We recently connected with Ian Robertson-Salt and have shared our conversation below.

Ian, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I recently had the honor of creating a painting for the Public Defenders office in Downtown LA. I was commissioned along with other artists by the LA County Arts Commission to create something that reflects the work and mission of the Public Defenders Office. We were able to shadow a public defender for a day to get insight into their work, and witness first hand how important their role is in the judicial system. The shear kindness and support I observed from everyone who works in the public defenders office was so inspiring and uplifting. Its easy to judge people based on their mistakes in our society, and it takes real integrity and compassion to treat people with the level kindness and care that I observed from the public defenders.

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.

I started drawing and painting at a young age. My parents were both artists and there were always art supplies available. Growing up I had a very hard time focusing in school, and was usually drawing instead of doing the tasks that were given to me. I was able to take painting and drawing every year of high school, along with graphic design and other subjects that really helped guide me into the right path. After high school I decided I wanted to focus on public art, and began volunteering with non-profit arts organizations that focused on social justice murals around Los Angeles.

Growing up in LA, I was exposed to many different cultures, ideologies, and socio-economic issues that have fueled my creative exploration. Above all, my art seeks to question what I have been told and how I perceive the world. My paintings are an exploration into multiple practices that range from realism, illustration, graphic design, and abstraction. The exploration of contemporary issues surrounding sustainability, poverty, intimacy, history, and identity are the driving forces of my creativity. The imagery in my work often represents one of these topics, while the abstraction, graphic elements, and color relationships represent my own process of questioning these issues and how they are represented in our culture. By juxtaposing these different themes into a singular framework, I am questioning their relationship to each other, to myself, and to the world as a whole. Some of these themes take on multifaceted representations, such as a realistic representation of an urban street scene overlaid with a graphic and stylized aerial map that represents the physical space and the ways people move through it. The geometric forms in my art represent pathways that we encounter in our daily lives, depicted as fragmented maps, architecture, graffiti, or physical objects. All of these aspects in my paintings are constructed simultaneously through my drawing and painting process. I build color relationships that reflect the complexities of these issues, while also seeking a sense of beauty from attempting to question and understand them.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

During college, I was fortunate enough to have a job conserving murals for the City of Long Beach, which was a great job to have as an art student. After I graduated, I was faced with the question that all graduates face: What do I do now? How do I make a living?

I was able to get a second job restoring historic murals around LA – murals that were originally created through DCA’s City Wide Mural Program in the 90s. I found myself working six or seven days a week and commuting from Northeast LA to Long Beach or Venice, and then driving to the work sites. The days were long and hard but very rewarding. I was pushing myself harder than ever before and learned the value of a strong work ethic, as well as the limits of what I can sustain. Any self employed person needs to have a self-determined drive and work ethic, and the opportunities I had early in my career certainly instilled that in me.

Today, I juggle painting commissions, murals, tattoos, and design work, and work as often as I need to in order to achieve my goals.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I love public art. I love creating things that people can engage with in their daily lives. Many of my goals involve creating art that reflects the values and communities that I work in. I have met so many amazing people while painting murals and I want to continue that practice as long as I can. Ultimately, my main goal is to have a lifelong career creating work in public spaces and in my studio. I would love to have my work in more galleries and institutions but public art provides me with such joy and fulfillment because it allows me to connect with people through art.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.anthroe.com
• Instagram: @anthroe

Image Credits
Personal photo: © June Jung