BrushStrokes of Being

15:24

Episode 121 is out, and today I am also launching the...

BrushStrokes of Being ·

2026/10/01

I have been thinking a great deal about something deceptively simple:What does it actually mean to see, to read, to listen, to know?That thinking became Episode 121 of Brushstrokes of Being.I begin with books.Not simply the information they contain, but the books themselves: paper, typography, binding, annotations, evidence of use. A book is a human artefact, carrying more than the words printed inside it.From there, I move into neuroscience and literary reading, and the remarkable way the brain

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19:00

Before You Judge, Learn to See

BrushStrokes of Being ·

2026/08/25

What happens when we stop simply recognising what we see?Every morning, I sit in my garden with my coffee and watch the bees, birds, flowers, shadows and wind. At first, I see a garden. But when I remain there long enough, something changes. I begin to perceive relationships: between bee and flower, movement and stillness, light and shadow, parent and offspring, colour and space.Nothing in the garden has changed.My perception has.This is where observation begins.In this episode of Brushstrokes of

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10:03

When a Society Stops Giving Artists Time to Grow, or...

BrushStrokes of Being ·

2026/07/28

What happens when we remove art and music from education, or expect artists to produce before they have had time to develop?In this episode of Brushstrokes of Being, I explore why artistic education is about far more than creating future painters and musicians.Research increasingly suggests that sustained engagement with music and observational art develops attention, memory, pattern recognition, discipline, perception, and flexible thinking. These are not simply artistic skills; they are deeply

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14:16

If Diego Velázquez Applied to a Gallery Today

BrushStrokes of Being ·

2026/06/30

If Diego Velázquez applied to a gallery today, it’s not certain he would be accepted.Not because of a lack of skill, but because of what is now required of artists before the work is even seen.Today, artists are often evaluated through questions of concept, brand, and recognisability. The painting itself arrives late in the conversation.Somewhere in this shift, observation has been displaced by positioning.Even technical mastery is frequently translated into style labels: “so Sargent-like,” “so

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7:47

The Power of Mastery

BrushStrokes of Being ·

2026/02/17

The first episode of 2026 begins not with acceleration, but with attention on the power of mastery.While painting Janine Jansen, immersed in the music of Jean Sibelius, there was a moment in which the work aligned. Technique, listening, and observation converged. The distinction between musician and instrument dissolved. What remained was embodiment. This episode reflects on mastery as a lived condition, not as rigidity, but as liberation. Across cultures and genres, disciplined practice

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10:32

Notes on a painting: ‘Mahalia’

BrushStrokes of Being ·

2025/12/16

Mahalia, Rising Starplaces a contemporary Black British vocalist at the centre of a visual language historically complicit in marginalisation. Drawing on Pre-Raphaelite aesthetics while actively interrupting their gaze, the painting confronts questions of mastery, presence, and cultural memory.Created in resistance to spectacle, speed, and aesthetic flattening, this work insists on discipline, subjecthood, and the dignity of becoming. It asks the viewer not to consume, but to remain. Watch on

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6:43

Notes on a Painting: “Sol Gabetta”

BrushStrokes of Being ·

2025/12/02

In this new instalment ofLetters from the Studio, I open the door to the beginnings of my portrait ofSol Gabetta, a work that listens before it speaks. The first layer meets the canvas through music: the arc of movement, the breath between phrases, the subtle pauses that reveal the life within the performer.Rooted in four hundred years of artistic lineage, this painting grows from a way of seeing shaped by time, silence, and careful observation. Here, the aim is not likeness alone, but the interior

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7:57

The Story of Art Without Men Review

BrushStrokes of Being ·

2025/11/18

This episode offers a reflection on The Story of Art Without Men by Katy Hessel. While the book powerfully restores many women to the narrative of art history, from Renaissance pioneers to modern visionaries, its final chapters reveal a gap that continues to shape our understanding of women’s contributions today.The women who uphold and advance the classical craft of painting from life, artists working with discipline, sensitivity, and a profound commitment to the human presence, remain largely

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15:26

The Lost Ground of Mastery

BrushStrokes of Being ·

2025/11/04

In this episode of Brushstrokes of Being, I examine the lost ground of mastery and the spiritual essence of art. Moving beyond theory, I reveal how true art arises where craft and consciousness meet.Through philosophy, neuroscience, and lived experience, Karin invites listeners to rediscover art as a sacred act of perception, a portal, not a product.For artists, thinkers, and collectors seeking depth, this is a journey into the soul of creation itself. Watch this episode on youtube Follow

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1:18:00

Art as Portal or Mirror?

