We recently connected with Bobby Haag and have shared our conversation below.
Bobby, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
“Art is about the artist and it is about the artwork” – Bobby Haag
I was forced to move back home to Michigan from New York City in March 2025. I was there for three years, and that is how I got my “art education” (without going to art school). I started my own self made art-career my second year there in March, 2023 called “Bobby Haag Painting”. NYC blew my mind.
In New York City, I had a job during the week that was involved in business of the art market. That showed me how the “art-world” works. On the weekends, I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. That taught me about art history / how art movements were started, and why the art known today is known about in the first place.
Befor New York, I already knew what art meant to me in “my world”. After New York, I understood what art means for me to be in “the real world”. So, I got my art education without going to art school. In NYC, I paid attention to what was happening in front of my face.
For example, I saw how the art professionalism of today opperates while at my job. I saw how the art legends of all time changed the world with artwork alone at the MET. And I saw the importance of the evolution of culture and how life adapted throughout the history of humanity.
I was in NYC by chance, NOT by choice. I am a slow learner, so it made sense for me to be in there accidently like that, because it forced me to learn about art. It was like destiny and fate at the same time. I just happened to get stuck in the middle of the NYC art-world without knowing anything (or enough) to get involved. I admit I was trying to anyways way too soon for me to be. I felt like I was trying to paint without a canvas, but had to frame it to survive. So I ended up spending all my time alone, painting and dreaming.
But nothing stood in my way. I was always following my dreams no matter what happened. I was braver than I ever knew I was. I was doing things I never thought I could do. Truly my dreams came true every single time I believed in myself and did what was my best, for me. Every moment I had to myself I was painting or thinking about it.
Luckily, I had Central Park. In between painting, I would go there to look around at stuff. Central Park was the coolest part of living in New York City by far, and it turned out to be my best friend. It was all I had whenever I was happy, sad, or mad. It was always there for me and taught me crazy things; hidden secrets. Ancient beauty hid inside its preserved nature. Unknown appreciation sat in the human eloquence of its archetecture. Haha, it was so beautiful; I couldn’t believe it.
But, actually, I could believe it, and in my memory that place lives in my art and heart forever now.
(Oh, and Central Park is where I ended up developing how to paint outside, ‘en-plein-air’, too. So it was sweet.)
Without NYC, Central Park, my job, and the MET, my “art schooling” wouldn’t’ve happened. It’s just something I had to go through to get that education, and it wasn’t easy or comfortable.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
[When I was three years old I drew a train on our driveway with sidewalk chalk. That was the first thing I ever made up in my life; “my classic train”. I remember the way it felt when I watched myself make it. It was the most magical thing I’ve ever seen to this day, and that’s how I feel, still, when I paint.]
I’m Bobby. I paint with oil paint, and I am very serious about the paintings I make, haha.
Describing my oil paintings… all I can say is my paintings are me, Bobby, and I am Bobby Haag painting, paintings. My paintings grow with me, and that is how and why they look like they do. I’m honestly just me being myself. Nothing else. Me being myself genuinely makes me an artist, and me being an artist truthfully makes my paintings.
Me making art is the same thing for me as me being myself. I am not even a painter. Painting is the work I must do in order to communicate a sight I see as a language of how I am. I am an artist who makes artwork. Me painting is the easiest way I can do my best work, clearly. So it has become my life’s work, made out of my life.
(Good thing too because I love painting!)
So maybe I am a painter after all…
I don’t know, but I am not trying to be any kind of way as an artist, or develop any kind of style, or do anything differently. I am myself. Not anybody else. I cannot be defined, explained, or labeled. That means Bobby Haag is Bobby Haag because he is Bobby Haag and that’s it. My paintings look like my paintings because I painted them, and that is it, too.
(Plus… I am just starting out! Give me some time to master it… I promise I’m working on it to get better at it!)
