The Lives Of The Artists

#15. Daniele Bolelli ~ Historian, Host Of ‘History On Fire Podcast’ & Caravaggio Expert

Daniele Bolelli is an Italian-born historian, writer, lecturer and podcaster. Known for his eclectic and rebellious approach to history, philosophy, and religion - he is a legend of the game. Born in Milan in 1974, he moved to the United States where he earned degrees from UCLA and Cardiff University, and has taught at several institutions including California State University, Long Beach. Bolelli is the author of several books, such as On the Warrior’s Path and Create Your Own Religion, blending academic insight with a fiercely independent voice. He gained wider popularity through his podcasts History on Fire and The Drunken Taoist, where he explores historical events and figures—ranging from Caravaggio to Native American leaders—with a passionate, narrative-driven style. Bolelli is celebrated for making history visceral, philosophical, and accessible, often highlighting the rebels and rule-breakers who have shaped our world.

#14. Emil Oskar Andersson ~ Curator Of Daily Paintings & Cultural Writer

Emil Oskar Andersson runs and curates the hugely popular Instagram page Daily Paintings, where he posts and writes about paintings that move him every day. He is also a cultural writer for Corren a Swedish national newspaper and media outlet.

#13. Kay Gasei ~ London Based British Zambian Artist

Kay Gasei is a London-based artist born in 1991 who traverses the intricacies of narratives and myths in his artistic practice, illuminating a realm of profound artistic exploration. Employing symbolism, recurring motifs, and enigmatic characters set within abstract spaces. Gasei breathes life into the narratives on his canvases, evoking an enigmatic allure that bewitches viewers.

#12. LUAP ~ Contemporary British Artist

Paul Robinson, better known by his alias of LUAP, is a Contemporary British Artist based in London. He is known for his depiction of ‘The Pink Bear’ which he uses as a muse within his artworks. His work spans the creative fields of photography, painting, sculpture and performance art.
https://www.luapstudios.co.uk

#11. Paola Vojnovic ~ Leonardo Da Vinci’s Life, Drawings & Vitruvian Man

Paola Vojnovic is an art historian with two master’s degrees and more than two decades of research and writing about Renaissance artists. Paola brings an exceptional level of expertise about Renaissance Europe and passion to her work as lecturer, teacher, and tour guide.

#10. Michael Shane Neal ~ America’s Leading Portrait Painter

Michael Shane Neal (born November 23, 1968) is an American portrait artist who currently serves as the chairman of the Portrait Society of America. Since beginning a full time career as an artist at the age of 21, Neal has completed more than 600 private and public commissioned portraits on display around the world. His work includes seven U.S presidential cabinet members, four former U.S. Ambassadors, seven U.S. senators, over a dozen Federal Judges, four U.S. governors, actors, and heads of universities. He has painted notable figures such as President George H.W. Bush, actor Morgan Freeman, jazz great Ron Carter, comedian Jimmy Fallon, journalist Carl Bernstein, authors Jon Meacham, Margaret Atwood, Colm Toibin and Doris Kearns Goodwin, fashion designers Anna Sui, Naeem Kahn, Valerie Steele, as well as Henry Lewis Gates Jr., former United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Sir Malcolm Colquhoun, Chief of Clan Colquhoun, 9th Baronet, 31st of Colquhoun and 33rd of Luss, and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

#9. Toto Bergamo Rossi ~ Director Of Venetian Heritage

Toto Bergamo Rossi is a restorer specializing in the conservation of stone, has restored important monuments in Italy and abroad. Since 2010 he has been the director of Venetian Heritage, an international nonprofit organization with offices in New York and Venice, which supports cultural initiatives through restorations, exhibitions, publications, conferences, studies, and research, with the goal of making the world more aware of the immense legacy of the art of Venice. He has led numerous restoration projects, exhibitions, and publications.

#8. Urban Larsson ~ Portrait Painter To The Swedish & Dutch Royal Families

Urban Larsson is an oil painter in the figurative tradition. Striving for beauty and universal human values, he paints only from life. He was born in 1966 in Stockholm and has lived and worked in Amsterdam for nearly three decades. Urban’s prestigious and numerous portrait commissions are international. He has for example painted the official portrait of HM Queen Silvia of Sweden and King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands. What sets Larsson apart from most other painters is that he also masters other genres, such as still-lifes, landscapes and figures. He has exhibited extensively throughout Europe and USA. In 2017 he had two retrospective exhibitions in prominent museums in Sweden and the Netherlands. That same year a two part documentary on his work was broadcast on Dutch national television AVRO.

#7. Thelonious Stokes ~ African American Artist Collected By Madonna

Thelonious Stokes is an academically trained oil painter, filmmaker, performance artist and designer based in Florence, Italy. He’s the first African American to graduate from the prestigious Florence Academy of Art and founder of The Black Academy of Art in Italy. Shaped by his Baptist culture and upbringing around jazz music on the Southside of Chicago, Stokes gravitated towards art at an early age as a means to express himself. Stokes’s work interrogates Western art history and Judeo-Christian themes – challenging and recontextualizing the canon to include themes and depictions of Black figuration that have been historically omitted. In this creative and illuminating conversation we discuss his upbringing, training, practice, being collected by Madonna, Jean-Michel Basquiat, his friendship with Chance the Rapper & Vic Mensa, adventures in Africa and much, much more!

#6. Tania Rivilis ~ Winner Of The William Locke Portrait Prize

Tania Rivilis began painting at the age of 27, after moving to Germany in 2012. Since 2015, she began taking part in art shows and exhibitions around the world. Tania’s paintings are now part of museum, gallery, and private collections all over the world, such as Jonathan and Stuart Hyman collection, State Museums of St. Petersburg (Saint Petersburg Museum, Vladimirskiy Palace and Marble Palace), and Astoria Hotel (Rocco Forte Hotels). Since 2019 Tania is a permanent exhibitor at Bonnard Galerie, Netherlands, and Arcadia Contemporary, New York, as well as displaying work at LA Art Fair (presented by Arcadia Gallery), and Amsterdam First Art Fair (Bonnard Gallery). In 2022 Tania received the prestigious William Lock Prize for the most timeless portrait, with real feeling for paint and aesthetic potential.