In this episode of Made to Make, host Shannon Grissom sits down with California-based artist Deb Pepin for a soulful conversation about creativity, intuition, and the quiet power of making art. A self-taught painter, Deb shares how her artistic path unfolded organically—and how creating has become both a healing practice and a way of staying deeply connected to the natural world.
Deb opens up about her intuitive approach to art, the magic of plein air painting, and why simple doodling plays such an important role in her daily creative life as a form of meditation. She also speaks candidly about creative blocks, the perseverance required to move through them, and the lessons she’s learned along the way—offering thoughtful encouragement for artists at any stage.
At its core, this episode is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and notice the beauty that’s already around us. Through Deb’s story and artwork, listeners are reminded that creativity isn’t about perfection—it’s about presence, curiosity, and the courage to keep going.
TAKEAWAYS
- Deb has been creative since childhood, drawing from a young age.
- Being self-taught allowed Deb to explore various art forms without being confined to one genre.
- Deb’s diagnosis of multiple sclerosis led her to pursue art full-time, which became a healing journey.
- Doodling serves as a meditative practice for Deb, helping her relax and connect with her creativity.
- Plein air painting has significantly impacted Deb’s understanding of light, color, and nature.
- Deb emphasizes the importance of practice and perseverance in developing artistic skills.
- Each medium Deb uses requires a different mindset, with doodling being the most intuitive.
- Deb encourages aspiring artists to overcome self-doubt and practice daily to improve their skills.
- Art can evoke emotions and connect viewers to nature and the artist’s passion.
- Deb’s work aims to help people see the magic in the world around them.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction to Creativity and the Podcast
00:45 Deb Pepin: Journey of a Self-Taught Artist
03:00 The Healing Power of Art and Doodling
06:03 Plein Air Painting: Learning from Nature
10:02 Exploring Different Mediums and Techniques
12:04 The Intuitive Process of Creating Art
16:04 Overcoming Creative Blocks and Life’s Challenges
20:07 Connecting with Nature Through Art
24:03 Advice for Aspiring Artists
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ABOUT DEBORAH
Bio
Deborah Pepin was born and raised in the San Joaquin Valley of Central California. She is a self-taught artist and has always considered herself a creative. She is well known for her abstracts, which she calls “Doodles”. She loves the process of creating these unique abstracts, which often relieves the daily stressors. She calls this “yoga for the Mind”.
Deborah also works in oils and pastels and found her love of the pastel medium in late 2016. She can often be found plein air painting in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, deserts, and the Central Coast of California. It’s the beauty of nature that inspires her work today.
Her work has been accepted into many national and international Art Shows.
Artist Statement
My hope as an artist is to witness the intimate connection I share with nature through my oil and pastel paintings, and to inspire the audience to forge a relationship with the natural world through my work. Every pastel stroke or every brush stroke plays a part in the creation of my art, as I invite you, the audience, to slow down and enjoy the beauty of this world through my eyes.
CONNECT WITH DEBORAH
Website: https://DeborahPepin.com
Gallery: https://thedoorgallery.com
TRANSCRIPT:
Shannon Grissom (00:00)
Welcome to Made to Make. Here we talk about creativity, the challenges that come with it, and why we keep showing up anyway. Because hey, we are all Made to Make.
Welcome to the Made to Make podcast. You’re in the right place. I know this was formerly painterly life, but now it’s Made to Make to encompass all creatives. I’m your host, Shannon Grissom. Our guest today is Deb Pepin. She’s a California artist whose intuitive abstracts and plein-air paintings invite us to slow down, reconnect with nature, and really dive deep into ourselves. Welcome, Deb.
Deborah Pepin (00:45)
Hi, thank you Shannon for having me. I’m delighted to be here.
Shannon Grissom (00:49)
Well, I just have always loved your work. All aspects of it. You do a wide range of work. Were you always creative? How did you get started?
Deborah Pepin (01:00)
Well, actually my memories go back to when I was even seven years old. I did a drawing and it was based on shapes and I can still draw that same exact image today, which is amazing. But I’ve always been creative somewhere or another.
Shannon Grissom (01:20)
Did you do a lot of art in school or were you mostly self-taught? How did that work out?
Deborah Pepin (01:26)
I did a lot of art in high school, but mostly self-taught. ⁓ My parents didn’t embrace that because it wasn’t something that was money-making. You need a career, So ⁓ you know how that goes. Yeah, I do. So ⁓ I’ve always done stuff on the side. I had a career, and then I’ll always have done stuff on my own.
