Split Peak Soup
Welcome to Split Peak Soup Podcast! I’m your host, Neal Kearney. I feel very blessed to have been born and raised here in Santa Cruz, California. Santa Cruz is a hotbed for talented individuals, including, but not limited to: professional surfers and skaters, master surfboard shapers, internationally renowned artists, expert musicians, boundary pushing intellectual thinkers, and out-of-this-world explorers of consciousness.
Working as a professional journalist for the past twenty-plus years, I’ve had the opportunity to sit down with these extraordinary humans and in-depth and insightful chats. While these discussions have helped inform many written pieces that I’m proud of, I oftentimes felt that I was leaving a lot of meat left on the bone, as the few quotes I’d incorporate into my writing oftentimes seemed to strip my interviewees of their own authentic voices.
Luckily, we are entering a brave new world, where the podcast has risen as a popular form of storytelling and media consumption. From Joe Rogan to Conan O’Brien, podcasters have officially taken over. And now, I’m joining the fray. The Split Peak Soup Podcast is my way of using my skills as a story-teller to offer long format conversations with those whose stories deserve to be told.
So, what are you waiting for? Pull up a cozy chair, grab a napkin and your favorite spoon, and get ready to dig into another savory serving of Split Peak Soup!
Split Peak Soup
Split Peak Soup Podcast Episode 7--Ana Bachmanova
The life of a professional artist is far from glamorous. The amount of hustle and discipline required to make it big is mind boggling. Rarely can you rely on natural talent alone--successful artists really have to think outside the box to secure that bag. One lovely individual who's doing a fabulous job of paving her own path in the world of art is none other than Anastasiya Bachmanova.
Over the past decade-plus, she's been effectively sharing her ocean/nature inspired art to the masses through her gorgeous acrylic and watercolor paintings, which she sells as originals, as well as prints, greeting cards, and calendars. Originally from Russia, Bachmanova left her home land at the age of five years-old to move to Philadelphia with her family, where she remained until coming to California to study art at California State University at Monterey Bay.
Since then, she's built her brand, Follow the Sun Art, into a sustainable business that shows no sign of slowing down. In this candid conversation, we discuss her upbringing, introduction to art, world travels, love for surfing, inspirations, teaching others the gift of art, as well as her latest endeavor, live wedding paintings. We also touch on the joys of motherhood and her devotion to raising Athena, her "mini-me".
Ana's an inspirational human on so many levels, and it was such a treat to have her on the show. Please enjoy this extra special episode of Split Peak Soup Podcast!!