
Drawing Inspiration
Join self-taught artist Mike Hendley who shares his ongoing experiences in learning how to draw and paint with those interested in exploring art at any age. Mike also talks about the challenges of being creative, making space for these passionate pursuits in our hectic lives and beginning the artist journey late in life. Grab a pad and pencil or an iPad and follow along with Mike on his journey to become a better artist through tips, tricks, interviews, and stories.
Latest episodes

9 snips
May 15, 2023 • 2sec
99: Artful Balance: Mastering Motherhood & Painting with Sarah Mckendry
Mike has had an exciting year developing outside his comfort zone and is nearing the completion of several works. Sarah Mckendry then joins the podcast to discuss her exciting and inspiring art journey. Sarah is a self-taught, internationally recognized oil painter, art educator, and published author who has dedicated 14 years to her craft. Despite not having conventional art credentials, she has carved her successful path in the art world, inspiring artists and art enthusiasts globally. Her work is featured in international publications and is part of private collections worldwide. Beyond creating art, Sarah imparts her skills to thousands of students, nurturing future artists. As a stay-at-home mom to two boys in Edmonton, Alberta, she balances family and career, working from her home studio.
Leave a message about the podcast (DrawingInspiration.fm)
Bob Dylan (Wikipedia)
Neil Young (Wikipedia)
Fort McMurray (Wikipedia)
Bitumen (Wikipedia)
Okanagan (Wikipedia)
Sarah’s portfolio
Gesso
Art Juice Podcast
Robert Bateman on Drawing Inspiration (#20)
Escoda brushes
Escoda brushes on Sarah’s site
Winsor & Newton
M. Graham
Williamsburg Oils
Kimberly Brooks on Drawing Inspiration #52
Austin Air purifier
IQ Air
Sarah Mckendry Classes
Skillshare
Podia
Seth Godin
Oil Painting Landscapes Book (Sarah Mckendry)
Sarah Mckendry art supplies
===== How to reach Sarah Mckendry =====
Web site - sarahmckendry.ca
Instagram - @artistsarahmckendry
===== How to reach Mike Hendley =====
MikeHendley.com
Instagram @Mike_Hendley
Twitter @MikeHendley
Mike’s drawing kit
Show notes at DrawingInspiration.fm
===== Support the Podcast =====
Support "Drawing Connections" on Substack
Buy Me a Paintbrush if you like the show or my work
Podcast theme music is “Acid Jazz”
By Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

May 1, 2023 • 1sec
98: The World of Urban Sketching: Architecture, Art, and Travel with Stephanie Bower
Mike has been busy with the road to 100 episodes but found time to create a cute baby sea turtle painting. Stephanie Bower joins the podcast to talk about her journey into urban sketching. Stephanie reveals the devastating event that led to her first travel sketch experience. Of course, they talk about tools, supplies, and her process. Mike and Stephanie go through her new book, “The World of Urban Sketching,” and she highlights some incredible artists who shared their work. Her homework will keep you in line and bring focus.
Link for SpeakPipe
Bullfrog course at Etchr Studio
Tina Hotchkiss Drawing Course and Tina on Drawing Inspiration #86
Drawing Animals in Graphite - Etchr Studio (Fall 2023)
Sea turtle painting - Mike
Aleksmutated
Captain Tom - Drawing Inspiration Episode #17
KRob competition
Gabi Campanario
Paul Heaston - Drawing Inspiration #76
Steven Reddy (gas meter)
Uma Kelkar
Sudarman Angir
Escoda Perla
Escoda brushes
Anna Bucciarelli - Drawing Inspiration Episode #10
Winsor & Newton
Daniel Smith
Golden Paints
Winsor Newton Pocket Box
2 mm pencil sharpener
2 mm travel pencil sharpener
Marek Badzynski - Drawing Inspiration Episode #48
Sepia Micron pen
Lara Call Gastinger - Drawing Inspiration Episode #74
Jenny Zhang
Art of urban sketching by Gabriel Campanario
The World of Urban Sketching: Celebrating the Evolution by Stephanie Bower
Noel Okello
William Cordero
Dwa
Thierry Chebab
Jampel Cheda
The Urban Sketching Handbook Understanding Perspective: Easy Techniques for Mastering Perspective Drawing on Location by Stephanie Bower
Andrew Wyeth
Urban Sketchers
Mike Sibley
Pentel sign pen
===== How to reach Stephanie Bower =====
The World of Urban Sketching: Celebrating the Evolution
StephanieBower.com
Drawingperspectives.com
Instagram: @stephanieabower
Facebook
Craftsy courses
===== How to reach Mike Hendley =====
MikeHendley.com
Instagram @Mike_Hendley
Twitter @MikeHendley
Mike’s drawing kit
Show notes at DrawingInspiration.fm
===== Support the Podcast =====
Support "Drawing Connections" on Substack
Buy Me a Paintbrush if you like the show or my work
Podcast theme music is “Acid Jazz”
By Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Apr 17, 2023 • 1sec
97: Wild Inspiration: Exploring the World of Animal Art with Kathryn Hansen
Mike shares a new course coming in the fall and a little ink work. Renowned colored pencil artist Kathryn Hansen then joins Mike to discuss her career. Kathryn's incredible talent for capturing the spirit and beauty of animals, Kathryn has made a name for herself in the art world. Kathryn takes us on a mesmerizing journey into the world of animals and nature, sharing her artistic process and the stories behind her stunning creations. Her homework won’t have you going very far for a subject.