Shannon Grissom (01:53)
Well, know, being a self-taught artist, ⁓ can you speak to maybe some of the experiences you had that you might not have had going to art school that have strengthened you?
Deborah Pepin (02:06)
Well, I think number one, you have this desire to learn everything. You’re not blocked into a certain category or a certain genre, ⁓ which I embrace it all and love it all. cannot do it all, but for me, it’s, want to learn it all. You I just want the knowledge of all of it. So I think for me, self being self-taught,
I have that ability to really reach out to what I want to do. Whether it be figurative drawing or landscapes or pastels or abstracts. Whereas I think if I had an actual major, I would have been funneled into a certain genre. So.
Shannon Grissom (02:55)
No boxes for you.
Deborah Pepin (02:57)
No boxes for this girl. Nope.
Shannon Grissom (03:00)
Was there a moment in life where you shifted from, because you talk about doing other types of work, where you shifted from, where you just said, this is it, I’ve got to do my creative stuff full time? Or did that happen later in life?
Deborah Pepin (03:17)
that had definitely happened later in life. You know, I had a career. was a manager, second level manager with Pac Bell and kids and home and husband. You know how that goes. And that always takes your time up. So early in 2000, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and had to quit my job. just couldn’t handle the stress. And after, you know, getting my health kind of back on track,
I needed something to do, I always worked. So I picked up a paintbrush and began painting in watercolor again. And it just took off from there. I just kept with it and kept learning and it just took off. So yeah, so that was a blessing in a way. It kind of moved me into a different direction, a good direction. I’m not saying it’s bad at all. And I love every minute of it, I really do.
Shannon Grissom (04:18)
Well, you know, it must be incredibly healing. You know, I’m thinking about your doodles.
Deborah Pepin (04:26)
Okay.
Shannon Grissom (04:28)
Those are so, well, all of your work actually connects with me on a deep level, not just, this is a gorgeous picture. There’s something that speaks about your work that speaks to my soul. And it’s all aspects of your work, not just the doodles. But I would like to focus on those for a minute because that’s such a contemplative.
beautiful experience. I’ve watched you do them and they’re just amazing. So could you tell everybody about your doodles?
Deborah Pepin (05:04)
Yeah, actually my doodles kind of take me out of my, what do I want to say, my more ⁓ connective to nature narrative. It takes me more into a deeper mental and physical state for me. Healing, if you will, because it calms me down, relaxes my mind. And I often call it yoga for my mind, because it really stretches me.
It makes me think about shapes and shadows and light and mark making and color combinations. ⁓ It just takes me out of that more, how do I even want to say this, realism into a magical world for me. So it’s a whole different process, but it’s okay because I have to have that to relax.
and to get me out of my head, if you will, to focus on my more narrative work. So ⁓ yeah, I love the doodles. I still do them almost every day.
Shannon Grissom (06:15)
That’s great. Do you start your creative practice with the doodles first and then move into the realism or is it not that structured?
Deborah Pepin (06:24)
It’s really not that structured. For me, it’s more at night to relax, take my mind off of things. I tend to get into my head about certain things, so it takes me away from that. So it’s usually, you know, late in the studio at night, music going, dog or two in there, cat or two in there. You know, just quiet. Everybody else has gone to bed. It’s quiet. And, yeah.
So for me it’s more of a meditative thing.
Shannon Grissom (06:57)
Yeah, you know, find my, I’ve got work that I do with the brush and then my work with the palette knife. I just make stuff up and I didn’t. And it sounds like and correct me if I’m wrong, when you’re doing the doodles, you’re allowing it to just flow rather than trying to rather than orchestrating everything, you’re allowing to come through whatever’s coming through. And that seems to happen to me.
more with my palette knife work because I’m just putting paint on and seeing who plays well together. Is that how it is for you or?
Deborah Pepin (07:35)
Yeah, it actually, ⁓ it just, and for a lack of a better way to say it, it just really magically happens. There’s no preconceived notion of what things are going to look like, what my pen is going to do, what mark making I’m going to make. I just let it go. And yeah, I do have a lot of failed pieces. Some people would say, I like that. I consider it, it’s just in my pile.
But it’s all part of that meditative practice for me. And it starts for me with just color. I may just put color down and let it set for a month. And then it’ll talk to me and say, ooh, yeah, pick it up. So it’s a very personal thing. Not everybody can do it. But yeah, it really comes from here and here.
you know, without any preconceived notion of what it’s gonna be, what it wants to be, but it talks to me. It leads me through it. you know, and that’s hard for a non-creative to understand that, but yeah, it does kind of lead me through it. So, and each piece is so totally different.
