We were lucky to catch up with Ronnie Barth recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ronnie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you manage your own social media?

I manage my own social media (Instagram), as it is both a showing portfolio of my pieces and work, as well as a personal account to keep up with my friends and family around the globe. Instagram is a great platform to find inspiration, make connections with other like-minded artists, but hard to keep up with the algorithm if you plan on gaining a large following. My profile, at the time of this article, has little followers, but does the most important job – help other accounts find my work. I have been approached by galleries, websites, and zines to contribute my work to. My advice for social media is to put yourself out there and interact with pages that are looking for artists to be a part of their projects. A large following doesn’t always mean success!

Ronnie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Born and raised in sunny California, I have been inspired my whole life by the natural flora and fauna I’ve been surrounded by. I am a multi-disciplinary artist, making pieces ranging from monochrome graphite sketches to hours spent on a color filled oil painting. My experimentation of different mediums knows no bounds, as I even collect natural materials and pigments from my travels, e.g. desert dirt and beach sand, to mix into my paint, adding texture and personal story. I am most proud of my endless and changing artistic journey and how it has brought me closer to my humanness and spirituality. As I keep learning and living, my art grows with me. The timeline of my progression is always fascinating for me to review.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

For starters, I don’t think there are such things as “non-creatives”! The best part about being creative is that you can share your creativity and passion with any one else who is willing to listen. Art for me is about connecting with others through brush strokes and charcoal dust, and it’s most fun getting your hands dirty with someone else by your side. I think people often struggle with the idea that your skills validate your creativity, and as much as skills are important to learn one day or another, anyone can scribble colors on a page to let their mind wander into a different world that’s soaked in pigment. Creativity can be anything you want it to be.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

During my high school years, I thought I wanted to go to college to study illustrative design and work freelance by commissions. Even though this was a huge motivator to improve my skills, it started taking a toll on my enjoyment to create. The pressure every time I opened my sketchbook was unbearable, as I was in the habit of drawing only if it came out complete and show proof. This led to me going through art block for years, and I couldn’t bring myself to pick up a paint brush. I had to unlearn that I should only make art that’s marketable and will make me income. I started creating anything I wanted, not caring if it looked good. My sketchbook is my experiment book, filled with nonsensical drawings and random paint splashes on the page, not a finished piece to sell. This of course freed my mind to so many different possibilities of what I can make with my hands and didn’t have the pressure to finish the tiniest details unless I wanted to. Art became something I control and have fun with, no longer a battle to exhaust myself from.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ronniebarth.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mageronnie/

Image Credits
Ronnie Barth