I recently gave a lecture called "Ed Mell: A Closer Look" at the Phoenix Art Museum and I wanted to share it with all of you as an episode of my podcast.

It was an interesting experience for me for two reasons. One, I knew Ed very well as a friend. Two, I represented him for almost 30 years. So with this lecture, I got to think and speak about him how an art historian would. The friendship element was part of the lecture, no doubt, but the talk is filled with the other more analytical art world components as well.

For example, I talk about the difference between a 1980 Ed Mell and a 1981 Ed Mell. I analyze the kind of subject matter that he did and when he did it and why he did it. If you love Ed Mell you will probably find this talk that I did to be very interesting and maybe even compelling. I thought it was a really enjoyable from the speaking perspective.

The Phoenix Art Museum just has such a beautiful collection and they have an exhibit called "Ed Mell: In the Studio" in their all new James K. Ballinger Wing. The wing is going to be closed for a renovation from now until mid September 2026, but it'll be open again after Labor Day. Once it opens back up, the Ed Mell exhibition will be up through April 2027. Most of the work in the exhibit came right out of his studio, including some very early pastels and small oil studies. It's a very cool setup and it was curated by Chief Curator Olga Viso, who I interview at the end of the podcast about the show.

So if you love Ed Mell, you might want to watch this one. Keep in mind the YouTube version will have all of the images I discuss, as well as the bonus interview at the end that shows parts of "Ed Mell: In the Studio."

I love a podcast that's a little different. Today, Shonto Begay showed up with four new paintings and they're all terrific. One of them however was incredibly important because it explores Shonto's experience at an Indian school and how that affected him. I mean, he's 72 years old and this is something that still affects him to this day and I completely understand why.

You see, he's able to make that world different in his own mind through the catharsis of painting. In this painting I'm referring to, he explores that and lets the viewer see it how they want to see it, but the story of the painting is there for everyone. If you go to the YouTube version of the podcast you'll be able to actually see the painting we're talking about.

So we talk about the four paintings he brings in for about half of the podcast, and then we move over to the Maynard Dixon and Native American Art Museum where we talk about a couple of his other paintings that are a part of the exhibition "Native Voices: 75 Years of Creativity."

One is called "Helpless," which is a monumentally important painting and a marker for Shonto's art career. It was done in 1996, and I've owned it for at least 15 years. It happens to be a very important painting in my life as well.

Shonto is somebody that I respect and appreciate very much. You can hear the passion, the wisdom, and the energy that he breathes into the world as he speaks. He's just a remarkable individual, not only as a painter, but as just a human being. I'm grateful that I get to show his work and to call him my friend.

This is Shonto Begay on episode 391 of the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast.

Today's podcast was a panel that I was a part of alongside artists Kim Wiggins, Martin Grelle, and my son, Charles Sublette, moderated by Tim Newton. We talk about Western art, the future of art in general, how the world perceives what we happen to specialize in.

With the artists on the panel, we had two different but equally qualified individuals. There was Martin Grelle being on the traditional side and Kim Wiggins who is more of a modernist. They talk about how they see things in their world, from their perspectives as creatives.

Then on the other end of the spectrum you have myself and my son, Charles. I was invited to the panel because of my 35 years of experience as an art dealer specializing in Western art, having worked with museums like the Briscoe on many occasions. Charles on the other hand, sees things in a different light because he's much younger and in tune with a completely different audience.

So it's a good mix of how we see the world of Western art and where it's heading. It was fun to do and it lasted about an hour. We had some good Q&A afterwards. You can watch us on YouTube if you want to see how we just kind of talk and interact, which I think is always interesting.

I'm typically surprised when I go and do one of these things, because you just don't know what's going to come up, or how others see what you see differently. That being said, Tim Newton did a lovely job of moderating all the different aspects and voices and it was a great time.

So hope you enjoy this panel at the Briscoe Western Art Museum on Art Dealer Diaries Podcast episode 390.

I recently attended and exhibited at Scottsdale Art Week, which was the third week in March. They had a lovely series of lectures, and one of them was with photographer Cara Romero. She's a terrific artist that I have in my personal collection.

The Phoenix Art Museum has a big show of her work on display through June 2026 called "Cara Romero: Panûpünüwügai (Living Light)." It's a terrific show and I have been up there twice since it opened. It's very well curated and it's an immersive experience.

