I Like Your Work: Conversations with Artists

In this episode of I Like Your Work, Erika b Hess talks with painter Kevin Wixted about his early years in New York City, supporting himself through renovation work while developing his painting practice, and his journey into teaching at Alfred University.

Kevin shares how his approach to painting has changed over time, from the relationship between observation and abstraction to the role of color, experimentation, and allowing one painting to lead to the next. They also discuss the freedom that comes with having more time in the studio, the influence of teaching, and the importance of remaining curious throughout an artistic career.

Kevin is the founder of Umbria Contemporary Arts, an artist-centered program in the Italian countryside that brings painters together through workshops, travel, and creative exchange. Erika and Kevin discuss the inspiration behind the program and the experience of making art in a new environment.

In this episode
Kevin's early experiences as an artist and his years in New York City
Supporting a painting practice while working outside the studio
Teaching painting at Alfred University and balancing teaching with making
The relationship between color, observation, and abstraction
How paintings develop through experimentation and discovery
Finding creative freedom at different stages of an artistic career
Founding Umbria Contemporary Arts and creating opportunities for artists to work internationally


About Kevin Wixted Kevin Wixted is a painter whose work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. His exhibitions have been reviewed in Artforum, Art in America, ARTnews, The New York Times, and The Boston Globe, among other publications. He is the recipient of two Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grants and a New York Foundation for the Arts Grant. His residencies include MacDowell, the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, and the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris. Kevin is Professor Emeritus of Painting at Alfred University, co-founder of the Alfred/Düsseldorf MFA in Painting Program, and founder of Umbria Contemporary Arts.

Join Erika in Italy — Save 10% through November 30!

Erika is returning to Umbria Contemporary Arts to teach The Symbolic Landscape, May 30–June 13, 2027.

Spend two weeks painting in the Italian countryside, exploring landscape as a starting point for personal imagery, with dedicated studio time, artistic exploration, and conversations with fellow painters.

Save 10% when you register by November 30, 2026. Use discount code EARLYBIRD at registration.

Learn more and register for The Symbolic Landscape

Links and resources:

Kevin Wixted Website: https://www.kevinwixted.net Instagram: @wixtedkevin Umbria Contemporary Arts Website: https://www.umbriacontemporaryarts.com Instagram: @umbria_contemporary_arts I Like Your Work Website: https://www.ilikeyourworkpodcast.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ilikeyourworkpodcast Listen, subscribe, and share this episode with an artist friend!

Elizabeth Alexander is an interdisciplinary artist specializing in sculptures and installations made of deconstructed domestic materials. She holds degrees in sculpture from the Cranbrook Academy, MFA (2009), and Massachusetts College of Art, BFA (2004). Alexander's work has been exhibited at institutions across the country including the Museum of Art and Design, National Museum of Women in the Arts, North Carolina Museum of Art, Southeast Center for Contemporary Art, and Nasher Museum. Her work is included in collections at the Crystal Bridges Museum, the North Carolina Museum of Art, 21c Museum Hotels, and the Mint Museum. The National Museum of Women in the Arts included Alexander in the 'Women to Watch" series focusing on paper (2020). She has recieved awards from the Harpo foundation, the Society of Arts + Crafts, Blanche E. Colman foundation, Massachusetts Cultural Council, and a Burke Prize nominee by the Museum of Arts and Design. She has been included in publications such as Hyperallergic, the Denver Post, the Boston Globe, Galerie Magazine, and the Modern Art Notes Podcast. Alexander is represented by K Contemporary (Denver, CO and Santa Fe, NM). She is Associate Professor and Sculpture Department Coordinator at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, MA.
"Drawing from her own working-class upbringing, Elizabeth Alexander works to unpack the social, cultural, and psychological pressures within American domesticity. Raised to see the possibility in found or unwanted things, she regards the domestic environment as an extension of human ingenuity. Domestic environments additionally act as witnesses, emotional containers, status markers, and value signifiers. Home is where ideas about class, gender, taste, safety, and belonging are first learned and reinforced; sometimes through language, but often through the things we live with. Her studio practice begins with that tension between the domestic ideal and its human inhabitants. Laborious craft is the slow and steady machine behind all of Alexander's work where she spends endless hours breaking an object down and sorting the remaining and extracted parts for future reassembly. Cast paper forms and found material artifacts such as porcelain tableware, wallpaper, and other common furnishings are gathered and manipulated to probe at the many contradictions within their gentile appearance. The form of this work shifts from handheld objects to site-specific installations to photographs and works on paper, but the question remains: how do our possessions carry the values we inherit, perform, and pass on?"
LINKS:
https://www.elizabethalexanderstudio.com/
 
@keepingappearances



 



















 










Artist Shoutout:
@wanderingmindstudio (mom),
norfolkironworksinc (dad)
inspiring friends: @alicia.renadette, @aprilpauza, @funlolacoker, @timothyhornsculpture, and @skyegilkerson
 











I Like Your Work Links:

https://www.patreon.com/cw/ILikeYourWork/home
 

The Symbolic Landscape- Erika b Hess at Umbria Contemporary Arts May 30- June 13, 2027
https://www.umbriacontemporaryarts.com/product-page/the-symbolic-landscape-instructor
 

https://www.millersville.edu/eckertartgallery/current-season/
 

Watch our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ilikeyourworkpodcast