Etchr Class in Textures in Depth
Arlo in graphite (Mike)
Great Blue Heron in ink (Mike)
Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design
Margot Lennartz
Cat napping on blanket
Strathmore Bristol
Pastel Matt by Claire Fontaine
Polychromos
Luminance and Pablo pencils
Prismacolor
Zest-it
Kum sharpener
Carl Angle-5 sharpener
Indenting tools
Slice Craft Cutter Knife
Tombow 4h or 6h pencil
Proporational divider
Da Vinci Eye app
Barred owl work (vellum)
Society of Animal Artists
Colored Pencil Society of America
Stuart Smalley on Saturday Night Live
Tutorials
Mike Sibley
Robert Bateman on Drawing Inspiration Episode #20
Terry Miler artist
Birds in Art - Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum
===== How to reach Kathryn Hansen =====
Facebook - Kathryn Hansen
Instagram @kathrynhansenpencildrawings
Web - kathrynhansen.com
===== How to reach Mike Hendley =====
MikeHendley.com
Instagram @Mike_Hendley
Twitter @MikeHendley
Mike’s drawing kit
Show notes at DrawingInspiration.fm
===== Support the Podcast =====
Support "Drawing Connections" on Substack
Buy Me a Paintbrush if you like the show or my work
Podcast theme music is “Acid Jazz”
By Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Apr 3, 2023 • 2sec
96: The Unlimited Art of the Limited Palette with Hazel Soan
Mike talks about a subject he rarely draws or paints and then practices some urban sketching. Hazel Soan stops by to talk about her new book “Art of the Limited Palette: A Step-By-Step Practical Watercolour Guide.” Hazel shares her start in finding the time and light to create. She shares her passion and knowledge of watercolor, speaking to warm and cool colors, triads, and staining versus granulating colors. Her homework will help you discover something lost or forgotten.
Mike’s Drawing Course on Etchr Studio
CassyDraws on Etchr
Mike’s gear
Barn owl
Rick the Muse
Writers’ Museum sketch
Marek Badzinski on Drawing Inspiration - Episode 48
David Hockney
Jackson Pollock
Mark Rothko
The Encyclopedia of Landscape Techniques
Heisenberg uncertainty principle
Saunders Waterford paper
Arches paper
Khadi papers
SAA
Winsor & Newton
Schmincke
Horses on the beach
Man in a turbin
Art of the Limited Palette book
Hazel’s palette
Workshops
Ultramarine blue history and lapis lazuli
History of Indian Yellow
Learn to Paint People Quickly book
Learn Watercolor Quickly
===== How to reach Hazel Soan =====
Web site - AllSoanUp.com
Instagram - hazelsoan
===== How to reach Mike Hendley =====
MikeHendley.com
Instagram @Mike_Hendley
Twitter @MikeHendley
Mike’s drawing kit
Show notes at DrawingInspiration.fm
===== Support the Podcast =====
Support "Drawing Connections" on Substack
Buy Me a Paintbrush if you like the show or my work
Podcast theme music is “Acid Jazz”
By Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Mar 20, 2023 • 1sec
95: Painting Hope and Peace: Dr. Marisa Azad’s Vision for the Future of Art and Medicine
Mike launched his first drawing course and brought some blues into his recent pieces. Mike is then joined by Dr. Marisa Azad, who is an infectious diseases orthopedic physician and researcher at the Ottawa Hospital and a gifted fine artist known for her captivating digital oil paintings. From her early beginnings to her inspiring transition to digital art due to asthma, Dr. Azad's work explores the intersection of art, science, and medicine. As the lead researcher of the groundbreaking ARTICU Project, she seeks to bring hope and peace to those facing loss and bereavement.
