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/

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 bonafides, while living in St Louise 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/