Submit Your Work
Check out our Catalogs!
Exhibitions
Studio Visit Artist Interviews
I Like Your Work Podcast
Say "hi" on Instagram

Born in Columbiana, Ohio in 1958, the Nick Blosser received a B.F.A. (1980) and an M.F.A. (1982) from The Ohio State University. Their work has been recognized through prestigious national and state awards, including an Ohio Arts Council Fellowship (1983), a Rome Prize Fellowship to live and paint at the American Academy in Rome (1984–1985), and National Endowment for the Arts Individual Fellowships (1987–1988 and 1991–1992).
After residing in Ohio until 1989 and later living in Chehalis, Washington, the Blosser relocated to Tennessee in 1991. He taught art at Milligan College from 1991 until 2022, shaping generations of students, and currently lives and works in Johnson City, Tennessee.
"The subjects for my paintings come from the out-of-doors. I prefer the ordinary or unassuming over the "scenic " or picturesque. I like to find interesting forms and beauty in what many people hardly pay attention to or disregard. I generally start with drawings that come from direct observation but feel free to internalize what I see, simplify or add imagination to the process. I rarely but sometimes also use photos (when time is limited) but still do drawings from those before painting, which is mostly done in my studio. I'm essentially after what a subject feels to me in an inward perhaps even spiritual way. For over 40 years my main painting mediums are egg tempera and watercolor."
LINKS:
Nickdblosser@gmail.com
 
https://pdxcontemporaryart.com/nick-blosser
 










Artist Shoutout:

Theodore J. Murphy - @tedmurphy7 



 















I Like Your Work Links:

https://www.patreon.com/cw/ILikeYourWork/home
 

The Symbolic Landscape- Erika b Hess at Umbria Contemporary Arts May 30- June 13, 2027
https://www.umbriacontemporaryarts.com/product-page/the-symbolic-landscape-instructor
 

https://www.millersville.edu/eckertartgallery/current-season/
 

Watch our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ilikeyourworkpodcast

Submit Your Work
Check out our Catalogs!
Exhibitions
Studio Visit Artist Interviews
I Like Your Work Podcast
Say "hi" on Instagram

Danny Balgley is a painter whose large-scale abstract works investigate the archaeology of mark-making, using a process of physical accumulation and excavation to explore how surfaces hold, reveal, and dissolve history. Danny Balgley (b. New York, NY) lives and works in Queens, NY. He holds an MFA from Columbia University, a BFA from Cooper Union, and attended the Yale School of Art Norfolk program on an Ellen Battell Stoeckel Grant. He has been nominated for the Joan Mitchell Fellowship and received grants from the Ellen Gellman Fellowship, the Ethel Cram Memorial Prize, and the Mark Rothko Award. His work has been featured in Architectural Digest, New American Paintings, Arts in Square, and most recently, Friend of the Artist.
LINKS:
https://www.dbalgley.com/



 
https://www.instagram.com/dannybalgley/



 















I Like Your Work Links:

https://www.patreon.com/cw/ILikeYourWork/home
 

The Symbolic Landscape- Erika b Hess at Umbria Contemporary Arts May 30- June 13, 2027
https://www.umbriacontemporaryarts.com/product-page/the-symbolic-landscape-instructor
 

https://www.millersville.edu/eckertartgallery/current-season/
 

Watch our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ilikeyourworkpodcast

Submit Your Work
Check out our Catalogs!
Exhibitions
Studio Visit Artist Interviews
I Like Your Work Podcast
Say "hi" on Instagram

Welcome to Season Nine of I Like Your Work!
In this opening episode, I'm reflecting on something I've been thinking about a lot lately: artists need other artists. So much of our work happens alone in the studio, but getting out into the world, seeing work in person, traveling, learning together, and having conversations with other artists can have a huge impact on our practices.
I share some thoughts from my recent experience teaching The Symbolic Landscape in Italy and why in-person experiences like this can be so important—not only for making work, but for building relationships and seeing your practice in a new way. I'm excited to be returning to Italy to teach the course again, and I'll be sharing more information soon for anyone interested in joining me.
I also talk about what's ahead for I Like Your Work this season, including our upcoming exhibition at Eckert Art Gallery at Millersville University, guest curated by Heidi Leitzke.
As we begin our ninth season, thank you for continuing to listen, share the podcast, support the artists we feature, and be part of this community. I'm so excited for the conversations and opportunities ahead.
In this episode:
Creating meaningful in-person experiences

Reflections on teaching and making art in Italy

Returning to Italy for The Symbolic Landscape

Our upcoming exhibition at Millersville University

What's ahead for Season Nine

Learn more about I Like Your Work, upcoming opportunities, and ways to support the podcast at ilikeyourworkpodcast.com.
 
I Like Your Work Links:

https://www.patreon.com/cw/ILikeYourWork/home
 

The Symbolic Landscape- Erika b Hess at Umbria Contemporary Arts May 30- June 13, 2027
https://www.umbriacontemporaryarts.com/product-page/the-symbolic-landscape-instructor
 

https://www.millersville.edu/eckertartgallery/current-season/
 

Watch our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ilikeyourworkpodcast

Submit Your Work
Check out our Catalogs!
Exhibitions
Studio Visit Artist Interviews
I Like Your Work Podcast
Say "hi" on Instagram