Painter's Guild with Will Friedle; enjoying hobbies I will probably never pick up

Project Alpha has a show called Painter's Guild that's now in its second season. It's hosted by Will Friedle who is best known for his role as Eric on Boy Meets World, but who has also done a ton of VO work for DC in addition to be well known to the critter community as Kashaw on Critical Role.

On Painter's Guild, Will and a guest dive into the world of miniature painting. Will, with no previous skill in the hobby, and his guest(s) who have been in the hobby for some time. The first few episodes of season one he started with Matthew Mercer (beloved DM of Critical Role) who showed him the basics of getting started. From there he had on other guests who are both advanced hobbyists or professional painters (which is such a cool job).

In Season Two the show has recieved an upgrade both to the format and the studio setting. Now instead of a simple table, Will and his guest sit surrounding by a variety of paints and tools to use on their projects. In addition, mid-episode there are advanced tips from professional painter Bryan Merlonghi or a interview by Will with different miniature companies about their process.

Fans of Will's appearances on Critical Role will find Will's humor comes through strong on Painter's Guild which makes the show more than a simple project show. He engages his guests about personal and professional topics while they teach him about the hobby. But most of all what's enjoyable is the process of the show. In almost two seasons we get to watch Will's knowledge and technique grow as he works with these guests. Now we can see the work he's doing look (at least from a distance) pretty similar to the works of the talented guests he's hosting.

I'm not a painter, I've barely dabbled in miniature painting. And I doubt I'll ever seriously pick up the hobby, it requires far more patience than I have or am willing to learn. But I really enjoying watching Will's process and I think he's such an entertaining host that I don't need to be watching the show to pick up technique to find it interesting. I also find it a little bit relaxing, kind of comforting to watch a show and see he and his guest start and finish a project in one or two episodes. It reminds me of being a little kid and watching This Old House with my dad. And I think that's kind of the niche this show fills. Haven't we all been stuck inside on the weekend watching HGTV for longer than we ever intended? I find Painter's Guild far more interesting. I hope when this season is over, G&S picks it up for a third.

Below is the trailer for the first season. However if you find yourself on the Geek & Sundry YouTube channel you'll also find Will's mid-episode interviews from season two.

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