We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Robert O’Banner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Robert, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I’ve always been creative, since I was a kid. My dad has an old wallet of his that has a really good drawing of The Ninja Turtles that I drew when I was in elementary. But that’s far removed from what I do now. I’ve never taken an art class, preferring to stay as unencumbered by the expectations of others and to stay as true to my vision as possible. I could’ve definitely used the skills, But the learning through exploration is half the fun. My style started out as practicing lettering in the hopes of being a graff artist, then in trying to do something original, I had these hopes of just filling space Keith Haring style. I love organic shapes and shaping and composing them into larger forms, like life itself.

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’m Robert O’Banner, the artist behind BadlyDrawnFlower. Originally from Compton, CA, I now call Detroit, MI my home. I’m a visual artist, working primarily with acrylic, spray paint and mixed media. I create first for me in the hopes that you like it also. I view creating as this weird vulnerability for me, Taking the thoughts and ideas that exist in my head and putting it on display for people I’ve never shared space with, to view, critique, appreciate…it’s a lot. I’ve found that my work has resonated with some really cool people though. I appreciate that. I hope your readers enjoy it too!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Truly, creating is an act of passion. Trying to take this on as a career isn’t for the faint of heart. To do something so subject to subjectivity, you can’t always control how an audience will receive your work. I’ve had people I care about deeply and look up to not understand the vision behind a project and completely miss the point, misjudging and critiquing from that space. A lot of that you just have to have a thick skin to, being able to take what people are saying and take what’s gonna work for your practice and leave the rest. Taking it all in can sour your want to create what feels authentic to you, which is something that most genuine creatives will say is the most important part. Stay authentic.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I mean, the easy answer is buy art. But there are more ways to support them. Follow the artist online and support the online presence. Tell a friend. Show up to the shows they are showing at, say “Hi!” and let them know their work is why you’re there. Give meaningful insight on the work to the artists. A lot of artists play with the idea of quitting art altogether because they feel like no one likes the thing they do. Just letting them know that you do, could be the thing that keeps their unique vision alive.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/badlydrawnflower/
• Other: [email protected]