Daniel Keys bought his first paint kit at 11 with birthday money, taught himself to paint with no formal training, and went on to win the Portrait Society of America's Draper Grand Prize, the PleinAir Salon Grand Prize, and covers on seven major art magazines. In this episode, Daniel joins Kari and Lisa to share how a magazine cover at 22 became his big break, what it was like quietly absorbing everything from a decade at Richard Schmid's easel, and how pastel's "visual mixing" — layering broken color instead of blending on a palette — has changed the way he now paints in oil. Plus, why drawing and values (not composition) are the real gap in most students' work, why he now reaches for pastel over oil for portraits, and a peek at his recent painting trip chasing 500-year-old thatched-roof cottages through Yorkshire, England.

Nancie King Mertz has done it all — 19 years running a Chicago gallery, painting in 24 countries, guest of honor at the Pastel Society of France, and now the newest PSA Hall of Fame honoree. In this episode, Nancie joins Kari and Lisa to share her signature "tick mark map" technique, her denatured alcohol underpainting method, and the one rule that transformed her students' compositions: the three-quarters value principle. Plus, why she never lets students bring pastel pencils, how she funded international travel by painting on every trip, and a peek inside her dream learning center retreat in Rockford, Illinois.