Meet diego barrientos | Fine Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with diego barrientos and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi diego, why did you pursue a creative career?
An artistic career was bound to happen for me. My dad is a musician so we always had at least one instrument in the house like a guitar. So music was my first love. I spent the first 27 years of my life playing and writing music in bands and for myself. It wasn’t until college where I took my first art history class that I fell in love with the art world. At that moment I knew I wanted to pursue art as a career. I saw artists expressing themselves in ways music couldn’t. After trying all the mediums i settled on painting as my main artistic outlet. I loved the parameters of the rectangle and the two dimensional surface. I had to figure out a way to say how I feel within these restrictions. Painting also serves as a great therapeutic activity to help me deal with my metal health, boredom, and a way to critique society.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’d like to think me as a person and my life story sets me apart from others. I like to put as much as that into my art as I can. It is very autobiographical. I was born in Guatemala and fought in the Iraq War when I was a teenager. I title most of my art as “self portrait” even if it isn’t an image of my face or body because I don’t like the idea of speaking for others.

My path to get to where I am now wasn’t easy but the people in my life make it easier with encouragement and inspiration.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take them to a taco truck in the city for their first meal. I feel like that’s a pretty LA thing to do. Then take them to the beach to people watch and the hangout on the sand. The next day I would take them to Disneyland. Then a baseball game the next day at Dodger Stadium or Angel Stadium if we’re still in Anaheim. The following day we would go to all the art museums like MOCA and LACMA. Maybe the La Brea Tar pits to see the fossils. We would dine in a different restaurant every night. Different cuisine every time to showcase the diversity here.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My parents, my girlfriend Olivia, my best friend Chris, and everyone in my grad school cohort encouraged and inspired me. Also, reading the book Just Kids by Patti Smith made me ultimately decide to switch gears and focus my life and career in art.

Website: www.diegobarrientos.com

Instagram: @dee.barrientos

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/diego-barrientos-25a3501bb

Image Credits
courtney coles