Grammy Winner Steve Wariner Talks "Holes in the Floor of Heaven," Dave Mustaine, Blake Shelton and his New Art Exhibit.

Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Steve Wariner welcomes Takin’ A Walk Nashville host Sarah Harralson into his home art studio in Franklin, Tennessee, for an intimate conversation that’s part music history lesson and part gallery tour. Best known for writing and recording the country classic “Holes in the Floor of Heaven,” as well as hits like “What I Didn’t Do,” Wariner has spent more than four decades at the center of Nashville’s music scene as a songwriter, session player, steel guitarist, and touring musician. He is also one of only five guitarists in the world to receive the Certified Guitar Player award from Chet Atkins, an honor that speaks to his standing among Nashville’s most respected musicians. On this episode, he opens up about a side of his creative life many fans have never seen: his parallel career as a visual artist. The conversation is timed to Wariner’s new exhibit, “Flipside Paintings by Steve Wariner,” on display at Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center in Hendersonville, Tennessee, through July 26th. Housed inside one of Tennessee’s historic antebellum mansions, the exhibit features 60 original works spanning 30 years, including oils, acrylics, watercolors, and mixed media. Sarah sits down with Steve in the studio where the magic happens, surrounded by half-finished canvases and decades of artistic history, to talk about how painting and songwriting feed off one another, what inspired his most personal pieces, and the stories behind his legendary songwriting career. Inside Steve Wariner’s Art Studio in Franklin, Tennessee Listeners get a rare look at the private creative sanctuary where Wariner paints almost every morning, admitting this is the first time he’s invited anyone in for an interview. He walks Sarah through pieces on his walls, including a landscape still in progress and paintings inspired by the Smoky Mountains and Blackberry Farm, describing how his visual art mirrors his eclectic musical taste, from bluegrass to classical to country. Wariner reflects on how looking back at a canvas painted decades ago versus a more recent piece reveals shifts in mood and perspective over time, much like listening back to old recordings, and notes that travel and touring often spark inspiration for new work, sometimes captured through photographs and sometimes simply from memory. “isten and Subscribe This episode offers a rare combination of intimate studio access, music history storytelling, and an inside look at the creative process of one of Nashville’s most accomplished and versatile artists. Takin’ A Walk Nashville is hosted by Sarah Harralson and is part of the Buzz Knight Media Productions podcast network, distributed through iHeartMedia. Check out the network’s other shows, including the flagship music history series Takin’ A Walk, hosted by Buzz Knight, along with Music Saved Me and Comedy Saved Me, both hosted by Lynn Hoffman. New episodes are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and everywhere podcasts are heard. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.