Lance Laber, Executive Director of DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun, joins Big Blend Radio's "Tales of Southwest Artist Ted DeGrazia" Podcast to preview two new fall exhibits opening Friday, September 4th at 5pm: "The Midnight Sketches of Ted DeGrazia" and "Saint Francis of Assisi." Both exhibits run alongside the current "Ted DeGrazia's Painted Ponies" exhibit through January 27, 2027.

The Midnight Sketches, created between midnight and 5am on prepaid U.S. Mail postcards and envelopes from 1955 through the mid-1970s, offer a rare look into DeGrazia's late-night creative process. The Saint Francis of Assisi exhibit spans nearly three decades of DeGrazia's work in drawings, prints, sculptures, and paintings.

DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun is a 10-acre National Historic Landmark featuring over 15,000 original works of art, including paintings, ceramics, sculptures, and more. Learn more: http://www.degrazia.org

🎙️ New episodes air every 4th Sunday. Follow the podcast: https://ted-degrazia.podbean.com

In this episode of Big Blend Radio's "Tales of Southwest Artist Ted DeGrazia" Podcast, Executive Director Lance Laber shares the story behind the new "Ted DeGrazia's Painted Ponies" exhibit at the DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun in Tucson, Arizona.

Featuring paintings, watercolors, sculptures, carousel horses, and merry-go-round imagery, this colorful new exhibition celebrates Ted DeGrazia's lifelong fascination with horses, childhood, imagination, and joy. Lance discusses how DeGrazia captured emotion through his art, his love of children, and why these cheerful works reveal another side of one of the world's most reproduced artists.

The conversation also revisits the remarkable story behind DeGrazia's 1975 tax protest, when he burned over a million dollars' worth of his own paintings in Arizona's Superstition Mountains, celebrates his Flag Day birth anniversary, and explores the gallery's current rotating exhibits, including "Ted DeGrazia's Unseen Landscapes" and "DeGrazia Paints the Seri Indians."

Known as one of the most reproduced artists in the world, Ted DeGrazia captured the spirit of the Southwest through bold, expressive paintings that reflected the region's people, cultures, landscapes, and traditions. Today, his legacy continues through the DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun, a National Historic Landmark nestled in the foothills of Tucson's Santa Catalina Mountains.

Current Rotating Exhibits • Ted DeGrazia's Painted Ponies – On display through January 27, 2027, featuring cheerful paintings, sculptures, carousel horses, and merry-go-round imagery celebrating childhood wonder. • Ted DeGrazia's Unseen Landscapes – Rare watercolors, oils, and ink drawings hidden from public view for decades. On display through September 2, 2026. • DeGrazia Paints the Seri Indians – A fascinating look at DeGrazia's documentation of the Comcaac (Seri) people of Sonora, Mexico. On display through September 2, 2026.

DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun is a 10-acre National Historic Landmark featuring over 15,000 original works of art, including paintings, ceramics, sculptures, and more. Learn more: http://www.degrazia.org

🎙️ New Tales of Ted DeGrazia episodes air every 4th Sunday. Follow the podcast: https://ted-degrazia.podbean.com

In this episode of Big Blend Radio, we get to know Lance Laber, Executive Director of the DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun in Tucson, Arizona, through our signature “Getting to Know You” questions. Along the way, Lance shares fascinating insights into the life, art, and legacy of renowned Southwest artist Ted DeGrazia, one of the most reproduced artists in the world.

From DeGrazia’s early years and artistic journey to the creation of his iconic 10-acre gallery—now a National Historic Landmark—this conversation explores the people, landscapes, and cultures that shaped his work across the American Southwest and into Mexico.

You will also hear the incredible story of DeGrazia’s infamous tax protest, where he burned over a million dollars’ worth of his own artwork, as well as the enduring legend of hidden paintings rumored to be buried in Arizona’s Superstition Mountains—adding a layer of mystery to his already legendary career.

The episode also touches on current and upcoming exhibits, special events at the gallery, and the continued cultural impact of DeGrazia’s work in Tucson and beyond.

🔗 Learn more: http://www.degrazia.org 🎙️ New Tales of Ted DeGrazia episodes air every 4th Sunday. Follow the podcast: https://ted-degrazia.podbean.com