Ep. 101: GREG MANCHESS - Journey Man

We never know what our conversations on this show are gonna turn out like. Some people are talkative, some not so much. The one thing we seem to be getting here lately though is genuine—and we love it. Greg Manchess was as genuine as they come, folks.

If you're a fan of illustration, you already know his name and what his career consists of. Tons upon tons of high profile clients, book covers, posters, magazine illustrations, concept work for film, children's books, awards and a U.S. postage stamp.

He's been everywhere and done everything, yet when we talked to him, he was resolute that he's still learning. Still on his journey.

Hard work was also his mantra in the interview. Manchess isn't a big believer in gifts and 'God-given' talent. Put some blood, sweat and tears into it and then he says, you'll have something.

In the exchange, we found out a couple things about him that we didn't know.

One, he's essentially a ninja (our words, not his—and we're not kidding).

And two, he says he's just now starting to create the kind of work he always wanted to—after 30 years of doing it. That's astounding!

Dwight and I walked away from this one much fuller and richer than we were when we sat down. Greg was warm, honest and open—and kinda Zen at times, too (his words, not ours). In preparation for the interview, Dwight picked up on the Zen part and he was dead on—Greg doth wax poetic.

We had an amazing time with the man and thank him much for coming on with us. He's originally from Kentucky and listening to him talk was like enjoying some Kentucky Bourbon on a warm, summer night.

Hmm, maybe next time...

Greg's Site

**Big thanks to ConceptArt.org and Greg's agent, Richard Solomon. They, along with artist Bryan Beus, have been putting us together with some truly awesome talent. We appreciate it, guys.

Picture provided by Irene Gallo.

At the VERY end of this episode, we played a snippet of Norah Jones' Painter Song. We too think 'painting your reverie' is a worthy pursuit.