Shannon Grissom (08:52)
Yes, they are. I’m thinking though that even though someone who may not be able to create in that way, you’re still really connecting with people through that work. So that’s very cool. Well, and then there’s your more traditional work. And that also for me rings true on such a deep level.
Deborah Pepin (09:06)
Sure. Thank you.
Shannon Grissom (09:20)
You have a brilliant use of light and color. Do you do most of your work in the studio? I know you do lot of plein air painting, so how is that kind of factored in half and half?
Deborah Pepin (09:33)
How does work? Well, now with me teaching more, I don’t get to get out as much as I’d like to, but I do have to say learning to plein air paint and going out in plein air painting changed my work drastically. If anything has taught me anything, plein air painting has taught me how to see things, how to read light and shadow, how to read color, how to read shadow color.
how to read light colors because there is color in all of that. So it’s really taught me how to see things, how to read the morning, how to read the afternoon, foggy days, overcast days, bright days, you know. So I would really encourage anybody that is serious about their work to plan their paint. And it doesn’t matter how good or bad you are, just get out there and do it because it really changes everything.
So I need to do more of it. That’s one of my New Year’s resolutions is to get out there more. ⁓
Shannon Grissom (10:38)
Me too. So I know you’ve done a lot of different mediums. What are you presently working with?
Deborah Pepin (10:47)
Most of what I call my critical work is done in pastels and oils. I cannot get the hang of acrylics. I’ve tried, it just doesn’t work for me. Gouache, is opaque watercolor, is ⁓ another one that I struggle with. And ⁓ I teach watercolor and drawing, and I think drawing has really helped my work a lot too. Learning how to…
turn a form on a page, shape shadow and light, reading that, learning how that light plays with the shadows. ⁓ So yeah, I I continually try to learn and process things. I’ll never stop, not until I’m not of this earth anymore, for sure. ⁓
Shannon Grissom (11:40)
Well, yeah, I’ll never stop either. There’s just so much more to learn. Yeah, do. ⁓
Is there a medium that feels more intuitive to you? Is it pastels or the ink and line for the doodles? Or they’re just different, they’re just like different friends.
Deborah Pepin (12:04)
And I would say they’re like different friends because I use a different mindset with each one. The doodles, there’s really no mindset. With the other work there is, you have to think about composition and color or color theory and value structure and all of that. Whereas with the doodle work, it is so intuitive that I don’t even think about any of that at all, ever. Ever.
It’s just they could just come to me.
which is kind of cool.
Shannon Grissom (12:40)
That’s
very cool. Thank you. That’s very cool. It really shows up in your work. you. A lot of people ask this, how do you know when a, like, is there a different process for when a doodle is finished as opposed to when a traditional piece is finished? It’s like all of a sudden you just feel done or does it feel the same in both mediums?
Deborah Pepin (13:07)
I would say it would be the same in both mediums. And my question to everybody is it ever done?
Shannon Grissom (13:17)
Ha ha ha!
Deborah Pepin (13:19)
Somebody told me once, it’s done when you sign it. Okay, well, ⁓ I don’t know. Sometimes my doodles will sit for a month and I’ll put a little bit more work on them and say, aha, okay, sign it, it’s done. ⁓ That’s really a question. That’s hard to answer.
Shannon Grissom (13:33)
Yeah.
It is. You know, sometimes I hear in my mind’s ear, Shannon, stop! I’m ready to overwork it because I’m so into whatever it is. ⁓ And I think that was one of the things about being videotaped when you’re painting. You look at it you’re like, my God, it was done an hour ago. I kept going. Well, let’s go back to ⁓ plein air painting.
Deborah Pepin (14:00)
Yeah.
Shannon Grissom (14:09)
How do you choose a location to paint outdoors? Or is it just what floats your boat that day?
Deborah Pepin (14:16)
Well, it’s kind of what floats my boat that day. For me, it’s all about shapes. That’s what I see first. I look for shapes. And then it’s light and shadow. It depends on… And case in point is I was driving home in August last year and we had kind of a surprise storm and it was evening time and we’re driving home. And of course I do most of the driving. So it’s like…
this gorgeous sunset, so I had to find a spot to pull over and I had to hurry because it was going away. So I’m driving like a mad woman and I pull over in this dirt and I get out and I’m taking pictures with my camera and it’s just those magic moments that happen when you’re driving or you’re walking somewhere or you’re at the grocery store and you see something. It’s just, it’s hard to explain, but it’s just something that kind of gobsmacks you and you think,
my God, I gotta get a picture of that or I gotta paint that. ⁓ there again, it’s about light and shadow for me. That and shapes, that’s what I boil everything down to other than the doodles. So yeah, it’s a crazy world for me.
