From abstracts to rendered "mermen", John Smiddy's paintings are infused with a contemplative quality, whether they're nightmarish or whimsical, or both at the same time. Gina and Peter discuss his fascinating journey through a disparate resumé of careers, fortuitous meetings, and how music lies behind everything. We spoke to John in his brightly lit, high-ceiling painting studio in West Oakland, California.

See John's work at his web site: www.johnsmiddy.com

Peter and Gina meet up with "appropriation artist" Tim Buckwalter in his office at the NIAD Art Center in Richmond, CA to discuss the genesis of his work as being based upon "reuse", his background as a music nerd, surviving as an artist, and being gallery director at NIAD.

http://timbuckwalter.com/

http://niadart.org/

And buy affordable art!:

https://niadart.myshopify.com/

Masako Miki is a multi-discipline visual artist living and working in Berkeley, California. Art Talks Again spoke to her smack dab in the middle of the De Young Museum gallery where she was artist-in-residence for the month of August 2016, illuminated by the comforting glow of her paper lantern sculptures. We learn about her upbringing in Japan and her move to North America without knowing a word of English, the evolution of her process through life upheavals, the Yokai tradition, and share an understanding about cats.

To see more of Masako's work, visit www.masakomiki.com