This week the cinematographer and steadicam operator Ghitta Larsen whose credits include The Shop, My Kind of People, 90 Day Fiance, Meek. Ghitta was born in Sonoma, CA in 1994. She has a younger brother Anthony who is a jazz musician. Her mother Sylvia, an architect, constantly encouraged Ghitta to pursue her talents in a variety of sports. A challenge that Ghitta took seriously which resulted in her becoming a competitive swimmer at age nine. From there she discovered water polo and, in her words, became obsessed with the sport, playing for the Central Coast ODP team at Sonoma Valley High School and then Division 1 in Southern California during college at Cal State Northridge, which led to joining the Olympic Development Program. When she moved to New York Ghitta explored weightlifting and became competitive. She says she still has unfinished business in this arena but for now she is into Cross Fit, which also helps her core strength for camera work. During her sports career Ghitta studied film, graduating from the New York University's Tisch School of the Arts with a Bachelor’s Degree in Film & TV. in 2016. Her first job combined her love of filming with the sport of cross fit and since then she has widened her aperture to include music videos, shorts and TV. She enjoys thought provoking genres, including horror movies and has ambitions to explore underwater photography too, which would combine her love for swimming.  Currently she is spending most of her time as a camera operator and as a DP. Ghitta lives in New York with her partner Rusmaldo Faccio.
 
Ghitta’s links:
https://www.ghittalarsen.com/
https://www.instagram.com/ghitta.larsen
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12820074/
 
Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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This week the American photographer Barbara Nitke whose life has taken her from hardcore porn sets to the BDSM world and to the fashion world as her art evolves. She is as ambitious as ever expanding her many talents to currently producing her own movie American Ecstasy, which is projected to begin filming in 2026. As a vibrant septuagenarian, Barbara has widened her aperture across a career that began in the porn theaters of the 80s where she was tasked to screen more than 100 films; to the high art of the fashion industry in the reality TV show Project Runway, which she shot for 18 seasons.  Barbara was born in Lynchburg, VA in 1950 the eldest of three children to Eloise “Vicky” Smiley Gregory, a meteorologist who worked for 30 years at the National Weather Service, and Paul Gervase Gregory, Jr., a WWII veteran and air traffic controller. Barbara has a younger brother, Gary Gregory, a software developer, and sister Mary Jane Gregory, a glass artist. She describes her childhood as unhappy and rebellious, constantly seeking her own independence. It was 1967 before her father disclosed an earlier marriage to the family and in 1987 she discovered that the author and sex researcher Shere Hite was her half-sister. Barbara’s family moved across the country when she was a child from Virginia to Alaska, which meant she attended a variety of schools. For college Barbara made her way to New York to study business, literature and writing at Baruch College, and photography at the International Center for Photography and School of Visual Arts. In her late 20’s she started photographing professionally and in1982, she says she found her subject on a porn set when she was given full access to be creative. Her first marriage to Herb Nitke lasted 13 years and gave her opportunities to develop her photographic skills in an unlikely world.  Among her many credits are Hustlers, 2019, Monsterland, 2020, The Equalizer, 2021, The Gilded Age, 2023, Smile, 2024 and Project Runway - 225 episodes from 2004-2021. Barbara’s work has been exhibited internationally at venues including Storage APT, New York; the Hartnett Gallery at University of Rochester; One Eyed Jacks Gallery, Brighton, England; and Barristers, New Orleans. She is included in the permanent collections of the Kinsey Institute, the Finnish Museum of Photography, the Leslie-Lohman Museum, and others. Her images have been the subject of articles in numerous venues, including Office Magazine, Forbes, Dazed, Slate, Vice, Harper’s Magazine, and The New York Times. Barbara is married to Kenneth Wyban an Army Veteran and the couple divide their time between New York City and Ohio.

Barbara’s links: https://www.barbaranitke.com/
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0632987/
https://www.instagram.com/barbaranitke/
 