Shannon Grissom (15:31)
What’s your crazy, what’s a typical crazy world day like for you?
Deborah Pepin (15:36)
Well, like today, I’ve been up since five. I always, write, ⁓ I did Cameron, ⁓ Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way. So during 2020, during COVID, and I still write every day. So I write three pages every morning. That kind of starts my morning with coffee and prepare for classes if I’m teaching that day. And ⁓ sometimes I’ll…
work on something if I have something on the easel and I’ve got my pastels out, I’ll put more marks on it if it strikes me. ⁓ I don’t know, it’s just day by day, it depends on if I’ve got things going or I’m teaching. It just works in. My studio is always busy and messy and open, so I can go in there on a moment’s notice if I need to make a mark or something. So I’m good to go with that.
end of it. ⁓ It’s all the little other things that live life that get in the way. The doctor’s appointments, the dentist appointments, you know all that icky stuff. But it’s life.
Shannon Grissom (16:47)
So
how do you get around life’s challenges? Do you have any advice for anybody?
Deborah Pepin (16:52)
Just perseverance, just roll with it. Those things are gonna pop up regardless of how important you are, how rich you are, how poor you are. They’re just gonna pop up and you have to deal with them. So you deal with them the best you can and you move on to the next thing. Yeah, so, and create in between.
Shannon Grissom (17:12)
Yeah.
Yes, yes. Do you ever get stuck?
Deborah Pepin (17:21)
yeah.
Shannon Grissom (17:25)
How do you move yourself through that?
Deborah Pepin (17:28)
Well, I had a real big ⁓ conundrum during the Christmas holiday season. I really got stuck. I just couldn’t get myself to the easel, couldn’t create. And what I’m finding is doing a series of very small works, three by five, just sketching out, you know, having ⁓ just one picture that you can use, but doing different shapes on that, different colors.
working different values. ⁓ It kind of gets you out of your head a little bit and gets you moving in that direction. So that kind of helps me. Writing a little more helps me. So yeah, working small works really, really kind of got me out of my funk. So not for other people to see the little miniatures. They’re just quick studies, you know, moving along. Just get yourself out of your, your stuckness.
Shannon Grissom (18:29)
Yes, yes. I have a series of what I call throw up paintings.
Deborah Pepin (18:38)
⁓ that’s a good one.
Shannon Grissom (18:40)
And I just let it all, whatever it is, I just let it all out. And usually they don’t work into anything that anybody would want to see, but it’s out of me. And then I can move forward. And I do love the morning pages. ⁓ many years ago started the morning pages and that’s, that’s my, the first thing I do every day. And it’s amazing what comes through. And now.
Deborah Pepin (19:06)
Absolutely.
Shannon Grissom (19:08)
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I know that you’ve tried like different mediums you exposed you talked to me about my case is oxide and are you always experimenting with different surfaces different fun things to try
Deborah Pepin (20:07)
I, you know, I do, but I’ve kind of gotten to a point where if I bring another art supply into the home, my husband will murder me in my sleep. I just decided that I just need to kind of stick with what I’m doing. Although I do find a few little things here and there, you know, but I have so much paint and, you know, watercolors and brushes and, and I do these Zen doodle
classes and parties. I’m doing a party Saturday for 25. ⁓ So I have those supplies set aside and you know it’s just I take oil classes so I have a bag set aside for that. I teach pastel classes. I have a bag set aside for that and these aren’t little bags. These are big you know roller bags full of supplies and stuff so yes. ⁓
Little things here and there I’ll experiment with. I’ve really begun experimenting with charcoal in what I call reductive drawing, which you draw with an eraser. So you get your charcoal on and you use an eraser to pull your lights out. And it’s, I’ve really kind of gotten into that. That’s been really fun. yeah, so just, that’s about it. So no more paints for me unless it’s something that I need, you know, like white.
So.