Etchr course “Textures and Depth with Graphite Pencil Drawing”
Submit your audio clip for episode 100
Kingfisher (Mike Hendley)
Blue poison dart frog (Mike Hendley)
Lynx WIP (Mike Hendley)
Vicky Beamish
Mayo Clinic
The Ottawa Hospital (TOH)
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI)
Periprosthetic join infection
Episode 52: Kimberly Brooks
Episode 94: Shari Blaukopf
Cintiq tablet
Corel Painter
Adobe Photoshop
Procreate
Dr. Marisa Azad
ARTICU
Hummingbird piece
'For Rose”
Published paper in JAMA
Dr. Alan Greenspan
“Night’s Edge”
Smokestack
“Nothing to Celebrate”
Leonardo da Vinci
CBC Story
===== How to reach Dr. Marisa Azad =====
Web site - marisaazad.com
Instagram - @marisa.azad
===== How to reach Mike Hendley =====
MikeHendley.com
Instagram @Mike_Hendley
Twitter @MikeHendley
Mike’s drawing kit
Show notes at DrawingInspiration.fm
===== Support the Podcast =====
Support "Drawing Connections" on Substack
Buy Me a Paintbrush if you like the show or my work
Podcast theme music is “Acid Jazz”
By Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Mar 6, 2023 • 1sec
94: Painting the Town: Exploring Urban Scenes with Shari Blaukopf
Mike talks about a new app helping with his art and how you can be part of upcoming episode 100. Mike is then joined by Shari Blaukopf, a Montreal-based painter, teacher, author, and art blogger. Shari is a renowned watercolor artist best known for her urban scenes. Her unique approach to watercolor painting and sketching has earned her a spot as a correspondent for UrbanSketchers.org, co-founder of Urban Sketchers Montreal, and a signature Canadian Society of Painters member in Watercolour.
In this episode, we'll dive into Shari's artistic journey from graphic designer to teacher and urban sketcher. We will explore the techniques she uses to create her stunning pieces, her favorite tools, and what she uses as motivation for urban sketching. Be sure to stick around to the end for the homework, which is a mission I think we should all take on.
Mike’s newsletter
Freeform app
Nature Journal Educator Workshop
Concordia University
Ed Whitney
Frank Webb
Skip Lawrence
Frederick Wong
Fibonacci
Rule of thirds
The Art of Composition
Marc Taro Holmes
Montreal Urban Sketchers
Urbansketchers.org
Chateau Laurier
Gurney Easel
Captain Tom Photo
Captain Tom Interview on Drawing Inspiration
Hannemuhle sketchbook - A4 (portrait and landscape)
Platinum Carbon Desk pen
Confucius fountain pen
Pitt pens XS and S
Platinum carbon ink
M.Graham
Sennelier
Rosemary travel brush (round sable)
da Vinci rigger liner Casaneo
Pentel water brush
Muji store pencil
Teachable
Remington Robinson (Altoid case oil painter)
===== How to reach Shari Blaukopf =====
Blog
Blaukopf Watercolors
Instagram - @sharisketcher
Learn.sharibalukopf.com
===== How to reach Mike Hendley =====
MikeHendley.com
Instagram @Mike_Hendley
Twitter @MikeHendley
Mike’s drawing kit
Show notes at DrawingInspiration.fm
===== Support the Podcast =====
Support "Drawing Connections" on Substack
Buy Me a Paintbrush if you like the show or my work
Podcast theme music is “Acid Jazz”
By Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Feb 20, 2023 • 1sec
93: Textures of the Natural World: An Interview with Artist Melissa Cormier
Mike begins 10 YouTube videos in 10 weeks and discusses recent pieces. Artist and fellow Pentel Canada Ambassador Melissa Cormier joins the show to discuss her journey from printmaking to her graphite abstract work inspired by natural textures. They talk about her tools, process, and education. They also talk about travel, movies, and earwigs that can fly. Her homework may have you looking the other way.