Some of Barbara’s favorite female artists:
Mary Ellen Mark
Diane Arbus
Sally Mann
Cindy Sherman
Marilyn Minter 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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This week the American multidisciplinary artist and designer Hannah Polskin. Hannah combine’s fine art and design to create a freeform aesthetic that melds across each project. She is most inspired when she has free rein to take over an entire space, which includes paintings, mirrors, kitchen islands, rugs, menorahs, etc. thus creating an entire visual concept. Hannah was born in New York City in 1989, the youngest of two daughters, to parents Philippa and Howard Polskin, both of who worked in public relations. It was in this environment that Hannah became enamored with office and studios spaces surrounded by her mother’s art collection. This gave her the foundation for her ambitions in art and design so it was a natural choice for her to pursue a career in this field. She attended the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), graduating in 2007 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design.  Hannah then spent nine years working in consumer insights with a Fortune 500 company, which gave her a range of skills that would help her develop her own business. In 2016, she established her own studio in Los Angeles and in 2019 held her first solo show. She describes her style as calm and serene with an energy that becomes therapy while embracing life and love. Her goal is to continue to expand her art to include other mediums such as doors, antiques, jewelry, roman coins, candles and table top sculptures. Hannah lives in Los Angeles with her husband Gil Manzuri.
 
Hannah’s links:
https://www.hannahpolskin.com/ 
https://www.instagram.com/hannahpolskinstudio
 
Hannah’s favorite female artists:
Meret Oppenheim (d)
Tracey Emin
Austyn Weiner 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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Jana Ireijo is an Hawaii born muralist whose passion as a conservation artist is born out of a love of art that started at a very young age. Jana creates vanishing murals using charcoal gathered from areas recently affected by wildfires.  This material, formed by the heat of the flames, carries the story of destruction and renewal that is intrinsic to the natural world.  She says her art is a reflection of the transience and impermanence of life and nature. Born in Honolulu in 1968, Jana has spent most of her life in transit leaving the island for California, before attending grad school in New York, then as a divorced woman to Connecticut where she raised her family, and finally returning to Hawai’i in 2023, where she has come full circle. Jana is the eldest of three children; she has a younger sister and brother. Her parents Rona August, a realtor, father James Ireijo, and step-father Joel August (both attorneys) encouraged Jana as a child to explore the arts, taking her to museums and galleries, and ensuring she always had access to arts and crafts. It was her mother that recognized a natural talent and told Jana she would become an artist. When the time came to choice her career pathway, Jana was drawn to advertising and after graduating from H. P. Baldwin High School (Maui) in 1986, she headed for the University of Hawai’i at Manoa to earn a BFA in Graphic Design in1991.  She then attended Pratt Institute, New York, where she earned an MFA Painting in 1999.  Jana took ten years off from her art to raise a family before turning her hand to public murals and developing her own style. Now back in the islands as an empty nester, Jana has immersed herself in her passion for environmental issues, such as the ocean, deep sea mining, and helping her community. She is also working on her first book for children entitled Vanishing Moon. 
 
Jana’s links:
https://janaireijo.co/
https://www.instagram.com/janaireijo
 
Some favorite female artists:
Gillian Jagger - sculptor - she was my thesis advisor at Pratt, and a huge influence in my practice. Maya Lin
Lita Albuquerque
Nina Bentley 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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Annemarie Lean-Vercoe is a British Award winning and BAFTA Nominated Cinematographer. Her most recently lensed Outrageous, which follows the lives of the fascinating Mitford Sisters. The show premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2025 and will be airing this summer on UKTV and BritBoxTV.  Annemarie is a graduate of the National Film and Television School (NFTS) with film and TV credits as Cinematographer or Director of Photography spanning more than 26 years. These include Call the Midwife, Breeders, The Chelsea Detective, All Creatures Great and Small, Marilyn Reframed, the BAFTA winner Suffragettes with Lucy Worsley and BAFTA nominated Is There Anybody Out There.  Annemarie was born in Devon, England in 1977 and has an older sister and step siblings. Her parents divorced when she was just four but remarried locally and remained close by, providing Annemarie with an extended family. In his second career her father was a sailing photographer who introduced her to cameras and she soon developed a curiosity as to what was possible behind the lens. She enjoyed an idyllic childhood with freedom to explore the surrounding countryside, learning to ride ponies and how to sail. After Yealmpton Primary School, Annemarie attended the Royal School in Bath but left early to be with her mother. An early interest in arts and crafts then led her to a year-long Foundation Arts Course before attending an under-graduate program at the London College of Printing (University of the Arts London). By now she had developed an interest in film cameras and started to gain some experience as a trainee on productions in the UK. A series of introductions and the benefit of a scholarship led her to the NFTS with an eye to becoming a cinematographer.  After graduating Annemarie has been consistently in demand balancing her career with raising her family, thanks to the help of her mother and mother-in-law. She is a proud member of Illuminatrix and Women Behind The Camera.  Her numerous awards include BAFTA, BIFA and STAR OF TOMORROW.  Annemarie is currently in production on the British TV drama series Bergerac.  She lives in Sussex, England with her husband Finn and two children.
 
