Creative Contemplation

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May 1, 2026
Creative Contemplation
S4 Bonus Suzanne Lago Arthur; Reflections On My Creative Journey

The tables have been turned in this very special bonus episode! Creative Contemplation podcast host and creator, Suzanne Lago Arthur shares her own creative journey and discusses her upcoming solo show “Portals & Sanctuaries” (May 1 - 31, 2026) while being interviewed by the person who knows her best, her husband, James Rian Arthur.
Website: lagoarthurstudio.com
Instagram: @lagoarthurstudio
"Portals & Sanctuaries" Solo Show at TAG/The Artists Gallery, Frederick MD
Upcoming Workshops

Early Influences Mentioned:
Tina Blondell
Janis Goodman
Franklin White

Suggested Podcast Equipment & Links:
Samson Q2U XLR/USB Mic
How To Start A Podcast // Podcasting For Beginners by PSS Creative Media

Special Host: James Rian Arthur, husband of Suzanne Lago Arthur.
Guest (And Regular Host) Bio:
Suzanne Lago Arthur is a contemporary realist painter from Northern Virginia. Born in Puerto Rico to Cuban-American parents, her artistic explorations were nurtured from an early age by her family.

Through her paintings Suzanne explores the themes of beauty, transience and memory.  She has exhibited both nationally and internationally in such venues as the Corcoran Gallery of Art and Art Museum of the Americas in Washington DC, Booth Museum of Western Art in Cartersville, GA, the United States Interests Section, Havana, Cuba and in art galleries across the United States. She holds a BFA from the Corcoran School of Art and an MA in Museum Studies from George Washington University.

Website: www.lagoarthurstudio.com
Instagram: Suzanne Lago Arthur (@lagoarthurstudio)
Logo design by Elisa Nader,  Mag7
Artwork, "Abby in Contemplation"

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February 20, 2026
Creative Contemplation
S4E9 Marie Riccio; Exploring Symbolism, Composition And Design Through Still Life

Suzanne Lago Arthur, host and creator of The Creative Contemplation Podcast has a conversation with Maryland based painter, Marie Riccio about her development as an artist and the inspiration behind the work for her upcoming solo show "Community" at First Street Gallery (3/4/26-3/28/26) 
Website: mariericcio.com
Instagram: @marie_riccio
"Community" Solo Show, First Street Gallery, NYC
TAG/The Artists Gallery, Frederick MD

Guest Bio:
Marie Riccio grew up in New York and received a B.F.A from SUNY Purchase. She also lived in Philadelphia where she earned an MFA in painting from the University of Pennsylvania before moving to Rockville, MD. She is an award-winning artist who has exhibited her work in New York, Philadelphia, Colorado, and throughout the Washington, DC area.
Host Bio:

Suzanne Lago Arthur is a contemporary realist painter from Northern Virginia. Born in Puerto Rico to Cuban-American parents, her artistic explorations were nurtured from an early age by her family.

Through her paintings Suzanne explores the themes of beauty, transience and memory.  She has exhibited both nationally and internationally in such venues as the Corcoran Gallery of Art and Art Museum of the Americas in Washington DC, Booth Museum of Western Art in Cartersville, GA, the United States Interests Section, Havana, Cuba and in art galleries across the United States. She holds a BFA from the Corcoran School of Art and an MA in Museum Studies from George Washington University.

Website: www.lagoarthurstudio.com
Instagram: Suzanne Lago Arthur (@lagoarthurstudio)
Logo design by Elisa Nader,  Mag7
Artwork, "Abby in Contemplation"

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February 5, 2026
Creative Contemplation Presents
EU02.5 In The Orbit of Euan Uglow; Chris Bennett and Laura Smith {Continued}

In this special mini-series host and creator, Suzanne Lago Arthur, seeks to capture the living art history of famed British artist, Euan Uglow by interviewing his students, contemporaries and those who knew him best.  In this episode, Suzanne continues her insightful conversation with 2 of Euan's students from the Slade, artists Chris Bennett, ROI and Laura Smith, NEAC. 
Chris Bennett Website, Chris Bennett ROI
Laura Smith Website, Laura Smith NEAC, Laura Smith Instagram
Chris Bennett was born in London in 1957 and studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in the early ‘80s under Euan Uglow, Geoffrey Camp and Philip Sutton.  He has exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy and at the Royal Institute of Oil Painters at the Mall Galleries, London. In 2004 Chris signed a publishing contract with DeMontfort Fine Art who license selected works as open and limited editions in the UK, Japan and the USA.  His paintings are exhibited and sold in prestigious galleries around the UK.  A notable commission is a portrait of Sir William Hawthorne, now in the collection of Churchill College, Cambridge, who, with Sir Frank Whittle, designed the first jet engine.
Laura Smith trained at The Slade School of Fine Art where she won the Clare Winsten Memorial Award, graduating from her MFA in 2012. A still-life painter working towards the abstract tradition, she is interested in dissolving our familiarity with everyday objects. Her current work explores the idea that repeated motifs enable a deeper and freer investigation of the objects themselves. The paintings often depict emotive gestures and actions, where objects take the place of the loved, the abandoned and the closely held.   
"Euan Uglow: An Arc From The Eye" exhibit at MK Gallery, Milton Keynes
"The Uglow Papers" By Andrew Lambirth
"Euan Uglow, Some Memories Of The Painter" by Susan Campbell
"Euan Uglow The Complete Paintings" by Richard Kendall

HOST BIO
Suzanne Lago Arthur is a contemporary realist painter from Northern Virginia. Born in Puerto Rico to Cuban-American parents, her artistic explorations were nurtured from an early age by her family. Through her paintings Suzanne explores the themes of beauty, transience and memory.  She has exhibited both nationally and internationally in such venues as the Corcoran Gallery of Art and Art Museum of the Americas in Washington DC, Booth Museum of Western Art in Cartersville, GA, the United States Interests Section, Havana, Cuba and in art galleries across the United States. She holds a BFA from the Corcoran School of Art and an MA in Museum Studies from George Washington University.