BrushStrokes of Being ·

2025/10/28

Welcome back to Brushstrokes of Being, where art meets soul and thought becomes colour. In this episode, 'Art as Portal or Mirror', I’m joined by Karen van Hoey Smith (mentor, art director, educator, and curator), whose journey through the art world bridges vision, compassion, and transformation. Together, we explore the shifting tides of the contemporary art market, the deeper meanings behind creation, and the evolving role of the artist. Karen shares her experience in Hungary, where she

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20:25

Ink and Silence

BrushStrokes of Being ·

2025/10/21

Welcome to this episode of Brushstrokes of Being, Ink and Silence. The book that breathes wisdom, and I frequently turn to, as artist, but also for the wisdom is, Charlie Mackesy’s The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. This is one of those rare works that seem to exhale light with every turning page. It is a book that does not announce itself loudly; it whispers. Its sentences are small, its drawings humble, yet between ink and silence something ancient stirs, a reminder that art can still be an

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46:41

Equine Art

BrushStrokes of Being ·

2025/10/14

Brushstrokes of Being, Episode 109 – The Spirit of Equine Art: Translating Emotion into Form“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” – Edgar Degas In this illuminating roundtable, host Karin Merx brings together four exceptional voices in equine art and curation:Karen Osborn (Australia), Mirelle Vegers (The Netherlands), Tony O’Connor (Ireland), and Joyce Ter Horst, curator of Paard Verzameld Equine Art Services and the Dutch Equine Art Fair. Together, they explore the

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12:39

Women in the Picture

BrushStrokes of Being ·

2025/10/07

Catherine McCormack’s Women in the Picture profoundly reframes how we perceive women in art. From Venus to the Monstrous Woman, McCormack uncovers persistent archetypes that structure our visual culture, revealing how seemingly timeless masterpieces actually participate in shaping desire, power, and representation.As an art historian and practicing artist, this book resonated deeply with me and inspired my series The Gaze Reclaimed, which celebrates women artists who reclaimed visibility for

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13:37

Why Mastery Is the Only Path Worth Taking

BrushStrokes of Being ·

2025/09/30

“Mastery is the slowest, hardest path in the world, and the only one worth taking.”In this episode of Brushstrokes of Being, I reflect on what it truly means to master an art form. Why Mastery Is the Only Path Worth Taking? As both a painter and a classically trained musician, I’ve lived the reality of endless hours in the studio or at an instrument, practice, repetition, resilience, and passion. Together, we’ll explore: Why mastery demands discipline and patience in today’s

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53:32

Elizabeth Markevitch

BrushStrokes of Being ·

2025/09/23

In this episode of Brushstrokes of Being, I sit down with Elizabeth Markevitch, who once worked in the high-end world of Impressionist and Modern masterpieces. She left the “art box” behind to democratise access to art and created IkonoTV https://ikonotv.art/, a platform treating art as medicine.We explore: Why art is still “in the concert hall” while music has been democratized How streaming and digital tools can transform art access The healing impact of “slow art” films on our minds

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10:39

The Double Chair

BrushStrokes of Being ·

2025/09/16

In this episode of Brushstrokes of Being, The Double Chair, I bring two voices into dialogue: the Artist, living for unity, diversity, and transformation, and the Philosopher, seeking meaning in those values.The conversation weaves together childhood curiosity, music, the Old Masters, the quiet rebellion of painting, the essential role of diversity, and the distinction between discrimination and racism. At its core lies the question of why I do what I do, and who I am as a human and as an

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24:13

Adebanji Alade

BrushStrokes of Being ·

2025/09/10

What does it mean to truly see? To slow down, observe, and let creativity flow through your hands? On this episode of Brushstrokes of Being, I speak with Adebanji Alade, the BBC-featured artist and President of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, about the transformative power of sketching, embracing failure, and loving the process over the final piece.Highlights Adebanji Alade: Why sketching is more than drawing — it’s a way to think. How to treat rejection as a friend and failure as

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16:16

Art as Medicine in the Age of Machines

BrushStrokes of Being ·

2025/09/02

Art as Medicine in the Age of Machines marks the conclusion of my series The Gaze Reclaimed. After seven episodes honouring women artists who fought to be seen, I turn to our present reality: a time where human creativity is once again at risk of erasure. Today, billions of artworks are silently scraped into datasets without consent, feeding machines that produce hollow images. Yet art is not a product of code. Art is presence, resonance, and transformation. Science now gives us the

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15:29

The Gaze Reclaimed, Part Seven: Camille Claudel

BrushStrokes of Being ·

2025/08/26

Camille Claudel was more than Rodin’s lover, more than the “madwoman” silenced in an asylum for thirty years. She was a visionary sculptor who gave marble and bronze a pulse, sensual, intimate, and profoundly human.In this episode of Art Talk: The Gaze Reclaimed Part Seven: Camille Claudel, we explore: Claudel’s early brilliance and her fight to study sculpture in Paris. Her bold collaboration and rivalry with Auguste Rodin. Masterpieces like The Waltz, The Mature Age, and Clotho,

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11:46

Louise-Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun: The Gaze Reclaimed,...

BrushStrokes of Being ·

2025/08/19

“To paint is to love again.” Louise-Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun’s words define a life devoted to courage, beauty, and creation. Born in 1755, she overcame the barriers of a male-dominated art world, teaching herself by copying the works of Rembrandt, Rubens, and Van Dyck. By fifteen, she was a professional portraitist. In this episode, I discuss Louise-Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun: The Gaze Reclaimed, Part 6.Appointed official portraitist to Marie Antoinette, Vigée-Lebrun captured not only the likeness but

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