Annemarie’s links:
https://cargocollective.com/cinematographer
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1233187/
https://www.instagram.com/annemarieleanvercoe1 https://www.illuminatrixdops.com/member/annemarie-lean-vercoe/
 
Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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Email: [email protected]

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This week the Colombian fine artist, Catalina Gomez Beuth.  Catalina says: ‘Through my art I narrate, with brush strokes in people’s faces, each person’s individuality, avoiding the boundaries created by skin color and ethnicity.” She invites the viewer to start a conversation and connect with something deeper to discover the humanity we all share and to feel the raw emotions such as innocence, hopelessness, loneliness, resilience, happiness, determination and more that she portrays in each canvas. Catalina was born in Medellín, Colombia in 1970 to parents Rosita Beuth, a house wife, and Jorge Gomez, a businessman who divorced when she was 17. Catalina has a younger brother and sister. As a child she was constantly drawn to her art which proved her refuge when her family life became challenging. After High School she studied fashion design at the Escuela De Diseño Proyectual (School of Design Proyectual) and further developed her interest for design while studying in Italy. Upon graduating she worked for seven years in her father’s factory, which, she says, was more of a job than a career. However, her true passion has always been painting and she found time to continue her art and begin selling it in Colombia. Catalina met her future husband while on vacation in the US and in 2001 the couple moved to the US where she was able to establish a studio and become a professional artist while raising a family. Catalina lives in Georgia with her husband Jose Pablo Cellario and two children Camilla and Matias.
 
Catallna’s links:
Website: https://www.catalinagomezbeuthart.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catalinagomezbeuthart/
 
Some of Catalina’s favorite artists:  
Suzy Schultz     
Lene Kilde  
Lita Cabellut 

Produced by Hollowell Studios
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This week we meet the Hollywood makeup artist Farah Bunch whose work has earned her multiple nominations in Daytime and Primetime TV  Awards and Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards. Her work over several seasons on the hugely successful TV Comedy Will & Grace proved a pivotal moment in her career. Other notable credits include Dancing with the Stars, The Oscars, Sunset Beach, Entourage, Fuller House, and Makeup Department Head on Frazier on Paramount +.  Farah was born in 1975 in Toluca Lake, California where she and her brother Justin were raised in the long shadow of the Hollywood sign.  Her parents; the producer and six-time Emmy nominated film and television composer Velton Ray Bunch, and three-time Emmy nominated makeup artist Patricia (Patty) Bunch who were once the Disco Band known as Strut, introduced Farah to a life on set from an early age. She was five years old when she made her set debut. She also has a couple of acting credits to her name. But it was always going to be makeup that would be the foundation of her career from the moment at 18 when she graduated from the Joe Blasco Makeup School. Her mother’s status in the industry and guidance on set steered her into multi-camera shoots, which is the world she loves most of all, despite having early ambitions to be a pop-singer with encouragement from her father. She remains inspired by her music and is currently writing a musical with her father. Farah recently obtained a license from the International College of Beauty in Esthetician and Cosmetology. She lives in Toluca Lake, California with her two cats.
 
Farah’s links: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1095568/
https://www.instagram.com/farahbunch/
@farahbunch 

Some of Farah’s female artists:
Jo Baker
Kathryn Bigelow 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
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Email: [email protected]

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This week the Canadian-American actor and filmmaker Leanne Johnson whose philosophy is founded on seeking understanding and sharing truth through bold characters and stories to redefine the narrative about women in film and our world. Since graduating from the University of Alberta in 2011 with a BSc. in Nutrition and Food Science, Leanne has consistently produced a repertoire of diverse and dynamic performances. In May 2025 she made her directorial debut with A Tree Falls in The Forest, which speaks to her raison d’etre as a storyteller. Her performance in the 2024 action-crime movie Extraction, USA resonates with her own story of humble beginnings growing up the daughter of immigrants in rural Alberta.  Her credits range from NBC's Chicago PD to Dracula: The Count’s Kin, Chasing Rabbits, Oregonda and Idle Girl. She has garnered multiple Best Actress awards including Chasing Rabbits (2022), Oregonda (2024) plus best Supporting Actress in Greek Fire-Demon Spirit (2023).  As well as her versatility on screen, Leanne is a Personal Trainer having graduated from the National Academy of Sports Training (NASM), in Lafayette, IN. Her lifelong love for sports is evident in a range of skills, including snowboarding, martial arts and roller derby where she is known as Chariot of Fire. Leanne embraces her queer identity and stereotype-bending on-screen performances while staying true to her faith which remains at her core. Leanne is currently based in Indiana and is a proud mother of two daughters.
 