Website: www.lagoarthurstudio.com
Instagram: Suzanne Lago Arthur (@lagoarthurstudio)
Logo designs by Elisa Nader,  Mag7

Send us Fan Mail
January 29, 2026
Creative Contemplation Presents
EU02 In The Orbit of Euan Uglow; Chris Bennett and Laura Smith

In this special mini-series host and creator, Suzanne Lago Arthur, seeks to capture the living art history of famed British artist, Euan Uglow by interviewing his students, contemporaries and those who knew him best. In this second episode, Suzanne has a deep and moving conversation with 2 of Euan's students from the Slade, British artists Chris Bennett, ROI and Laura Smith, NEAC. 
Chris Bennett Website, Chris Bennett ROI
Laura Smith Website, Laura Smith NEAC, Laura Smith Instagram
Chris Bennett was born in London in 1957 and studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in the early ‘80s under Euan Uglow, Geoffrey Camp and Philip Sutton.  He has exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy and at the Royal Institute of Oil Painters at the Mall Galleries, London. In 2004 Chris signed a publishing contract with DeMontfort Fine Art who license selected works as open and limited editions in the UK, Japan and the USA.  His paintings are exhibited and sold in prestigious galleries around the UK.  A notable commission is a portrait of Sir William Hawthorne, now in the collection of Churchill College, Cambridge, who, with Sir Frank Whittle, designed the first jet engine.
Laura Smith trained at The Slade School of Fine Art where she won the Clare Winsten Memorial Award, graduating from her MFA in 2012. A still-life painter working towards the abstract tradition, she is interested in dissolving our familiarity with everyday objects. Her current work explores the idea that repeated motifs enable a deeper and freer investigation of the objects themselves. The paintings often depict emotive gestures and actions, where objects take the place of the loved, the abandoned and the closely held.   
BOOKS ON EUAN UGLOW
"The Uglow Papers" By Andrew Lambirth
"Euan Uglow, Some Memories Of The Painter" by Susan Campbell
"Euan Uglow The Complete Paintings" by Richard Kendall

HOST BIO
Suzanne Lago Arthur is a contemporary realist painter from Northern Virginia. Born in Puerto Rico to Cuban-American parents, her artistic explorations were nurtured from an early age by her family. Through her paintings Suzanne explores the themes of beauty, transience and memory.  She has exhibited both nationally and internationally in such venues as the Corcoran Gallery of Art and Art Museum of the Americas in Washington DC, Booth Museum of Western Art in Cartersville, GA, the United States Interests Section, Havana, Cuba and in art galleries across the United States. She holds a BFA from the Corcoran School of Art and an MA in Museum Studies from George Washington University.

Website: www.lagoarthurstudio.com
Instagram: Suzanne Lago Arthur (@lagoarthurstudio)
Logo designs by Elisa Nader,  Mag7
Artwork, "Abby in Contemplation" by artist Suzanne Lago Arthur
Music by Up North Music

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January 13, 2026
Creative Contemplation
S4E8 Ayako Shimada; Gathering Inspiration Close to Home

Suzanne Lago Arthur, host and creator of The Creative Contemplation Podcast has a delightful conversation with Tokyo based painter, Ayako Shimada about her solo show "Painting Diary" at Opa Gallery (1/16/26-1/21/26) of her recent landscape paintings of Inokashira Park and its playgrounds, which subtly hint at her private life beyond the canvas--her role as a mother and caregiver.
Opa Gallery, Shibuya Tokyo, Japan
Website: Ayakoshimada-art.com
Instagram: @Ayakoshimada5050
Influences Mentioned:
Erin Raedeke
Ed Praybe
Lennart Anderson
Euan Uglow
John Dubrow
Ayako Shimada's Artist Statement: For me, painting is an universal language that I can talk with anybody. I am a mother of a little kids and a Japanese teacher. Talking with visual language is such a powerful way to show how I see and think about things. 
For my works, finding a mundane moment and working with motifs that are close to me is important. In my painting process, I want to catch a beauty of moments such as daylight shift or atmosphere, find interesting relationships between each motifs and combine those elements into paintings rather than just paint as they are. So that way people would see true moment in terms of colors and feelings from my paintings.

Host Bio:

Suzanne Lago Arthur is a contemporary realist painter from Northern Virginia. Born in Puerto Rico to Cuban-American parents, her artistic explorations were nurtured from an early age by her family.

Through her paintings Suzanne explores the themes of beauty, transience and memory.  She has exhibited both nationally and internationally in such venues as the Corcoran Gallery of Art and Art Museum of the Americas in Washington DC, Booth Museum of Western Art in Cartersville, GA, the United States Interests Section, Havana, Cuba and in art galleries across the United States. She holds a BFA from the Corcoran School of Art and an MA in Museum Studies from George Washington University.

Website: www.lagoarthurstudio.com
Instagram: Suzanne Lago Arthur (@lagoarthurstudio)
Logo design by Elisa Nader,  Mag7
Artwork, "Abby in Contemplation"