In this lecture, Emilia Mickevicius, the Norton Family Assistant Curator of Photography at Phx Art, speaks with Cara about the exhibit and about the works in the First American Girl series, Indigenous Futurism series, and her most recent photographic works. They discuss the themes of survivance, activism and ecology, and how Cara weaves these into each and every photograph she takes.

Cara has her own gallery in Santa Fe and I highly recommend you go see that as well. It was a wonderful lecture. I really enjoyed it and I'm glad I get to upload this talk. This is photographer Cara Romero and curator Emilia Mickevicius on the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast.

This podcast is a very interesting podcast, because we get to talk to Curt Walters about his retrospective exhibition "Curt Walters: Resilience" at Western Spirit: Scottsdale Museum of the West. We walk through the exhibit and hear about his life as he speaks on his magnificent landscape paintings.

Curt was born in 1950 and he lived in Farmington, NM and this is where his artistic journey really begins. It was so interesting to do this walk-and-talk with Curt through the museum. To be able to see and speak with him and understand what he's done in life in front of some of his most monumental works of art.

I hope people come to see the show Western Spirit and I also hope you watch this on YouTube so you can really get the sense of what we were talking about. It's great as an audio-only experience, but there's something about actually seeing the paintings when he's describing them that is just wonderful.

Anyhow, I'm glad to have had the chance to record this and I hope you enjoy. This is master Grand Canyon painter Curt Walters on Art Dealer Diaries Podcast episode 388.

If you didn't get to come to our Thomas Blackshear opening and hear this lecture, well, you're in luck, because we recorded it and it was really a wonderful event. Basically, it was Thomas Blackshear and myself talking about the show "Neon Cowboy Posse, The Ten Most Wanted Plus One," and how the whole series began. Questions like, "what was the impetus to do it?" We talk about the characters that Thomas came up with, and how I wrote the short story styled after a pulp fiction magazine to accompany the show.

It's a very interesting lecture and i'm glad Thomas was so open to talking at my gallery. I really loved the fact that I got to be part of the creative process for the show. It's a rarity for art dealers. We usually get to come up maybe with an idea or the way we set things up, but to be actually part of the creative process was a real joy.

As an added bonus, at the beginning of the talk folk recording artist Eli Blackshear (Thomas's son) sang two songs for us. We included that in the podcast as well and are so glad to get to share his talent with our audience.

And so that's what this is all about. I hope you enjoy Thomas Blackshear, Eli Blackshear and myself on Art Dealer Diaries Podcast episode 387.

When you get to go to an artist's studio, it's literally a sacred place. That's just the best way I can describe it, because it's where creativity begins and ends and inspiration is found there, too. In this case, it was Thomas Blackshear II and his studio.

To be able to see the things that made his career. Seeing the relics that he's held on to in addition to the WIP early stages of the show that is going to open here at Medicine Man Gallery on March 13, 2026. That second part was the main reason I was there. The show is called "Neon Cowboy Posse: The Ten Most Wanted Plus One" and I wanted to go to his studio to see how it was going. It's something we've been working on for almost two years and you get to see those early images of the pieces before they were completely finished.

This studio tour was done like six months ago. You also see his props, his library and an insight into other sides of his life, which are the figurines that he's very well known for. I'd recommend watching this on YouTube, because I think it'll have so much more impact to be able to visualize everything we discuss.

So this was a very special podcast because I'm in that inner sanctum and you get to be as well. This is Thomas Blackshear II on Art Dealer Diaries Podcast episode 386.

See the show online:
https://www.medicinemangallery.com/collections/march-6-2026

I had Jeremy Winborg on and what a wonderful person he is. I really enjoyed our talk. You know, he's just a classic artist in the sense that everything he's done in his life has been related to creating and making art.

It might be a genetic thing. His father, Larry C. Winborga, is a well-known illustrator and fine artists and his daughter Swede Winborg is an up-and-comer on the Western Art scene.

We had this discussion about how all of that affected his journey and how hard he still has to work on this journey. I mean, he really didn't hit his stride until he's in his late 30s and he's 46 now. So it's not one of these things where you you feel like, oh, he's just an overnight success. But was he actually? The answer is no.

Being an artist is a very difficult journey. Jeremy typifies that journey and we talk about that. So he's just a lovely guy. Jeremy Winborg on Art Dealer Diaries Podcast episode 385.