Mike Hendley Fine Art on YouTube
SpeakPipe page on DrawingInspiration.fm
Giraffes
Toucan
Pentel Canada Ambassadors
OCAD University
Printmaking (Britannica)
Salvador Dali
H. R. Giger
Pareidolia
Algonquin Park Residency Program
Algonquin park
Royal Ontario Museum (ROM)
Sophie Green Galapagos Trip
Newfoundland & Labrador
L’Anse aux Meadows
Graphgear 1000
Generals graphite powder
Krylon Workable fixative
Deserres (Faber Castell Polychromos)
Stonehenge legion hot press paper
Inktober
Kimberly Brooks on Drawing Inspiration
Jo Brown
Flying earwigs
Star Trek Wrath of Kahn (eel in the ear)
Morning Pages from “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron
“The Call” by Peadar O’Guilin
Frodo Baggins
Interstellar
Arrival
Video of ducks emerging around Mike’s pond
Blind contour drawing
===== How to reach Melissa Cormier =====
Instagram - @armcstudio
Web - https://www.assilemreimroc.com/
TikTok - @armcstudio
===== How to reach Mike Hendley =====
MikeHendley.com
Instagram @Mike_Hendley
Twitter @MikeHendley
Mike’s drawing kit
Show notes at DrawingInspiration.fm
===== Support the Podcast =====
Support "Drawing Connections" on Substack
Buy Me a Paintbrush if you like the show or my work
Podcast theme music is “Acid Jazz”
By Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Feb 6, 2023 • 1sec
92: Becoming an Artpreneur with Artist, Author, and Art Business Coach Miriam Schulman
Mike talks about his theme for 2023 and how it will impact all areas of his art. Miriam Schulman then joins the podcast to discuss her journey from Wall Street to creating fantastic art and teaching others how to create a successful art business. They talk about being creative, podcasting, and her new book, Artpreneur, which serves as a handbook for any creative interested in monetizing their business.
African wild dog
Common loon
Polar bear
First bombing of the WTC
Watercolor portrait class
Da Vinci Eye App
Daughter painting
Business teaching
Inspiration Place Podcast
Sell more art landing page
Artpreneur book
Artpreneur chapter one
===== How to reach Miriam Schulman =====
Website - schulmanart.com
Podcast - The Inspiration Place
===== How to reach Mike Hendley =====
MikeHendley.com
Instagram @Mike_Hendley
Twitter @MikeHendley
Mike’s drawing kit
Show notes at DrawingInspiration.fm
===== Support the Podcast =====
Support "Drawing Connections" on Substack
Buy Me a Paintbrush if you like the show or my work
Podcast theme music is “Acid Jazz”
By Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Jan 9, 2023 • 2sec
91: The Art of Storytelling with Jared Cullum: Comics, Writing, Watercolor, and Plein Air Painting
Mike reflects on 2022 and highlights some of collaborations in addition to Patron supporters and listeners just like you. Jared Cullum joins the podcast to talk about his journey from graphic design to getting back to basics with drawing and then discovering watercolor. He talks about how his art has evolved based on a love of cartoons to watercolor, gouache and plein air painting. He talks about how some creative processes are like climbing a mountain and how it is best to tend to the part of the garden you can reach. Jared shares his tips and tricks are around the tools he uses day to day. His homework is top secret.
Bluebird
Tamarin Monkey
Secretary Bird
Tiger in Aryclic
Disney Xerox method
Lewis Trondheim
Cyril Pedrosa - Portugal
Berthe Morisot
Claude Monet
Winslow Homer
John Singer Sargent
Andrew Wyeth
Kodi book
Fraggle Rock
Labyrinth
Cotman box
John Singer Sargent
Arches watercolor paper
Saunders Waterford
Will J. Bailey
Dina Brodsky
Sheila Cain-Sample
James Gurney
James Gurney on the Drawing Inspiration podcast
Art Toolkit
Art Toolkit on Jared YouTube
Etchr sketchbook
Kodi
Wonder City
Hayao Miyazaki
Sylvain Chomet
Jake Parker Interview
New York Botanical Gardens
===== How to reach Jared Cullum =====
Jared Cullum on YouTube
Instagram - @jaredcullum
Web site - jaredcullum.com
===== How to reach Mike Hendley =====
MikeHendley.com
Instagram @Mike_Hendley
Twitter @MikeHendley
Mike’s drawing kit
Show notes at DrawingInspiration.fm
===== Support the Podcast =====
Support "Drawing Connections" on Substack
Buy Me a Paintbrush if you like the show or my work
Podcast theme music is “Acid Jazz”
By Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

8 snips
Dec 12, 2022 • 1sec
90: Unfolding Creativity: The Art of Lifting with Paper Artist Andrew Wong
Fashion designer turned paper artist, Andrew Wong, joins the podcast to discuss his creative journey and his process of "lifting." He explores digital work, portraiture, and the significance of his culture in his art. Wong shares his transition from cardboard to paper art, the evolution of his artwork, and the challenges and joys of using paper as a medium. He also discusses the influence of Clubhouse, the benefits of doing 30 portraits in 30 days, and his exploration of NFTs and digital art. Additionally, he delves into the concept of masks and their relation to identity and self-expression.