Sean Cairns

In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with painter Stephen Maine, who lives and works in West Cornwall, Connecticut, and whom I recently visited in his studio (though we spoke remotely for this interview). We explore his idea of the “color chord,” how he made peace with colors he once avoided, and his use of plates—a method he invented that is as much about streamlining as it is about surrendering control. We also discuss his ideas of mimesis and residue, the shifts in his work over time, what makes a painting truly satisfying, and the pleasures of discord and the off-kilter.I float the idea that his work might be involved in a kind of psychedelic transcendence (though he’s not convinced), but we have a very lively conversation and find a lot of points of interest and connection. I am reminded of innards, intestines and digestion by the marks in some of his most recent large scale work, and of some image of creation itself. We also touch on his enjoyment of funk music, and how it may or may not  be some kind of parallel sensibility to his work.Stephen’s work is currently on view in What’s That Sound Everybody Look What’s Going Down, a group show at Private Public Gallery in Hudson, NY, through October 5th. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did!https://www.stephenmaine.com/https://privatepublicgallery.net/https://twocoatsofpaint.com/2023/02/stephen-maines-hands-off-abstraction.htmlFunkadelic, (Not Just) Knee Deep:https://youtu.be/diLayOqVYUs?si=S6BelNO-Tjb9fluF

Rufus Tureen is a New York-based interdisciplinary artist whose work spans painting, performance, and time-based media. Drawing from experimental theater, trance practices, and visual art, he creates psychologically charged works that explore altered states, symbolic systems, and perception. Tureen’s work has been exhibited and performed internationally, including with Essex Flowers Gallery in New York. He earned his BA in Art Semiotics from Brown University and an MFA in Painting from Hunter College (CUNY). Recent highlights include a presentation at NADA New York 2025.During this conversation, we talk about:Marlon Brando, Stella Adler, and Sanford MeisnerActing experience and impulsesThe relationship between acting and paintingTrusting yourselfFolk art and lack of self-consciousnessConfidence vs egoComedy vs seriousnessPerformance artZen painting and calligraphyDoing lessPaul Dano vs Adam DriverArtists and personasHis various characters including The Olde Man and The LizardAnd much, much more!Links:The Lizardhttps://vimeo.com/255604287The Olde Manhttps://www.youtube.com/shorts/EoS3gbeYZaURufus’s Acting Reelhttps://vimeo.com/1085090372Ningbo China TV Spothttps://vimeo.com/943339239One-Eyed Jack’shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFtFvRGMzCsAlan Watts - Zen in a Paintinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOmpXAn1_cs

Raymie Iadevaia is a painter based in Los Angeles, CA. We had a long, rollicking conversation, much like the saturated hills of Raymie’s paintings. We discussed his recent solo exhibition, Hearafter, at The Pit in Palm Springs, CA, his creative process, and various other aspects of his work, including:The balance between serious play and solemnity in making artHow the work often unlocks more questions than answersThe concept of "the landscapist’s soul"Inspirations from Pierre Bonnard and Maya DerenThe influence of board games, particularly CandylandSpeed and compositional format in his paintingsThe sense of journey within his worksThe use of animal forms, character, and narrativeThe poignant and bittersweet origins of the title HearafterThemes of mortality and a quote about consciousness from the Gospel of ThomasPaintings as time machines, and how the time of year and day influence his workCalifornia as a characterDrawing as a daily practice and an engine for the workAnd much, much more!https://raymieiadevaia.com/home.htmlhttps://www.instagram.com/raymieiadevaia/?hl=enhttp://www.the-pit.la/raymie-iadevaiahttps://www.jackbarrettgallery.com/raymie-iadevaia-nesting-in-deep-time

Raychael Stine is a painter who lives and works in Albuquerque, NM. She received her BFA at UT Dallas in 2003, and her MFA at UIC in Chicago in 2010. Raychael is currently an Associate Professor of Painting and Drawing at the University of New Mexico, where she has taught since 2013. Raychael and I are currently showing alongside each other in a 2-person show titled The Tenderness at Emma Gray HQ in Los Angeles (on view through October 5th) which features new paintings which were all made with paint that was gifted from the studio of the late and wonderful painter Susan Rothenberg. In this episode, we talk about the amazing story of how the paint came to Raychael, how she came to share the paint with me, the impact of Rothenberg on both of our work, Raychael’s process and inspirations, of which dogs are a big part of,  as well as music, color, and light. Other topics include hiddenness and surprise, animals as a doorway to love, sensuality, and feeling, following your instincts, painting the interconnectedness of things, intellect vs physicality, handling criticism, a defense of tenderness and Celine Dion, Howard Hodgkins, and the ruinousness of irony.The title of the show “The Tenderness” comes from a quote by Rothenberg: “In the paintings where it's there—the tenderness—I work for it. I'm not afraid of it. If I could put my bleeding heart in there, I would.”The Tenderness at Emma Gray HQhttps://emmagrayhq.com/the-Tenderness-Raychael-Stine-Jennifer-SullivanRaychael Stine websitehttps://raychaelstine.com/home.htmlSusan Rothenberg: Emotions, Art21https://youtu.be/PPOkhiIWHHg?si=gIbZ-yZizdtuDisoOral history interview with Susan Rothenberg, 1987 May 22-June 2https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-susan-rothenberg-12631Susan Rothenberg interview by Grace Glueck, July 22, 1984https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/22/magazine/susan-rothenberg.html