Shannon Grissom (21:36)
Yeah, yeah. Well, yeah, I finally got to the point where I realized, okay, and everybody’s got stuff going on, but I have limited time to create. And so how am going to spend it? And like, there was this competition using a medium that I won’t mention because I don’t want to badmouth the medium. I, so I bought the paint for $50. Yeah, I’m going to do this and enter the competition. It was terrible. It was…
It was just not working for me. And I worked on it every day for a week and I thought, why are you doing this? I will give those away. ⁓ I do, you were interesting that we were talking about acrylics and I struggle with acrylics. I’ve got a goal to finish this one particular painting, but if I’m not happy with it within a week, I’m gonna go over the whole thing with oils.
because I have given it my best shot. I agree, I like pastels and I like oils, but it’s interesting how certain mediums gravitate towards certain people and others work. yeah, but anyway, yeah, limited time focus, but, ⁓ and I don’t know if it’s the artist thing or ADD or whatever. It’s like, shiny, ooh, let’s try this. And it’s like, just have to focus.
Deborah Pepin (23:03)
Yeah, and I think too, for us, I think the biggest thing is time constraints. Yes. And not so much the money spending on the product, but it’s the time constraint. Do I have the time to experiment with this? And I just don’t. I mean, I’m teaching, gosh, I teach every Monday. I cut my Thursday class out, and then I teach on Wednesdays, and then I open the gallery on Fridays.
and I will be teaching a short course in drawing on Thursdays for six weeks. So, you know, I stay really busy.
Shannon Grissom (23:40)
Well, I know, speaking of busy and slowing down and regulating that, you invite viewers to your work to slow down and connect with nature and actually tune into themselves. What do you think someone feels when they’re standing in front of your work or how does that happen?
Deborah Pepin (24:03)
I want people, when they look at or view my work, I want them to see what I see in the world, how I see a forest or ⁓ the magic of spring in this area, just even the magic of orange orchards in a spring storm. Because I view all of that, I was raised here, so I view all of that as
It’s magic to me and people in the cities don’t see that. They don’t know what it’s like to walk through a forest and have it totally quiet and listen to the birds and smell the pine. ⁓ So I bring all of that into my work hoping that people that view my work can see that, can smell that, can hear that. ⁓ Not that it always rings true for everybody, but if I do a piece,
that I really am passionate about. I hope people will feel that passion that I’ve put into it and that I feel too.
Shannon Grissom (25:12)
I know I do. I was looking at your rush hour piece and I thought that was just spot on. ⁓ my goodness.
Deborah Pepin (25:22)
Yeah, that was the piece that I was driving trying to picture that storm. ⁓ That I knew I had to get that. And I actually did a small piece in pastel as a study. And then I actually oil painted a four foot canvas of that same piece. And I will say that my pieces that I work from plein air or that I have that magic connection to.
are the pieces that sell the most, get the most response, ⁓ more so than studio pieces from my photos. it’s a win-win. When you feel that magic, you can put that on a canvas.
Shannon Grissom (26:13)
Yeah, you’re putting that energy there. People can feel it and see it. It’s just wonderful. So how can people find out more about you?
Deborah Pepin (26:18)
Thank you.
Well, I have my website. There’s that. And I’m sponsored through the Door Gallery. I’m one of their members. So they can always go to the Door Gallery in Fresno and you can come and view my work or you can come and sit in on a class. I also teach at the Senior Center in Clovis. So I’m teaching centers of seniors to draw and to paint. My classes are very full.
and they fill up really fast, which is great. I mean, that’s really good. People are enjoying the classes. when I teach, it doesn’t matter who I’m teaching or what I’m teaching, I put everything that I know into that. So they’re getting the top, the top of what I know in those classes. And I think people appreciate that.
So if you’re ever in the area, come and chat. I’m at the gallery on Fridays from two to four, every Friday. So you can always come in and chat and yeah, come in and
Shannon Grissom (27:37)
That’s great. Thank you. Do you have any parting words for someone who wants to get started and they’re afraid, think they have no talent, whatever lives they’re telling themselves about why they can’t create, do you have any advice for them?
Deborah Pepin (27:56)
I do. ⁓ I teach a drawing class and most of my beginning students come in and say, I can’t even draw a stick person. Okay, well we’re going to fix that for you and we do. The only thing I’m going to tell everybody is I as an instructor or anybody as an instructor can never make you better. The only person that can make you better at what you do is by doing it every day.
Listen to your instructor, take that knowledge, take those tips and tricks and turn them into your work, but you have to practice every day. You will be the only person that will make you better. So that’s my only advice to get people to be better at their work. Practice.
Shannon Grissom (28:37)
Yeah.
That’s true. Time under the brush. Well, thanks, Deb. You’ve been so inspiring. I love your work and I will post links to your website so everybody can check it out and find you. That’s a wrap for this episode of Made to Make. Please be sure to like, subscribe and share so that I can bring more inspiring creatives to you. We’ll see you next time.
Deborah Pepin (29:01)
Thank you.