But yeah, art is too special to me. It is a gift I can give. I try everything I can do to. My heart feels just as special as my art feels. Every moment of my life I’m living art. Art history and color theory now direct my focus, though, with what is around me, so I can do all I can to do this properly, and take it further. Both art and color. Color is a main focus and love of mine. I made up my own original 12-color color theory and my own full-circle paint palette, I invented myself, to help paint these colors myself because I believe the world is made of color, and with painting I can paint the sense of seeing I beleive. Seeing inside out. My goal is to be a real artist. I am going to do what I can do until I am done… but I’m not done yet!
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
~ I did not come to New York City to become an artist… I left New York City to be an artist ~
The moment I had ‘to make a pivot’ was when I had to move out of New York City and go back home to Michigan. Moving back home made me realize this: (by my own rules) in order for myself to be a real artist, my job must be me working as an artist in the real world…
…not me being an artist working a job in the art-world, so it made leaving alright.
“If I can make a living with a mop, then I can make a living with a paintbrush, because I can paint… and after all, a mop is just a giant paintbrush!”
Until that realization I thought I failed as an artist at first. It made me even question whether or not I was good enough to even be a real artist or not, or if I was just kidding myself into thinking I could ever be one. And because I was leaving so soon, it seemed unfair because I felt I never got the chance to fully engage with the art-world. But I wasn’t prepared! I wasn’t even ready to yet. Anyways, it was confusing me.
As my situation removed me from being surrounded by the NYC “art-world”, I knew at that moment I was wrong about my concerns. I am good enough. I know I’m a true artist. Leaving only gained me new information on how to become a real, better artist in the real world. It was a great thing! I already believed in myself way befor ever knowing there even was an “art-world”, so why was I questioning myself? I really just learned how to start applying what I saw there to what I already know, but I did just really want to make artwork within the art scene, but couldn’t. What happened to me will not prevent me from becoming an artist, or being a part of it. I am only encouraged greater now to become the artist I was meant to be, and better than befor! It was meant to be this way for me, not the opposite.
Now I am ready to pave my own path, and just in time, too.
The last and best part of all of this (and for the first time in my life) was, Michigan gave me my 1st ever homemade debut art-studio! I was able to turn a little space in the basement into a place I can paint for my life in.
This is my responsibility, and, a long time ago… I was scribbling with colors. As I did this I heard my name whisper into my ear. “Bobby Haag”. The faster and harder I scribbled the more and more it’d whisper… “Bobby Haag … Bobby Haag … Bobby Haag”… … …
I was born to do this.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Yes!!! I proudly present:
“Bobby Haag Art Show”, “Bobby Haag Gallery”,
and “Bobby Haag Auction House”!!! All coming out of “Bobby Haag Painting”!
Okay, here it goes, and then I have nothing more to say (for now).
“Bobby Haag Art Show”!
This makes art for me. This creates history!
These are my own made up artshows. Ones that create paintings that tell the actual story of my life. The show must go on in any kind of moment imaginable, and can happen to be anything and anywhere… just like life. They are not just paintings of my life; they are my life painted into paintings. I make homemade fliers to promote the show’s location, date, and theme, as a fun way to present the show and create a deadline for myself to make the art every month throughout each year. This began February, 2024. Every painting is painted different. Each painting has it’s own unique way to be painted, unlike the last, but continueing the likeness of what I’ve done in the past, to show a new kind of painting, true to own experience, which makes them become impossible for me to ever recreate. Because the moment that created them passed away, it is pictured as a memory, painted. I keep them for myself (I like to have my paintings too!) and they are so special to me. They are not for sale. The reason I made my artshows into their own category of my own painting was to welcome this kind of thing to continue happening, where it’s purpose for being created has a place to go and an oppurtunity to exist. Then I do an actual real art show, for the one painting, made one at a time, to celebrate it for one day only. Like a birthday! The paintings are created with an extreme serious endevour of mine and the art shows balance that with a playful and fun showing. My own eyes get to see what is exatly possible for my art to become without worrying whether it’s good or bad, made from love. Once this is done, anyone around to see the show gets experience what I happened to experience. And after that one-day only show is over, my collection of all the paintings (over time) are available to for any oppurtunity of showcasing them all together, in the timeline they were made, on a tour I like to call “Bobby Haag Art Show On Tour”. Just so the world gets to “see” this memory again and again for the first time forever… or as long as the paintings last. It is my history of my lifetime.