Leanne’s links:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9786306/
https://www.leannejohnsonofficial.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@leannejohnsonactor
https://www.instagram.com/leannejohnsonofficial 

Some of Leanne's favorite actors: 
Helen Mirren
Kate Winslet
Margot Robbie
Jennifer Lawrence
Frances McDormand
Brie Larson
Chloe Zhao
Julia Roberts
Sandra Bullock

Leanne’s playlist:
Marlee Carpenter
Need To Breathe
Coldplay 
Lady Gaga 
Taya Hozier

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
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Email: [email protected]

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This week we meet the Australian painter Sarah Hickey whose bold colors radiate through her expansive canvases expressing an internal world of dreaming and reflection through her spirituality and imagination. We hear how Sarah’s creative soul was evident in her childhood as she explored a range of visual elements from theater to fashion and iconography. Sarah was born in Brisbane in 1975 and grew up in the surrounding area.  She was educated at Queensland College of Art where she earned a BFA in Visual Art and a BEd at Griffith University. Parents Eileen and Paul gave Sarah and her younger brother Sean the freedom to explore, which enabled Sarah to connect with nature in a spiritual sense—something that is constant in her paintings. While in high school, Sarah visited England, France and Spain when she became enthralled by European artists. After she graduated college she spent time in Germany as a nanny living her own version of her favorite film, The Sound of Music. Sarah was always drawn to teaching and has been a High School Art teacher for 23 years. After her marriage to George Hickey, Sarah returned to her art and has participated in numerous shows and exhibitions, and garnered several awards including The Percival Portrait and Sunshine Coast National Art Prize, The Kennedy Art Prize, Redland Art Awards. Sarah lives in Brisbane with her husband George and dog Molly.

Sarah's website: https://sarahhickey.com.au/
Instagram:@sarahhickeyart 

Some of Sarah’s favorite artists:
Frida Kahlo
Lucy Culliton (Australian painter)
Clairy Laurence (sculptor)
Laura Jones (Australian painter)
Yvette Coppersmith
Julie Fragar
Judith Nangala Crispin
Olivia Godbee 
Alicia Cornwell 
Penelope Boyd 
Wendy Sharpe 

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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Email: [email protected]

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This week the American Landscape Painter Kim Casebeer whose career spans some 25 years and whose work is shown in private, corporate and museum collections throughout the United States. Kim is represented in galleries from Colorado to Wyoming, Montana, Arizona and her home state of Kansas. She is, she says, in a good place in her career now balancing her time between studio commissioned work, plein air painting and teaching workshops. Kim was born in Newton, KS in 1970 and grew up in the tiny town of Goessel, KS with her two younger sisters Trish and Jenny. Her father Lloyd is a retired farmer and mother Marlene, a retired nurse. Kim’s family are fifth generation farmers so her childhood was spent learning to grow a variety of crops and compete in the local 4H club where her talent as a horticulturist was noteworthy. An early interest in all things artistic was encouraged by her parents from drawing tractors with her dad to learning a variety of mediums through high school. It was a natural progression for Kim to choose art school as she laid the foundation for her career by graduating with a Bachelor in Fine Arts from Kansas State University with an emphasis in Graphic Design in 1992. It was here that she met Shannon and the couple recently celebrated their 31st wedding anniversary. Upon graduating, Kim’s first jobs were in graphic design with her art work pursued as a hobby. It was only when her paintings were generating more income than her employment that Kim decided it was time to quit her day job and focus on being a full-time artist in 2001. Kim is a Master Signature Member of the American Women Artists, and a Signature Member of the Oil Painters of America and the Pastel Society of America. She has received multiple awards and publicity for her work that focuses on the big skies and wide open spaces of the western United States. Kim lives in Manhattan, KS with her husband Shannon, sons Collin and Lucas, and Australian Shepherd, Matilda.
 
Kim’s links:
https://www.kimcasebeer.com/
https://www.instagram.com/kimcasebeerartist/
 
Some favorite female artists in visual arts:
Kami Mendlik
Chula Beauregard
Jane Hunt
Cindy Baron
Shanna Hernandez
Melissa Scott Miller 
Jan Beaney 
Chiharu Shiota 
 
Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
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Email: [email protected]

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/aart--5814675/support.