Sean Cairns is a painter, living in Dallas, Texas. He just closed a solo show at 12.26 Gallery in Dallas, titled Wearing Away The Mountain. We had a really great conversation about many things including why landscape may be the hardest genre of painting, using the element of surprise, not working from a formula, the freedom to be yourself in your work, spirituality as a process, nature as inspiration, why painting can never die, Andrei Tarkovsky and what I call a “cinematic” quality in his work, and “going off script” / making up your own reality.https://gallery1226.com/Sean-Cairns

I catch up with Zuriel Waters for a second time on location from his Spring solo exhibition Jitterbug Waltz at Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, and later we chat a bit more from a really good taco spot in Chelsea. Conversation topics include color theory, musical inspirations, the speed and rhythm of painting, what motivates Zuri's forms, spirituality and wanting to be a cult lead, and even touch on Quentin Tarantino. Please enjoy the first of this new season of It's a Process interviews!https://zurielwaters.com/https://www.markelfinearts.com/exhibitions/175/works/

New logo, new theme song, new attitude! We’re returning to the world of podcasting after a very long absence! I share my thoughts on the future of the pod and also do my first solo episode discussing my love of the German painter Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876-1907) and the wonderful and moving survey of her work currently on view at the Neue Galerie in NYC. Also, special thanks for the cool new re-design of the podcast logo, theme song, and audio assistance by the amazing Kiara Larrabee!!https://www.neuegalerie.org/modersohnbecker2024

For the season 2 premiere of It’s a Process, I talk to artist Whitney Hubbs! We talk about the release of her new book Say So, her 2020 solo show Animal, Hole, Selfie, and her performative process. We also talk about influences, working with vulnerability, relationships to the audience and vanity, having fun in the studio, Polanski’s Bitter Moon, sorting and editing, the intimacy of making a book, the transformations of midlife, grappling with mortality, sexuality, and failure, having a trusted support system of friends, thinking about death, new work,  the role of the studio, letting things happen, making autobiographical work, and growing up in LA in the presence of Hollywood.http://www.whitneyhubbs.com/https://www.situations.us/whitney-hubbsSay So book: https://shop.selfpublishbehappy.com/products/say-so-by-whitney-hubbshttps://bombmagazine.org/articles/character-studies-whitney-hubbs-interviewed/

Zuriel Waters is a painter who lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. We talk about his current solo show Bug City at Left Field Gallery in Los Osos, CA. We also talk about going from all face to all feelers, jazz as a metaphor, figures without a ground, painting as problem solving, giving himself a deadline, escaping narrative, creating a progression, playing the saxophone, sewing paintings, from the practical to the aesthetic, learning to love Murray and Mondrian, holding yourself accountable, painting for mistakes, choosing colors that are inevitable, doodling as a starting point, utopia as an end game, and making things that you can live with.http://www.leftfieldgallery.com/bug-city-zuriel-watershttp://zurielwaters.com/index.htmlhttps://www.maakemagazine.com/zuriel-waters

Susumu Kamijo is a painter who lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. He currently has a solo show on view in Tokyo, Japan at Maki Gallery titled Beyond The Hills, and is also in a group show at Venus over Manhattan in NYC. We discuss his moving to the US at age 16, why talking to writers is better than painters, how poodles entered the work and how they have changed, mixing opposites, the poodle as an entranceway to his world, the intensity of De Kooning, feeling like your work is dorky, the absurdity of choosing to paint poodles, feeling the capacity to encompass the fucked up part of you, performing comedy in the past as a challenge, painting as an expression of the subconscious, letting unexpected things happen, finding joy in the studio, using meditation but trying not to be cringe about it, the earlier years, the importance of friends in his development, having faith that he would be able to make it as an artist, finding inspiration in other peoples death, his mentor relationship with Denzil Hurley, and a story about Susumu’s MFA experience.Susumu Kamijo - Beyond The Hills, Maki Galleryhttps://www.makigallery.com/exhibitions_en/4910/https://www.jackhanley.com/artists/susumu-kamijoAkira Kurosawa - Dreamshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcXk_PLrHp8In Memoriam – Denzil Hurleyhttps://art.washington.edu/news/2021/07/01/memoriam-denzil-hurley