Pep Talks for Artists

Ep 92: Some Thoughts on Drawing (Part 3)

Pep Talks for Artists

Show Notes

Artists, Jennifer Coates, David Humphrey and Catherine Haggarty and are back for Part 3 of our series on Drawing. This time we switched things up and each artist brought both an artwork from art history and a related work of their own to discuss. Get ready to hear some vivid "ekphrasis" on our drawing picks (new vocab word unlocked-thanks, David!).

Jennifer brought “The Castle with the Angel” 1863 by Victor Hugo and her own mixed media on yupo drawing “Heads in the Brambles” 2025 David brought Odilon Redon's "Self Portrait" 1880 and his own painted drawing "Before the Couch” 2023 Catherine brought Catherine Murphy's “Rose's Coloring Book” 2011 and her own wax crayon work "Bus Drawing" 2024 Amy brought Paul Klee's "Ugly Angel" 1939 and her own graphite drawing "Reversal (Ingres)" 2024

Other artworks mentioned: The Sketchbooks of John Constable, Eugene Delacroix and JMW Turner, Catherine Murphy "In the Grass" 2011, Kerry James Marshall "Untitled" 2009, Paul Klee "Untitled (Last Still Life)" 1940, "Still Ugly Angel" 1940, "Vigilant Angel" 1939, "Bell Angel" 1939, "Doubting Angel" 1939, "Angel in a Crisis II" 1939 , "Mis- Angel " 1939, "Angelus Novus" 1920, "Angel of Care on a Steep Road" 1931 Books mentioned: "Hunchback of Notre Dame" and "Les Miserables" by Victor Hugo, "The Angels of Paul Klee" by Boris Friedewald, "Exploring Masterpieces : a Fact-Filled Coloring Book" 1990 Artists mentioned: Victor Hugo, Odilon Redon, Catherine Murphy, Paul Klee, John Constable, Eugene Delacroix, JMW Turner, Kerry James Marshall, Josephine Halvorson, Jasper Johns (his Mind/Mirror retrospective at Whitney Museum), Judy Glantzman, Franz Marc, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, Jane Fine, James Esber, Erica Svec, Zachary Wollard

More about the speakers: Jennifer Coates: ⁠⁠⁠web⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠IG⁠⁠⁠ David Humprhrey: ⁠⁠web⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠IG⁠⁠ Catherine Haggarty: ⁠⁠web⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠IG⁠ Amy Talluto: web and IG

Upcoming exhibitions: Jennifer and David have work at 1Gap Gallery in "2>1" Curated by Michael Holden thru Jan 5, 2026 (Brooklyn) Amy has work in: "Eyes in the Sky" (solo) at theNextWaveGallery at SHOWROOM at Guerra Paint & Pigments curated by Nicole Castaldo thru Oct 31, 2025 (Maspeth-Queens) "Often I am Permitted to Return to a Meadow" at Active Space curated by Patrick Bower and Robert Zurer of Immaterial Projects Nov 7 - Nov 22, 2025 (Bushwick-Brooklyn) "A Gnawing Thought " at Utopia Gallery curated by Mandolyn Wilson Rosen Dec 6 -Jan 24, 2026 (Kingston, NY) "Relic" at Platform Project Space curated by Alyssa Fanning, Michael Lee and Patrick Neal Jan 30-Feb 5, 2026 (Dumbo-Brooklyn) Congrats to Catherine and Andrew Prayzner on their beautiful baby girl, Juliette Margaret!

Thank you for listening!

All music by Soundstripe ---------------------------- Pep Talks on IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@peptalksforartists⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Pep Talks Website: ⁠⁠https://www.peptalksforartists.com/⁠⁠ Amy, your beloved host, on IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@talluts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Amy's website: ⁠⁠https://www.amytalluto.com/⁠⁠ Pep Talks on Art Spiel as written essays: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://tinyurl.com/7k82vd8s⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BuyMeACoffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Donations always appreciated!

More from Pep Talks for Artists

Sep 28, 2026

Paul Klee loved working in a wide variety of styles at once in his paintings: abstract, representational, runic or symbolic. His oeuvre literally contains multitudes. I recently saw a show of his late works in New York at the Jewish Museum and was amazed at how many mediums and approaches to painting were on display. This episode honors him and his radical reconsideration of Painting with a side detour on Magritte. Come along for a wild ride!

Aug 20, 2026

We're talking collage! Jennifer Coates joins me in a quest to get to the heart of why collage is such a powerful generator in the studio. We also take a look at 2 artists who used collage in different ways: Lee Krasner and Jess. Krasner used collage at certain key moments to bridge bodies of work, and Jess used collage as his main ecstatic medium spanning more than 4 decades of his output. As Krasner teaches us: "Knife or scissors...no tear! "

Jul 5, 2026

Louise Bourgeois Part 2! Mandolyn Wilson Rosen is back in her Book Talks seat to help me dissect a new delicious art book: Drawings & Observations by Louise Bourgeois with Lawrence Rinder. Bourgeois referred to these sketches as her "thought feathers" and revealed her thinking behind the reproduced works in recordings transcribed by curator Lawrence Rinder. It was so cool to get these direct insights into her imagery. This episode is a sequel to the recording right before this one (about our trip to view Louise Bourgeois' NYC home). Check out Part 1 if you missed it!

May 25, 2026

Beka Goedde and Mandolyn Wilson Rosen join me this episode to unpack our experience visiting renowned artist, Louise Bourgeois' home in NYC. We entered her historic brownstone and were immediately transported to another world and time. Louise lived a full life but was very much an artistic homebody. She made her home her studio in every sense of the word, stuffing each room full of materials to be on hand whenever inspiration struck. She found a way to balance family life with making her work and rode out long career lulls with grace and determination. Come along with us as we discuss our peek inside her sanctuary.

Mar 12, 2026

In this new Book Talks episode, Mandolyn Wilson Rosen is back to help me review a new art book: Jack Whitten: Notes From the Woodshed, Edited by Katy Siegel for Hauser & Wirth. Equal parts profound, strident and hilarious, Jack Whitten's (1939-2018) 50 year studio log packs a wallop. And it's meaty at 581 pages, so we had lots to discuss! Stick around to hear some sage advice, inspiring tales of studio experimentation and even some positive affirmations from this incredible painter and sculptor.

See all episodes →