Next:
“Bobby Haag Gallery”! (Coming summer 2026).
This makes paintings for you and creates value!
I am building my own made up gallery full of an ongoing inventory of original Bobby Haag paintings, exclusively made for “Bobby Haag Gallery”. This is because I want everyone I meet to have a painting. These paintings will always be for sale, and can be bought anytime and anywhere by anyone. My gallery purposely turns a home for my paintings, the ones made for everybody, into an outlet where anybody can own fine art. All the paintings are paintings that do not belong in my artshows reasoning their own purpose into a meaningful body of work. The gallery paintings are chronologically numbered as they’re made, one after another. That number becomes the title of the painting, and remains unrepeated and for sale until sold. As I paint my gallery paintings, the numbers continue counting, causing the first ones to have the oldest numbers and the latest ones to have the newest number. Over time, the newest become the oldest and keeps on going, just like the value of the passing of time. My gallery represents itself by this by happening to my own paintings made to represent my own actual gallery.
A collection is formed by the documenting of the painted works, and the paintings become self-displayed in a way that by definition becomes an instantly collectable limited edition original record of my time.
The reason for this is so any person in the world can become a collector of classic, fine artwork in their lifetime! Cool! And just by being here at the same time, together. I believe in art so much that I believe art can change the world. Art loves you! It’s true.
And last but not least…
“Bobby Haag Auction House”. This will make artwork for art, and creates culture!
My auction house is in the next, newest making, opening winter of 2027. I am making this so I can participate in the art-world, as a signiture of me being an artist. Like a type of my paintings that shows results made from a process I play out that does not involve the intention of making art I’d love for either me or you to have, but for the art I’d love for art itself to witness, which in return is for all. In my auction house, I am producing paintings that achieve, to my best, a part in helping keep the art market alive and exciting by introducing new art within what the art-world is distributing from outside of it. My auction house is not a physical place though. It is an idea. An imaginary ‘factory’ that paints physical masterpieces that I take part in having to make them happen by just painting them. Once my auction house doors are open, I literally imagine bids I make against my own paintings (with the whole “once, twice, sold!” thing). The ‘winning bid’ becomes the pricetag of the painting and the title, or name of the artwork. Then, I simply send them out into the hands of the big art-world like a baby growing up. This whole thing symbolizes my own way of life on Earth as a human being in a world I was born into, sharing my own way of seeing this world in my own mind through my own eyes, felt with my own heart, and painted into a painting for humanity to either embrace and notice its existence, or reject, as make-belief determined by me, the artist in this centurary, and the art itself in the current progression of life. The only way I can contribute is offering paintings painting my imagination seeing colors being painted. Big. Colorful. And magical. Something done in a way only Bobby can do, because he’s him! Just like everyone has something magical only they themself can do, too! To honor how special each and every one of us are as individuals I feel is important; as who we are as people matters. In other words, me being who I am can offer one and only “Bobby Haag Painting” paintings, made by a one and only me (Bobby). (Plus it’s my favorite way to paint: just paint!) I love painting.
Finally, I’m done! That is all I came here to say (phew!).
I am myself playing pretend in make-belief creating real, fine artwork paintings for me, you, and art out of love looking to work and connect with people around the world.
Thank you so much for letting me give an update
and speak for myself!
My story is just about someone who only wants to be an artist.
Follow your dreams. Dreams come true!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bobbyhaagpainting.com
- Instagram: @bobbyhaagpainting
Image Credits
bobby haag