Art Problems

After years of producing social practice art, Peter Walsh wanted to get back in the studio. So he rented a space and started painting. But when he started reaching out to his old painting friends, he found most had moved on to other things. He needed community. 

He joined Netvvrk, along with many of the artists in his Brooklyn studio building. Then he practiced patience: he went to other people’s shows, built relationships, and let the work lead. That led to his first solo show in New York. 

In this episode, we talk about restarting a practice mid-career, the self-doubt that shows up even with a long CV, and why the artwork always has to come first. Peter lost a painting the day before we recorded. He painted over it and kept working. As he puts it, he's not done.

RELEVANT LINKS

Free Info Session, How to Get on a Museum’s Radar, Tuesday July 21, 7:00 PM EST
Peter Walsh

Guest: Mark Witzling, abstract painter

In this episode of Art Problems, I speak with Mark Witzling about his career path as a painter. Witzling continues our series on artists who are building careers regionally, and his story takes on a second challenge that artists ask me about all the time. Witzling doesn’t have an MFA or a BFA in art. 

 

And he works full time on his art. Want to know how he got his studio paid for and work placed without institutional bona fides, while living in St Louis, MO? Tune into this episode and find out! 

 

RELEVANT LINKS 

 

How to Get on a Museum’s Radar, (Free info session) Tuesday July 21, 2026

Mark Witzling

Craft Alliance (St. Louis) 

Southern Vermont Art Center — site of his solo show last year

Meg Lagodzki paints from a studio in the woods just outside Bloomington, Indiana, five hours from the nearest major art center. In this conversation, part of an ongoing series on artists building careers outside NYC and LA, she talks with Paddy about what it took to grow beyond her local market: the critique group that pushed her work in a new direction, the cold DM from a gallery that turned into a five-year relationship, and the shift from applying to open calls alone to finding opportunities through other artists.

Meg also talks candidly about what changed once she started applying to harder, more selective opportunities instead of easier ones, and why the collectives inside Netvvrk, the smaller groups built around a shared thread like medium or geography, became one of the most valuable parts of her membership.

Meg Lagodzki is a painter based in Bloomington, Indiana, and a member of Netvvrk's Woods and Forest Collective.

Relevant links:
Join the Free Live Webinar: How to Get on a Museum's Radar, July 21, 7:00 PM EST

Meg Lagodzki
https://www.meglagodzki.com/

Momentum Gallery
https://momentumgallery.com/

In this episode, Paddy gives you the skinny on the Guggenheim Fellowship, one of the most prestigious awards for mid-career artists. The talk contains tips and strategies you won't find on their website, including knowing when to apply and how often. You won't find this information anywhere else, so have a listen. Even if you're not planning to apply, this episode will give you strategies for ALL grant applications.

Relevant links:
https://www.gf.org/

Katie Hargrave is a visual artist and associate professor at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, where she's lived and worked for twelve years. This is the second episode in a series on artists building careers outside city centers.

Katie talks about what that has required: virtual studio visits that now feel more natural to her than in-person ones, a social media presence built on sharing other people's work without an obvious ask, and getting really good at logistics. She and her longtime collaborator Meredith Laura Lynn work six hours apart by car, and Katie explains how that distance has shaped their partnership for the better. She also talks about why being direct early in a relationship makes everything that follows easier.

Katie Hargrave is represented in exhibitions across the Southeast and beyond, including recent shows at the Hunter Museum of American Art, the Knoxville Museum of Art, and Granary Arts. She often collaborates with artist Meredith Laura Lynn.

Relevant links:
Katie Hargrave: katiehargrave.com
Meredith Laura Lynn: meredithlauralynn.com