and De Luz explore themes of mentorship, artistic growth, and the quiet power of community, whether found in a small gallery town, along a winding railroad track, or through the enduring stories embedded in America’s roadsides.

This episode offers listeners a thoughtful look at how place, memory, and perseverance shape an artist’s voice, and why Tony De Luz’s work continues to resonate with collectors and audiences across the Southwest.

Find original artwork by Tony De Luz available at Blue Rain Gallery: https://blueraingallery.com/artists/tony-de-luz

Subscribe 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 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.

Join Blue Rain Gallery owner Leroy Garcia as he sits down with acclaimed Hopi Katsina (Kachina) carvers Stetson Honyumptewa and his son Aaron Honyumptewa for an intimate conversation on tradition, innovation, and legacy in contemporary Katsina carving.In this special episode, the Honyumptewas share stories of their family lineage, the evolution of Katsina dolls from early materials to advanced woodburning techniques, and the influence of legendary carvers who paved the way for today’s artists. Together, they discuss the spiritual and cultural significance of Katsina figures, the role of cottonwood root in carving, and the delicate balance between honoring tradition and creating new expressions.
Whether you’re a collector, an art enthusiast, or new to Katsina culture, this conversation offers rare behind-the-scenes insight into one of the most respected Hopi art traditions, carried forward by two master carvers.

Explore Katsina Dolls at Blue Rain Gallery: https://blueraingallery.com/search?q=%2Fsearch&search=kachina🔔 Subscribe 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, we sit down with legendary Western Pop artist Billy Schenck to explore the stories, inspirations, and cinematic constructs behind his latest body of work. Known as one of the most influential painters of the Southwest, Schenck shares how he layers photography, memory, and imagination to create dynamic compositions that blur the line between realism and myth.From rodeo cowboys suspended mid-air to Navajo jewelers, Pueblo women with pottery, and sweeping Monument Valley horizons, Billy reveals how he constructs scenes using multiple photographic negatives, prehistoric pottery motifs, and a cinematic approach to light and shadow. His paintings capture the drama of Canyonlands, Cedar Mesa, and the San Juan River—infused with both historical reverence and contemporary vision.Hear about Schenck’s deep fascination with prehistoric Southwest pottery, his process of integrating cottonwood trees and mesas into iconic Western landscapes, and his perspective as a former rodeo champion and cultural historian. The episode highlights signature works like "Shortcut" and portraits inspired by friends, neighbors, and fellow artists, while unpacking the balance of design, narrative, and authenticity in his art.Whether you are an art collector, student of Southwestern history, or admirer of Western iconography, this conversation offers a rare glimpse into the mind of “the most interesting man in the West.”

Explore Billy Schenck at Blue Rain Gallery: https://blueraingallery.com/artists/billy-schenckThis 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.