Meet Reno Roadkill | Taxidermy artist

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

Hi Reno, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Happiness has always been my priority. To me, finding joy in the day to day is far more important than having a successful job and making lots of money. I think most people are lost, without passion, taking jobs that are mindless and soul-sucking because society has lead them to believe that is the path to success. I have always known that the traditional lifestyle was not for me. I choose to live differently for my own mental health and spiritual well-being. For me, pursuing art, no matter how niche or bizarre, is something I do for me, to feel a truly deep level of satisfaction. Art sparks a fire within in me and leaves me yearning to create more. It’s what I do to feel alive. A life spent following a burning passion, fueled by creative ecstasy will always be more rewarding than a life of shallow attempts to chase money, to conform to our sad capitalistic world. Instead I choose art simply because there is nothing that makes me feel more human.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Art is an intimate personal experience. My interest in the highly niche and misunderstood art form of taxidermy began as a way of confronting and processing life’s deep emotions and existential questions. It is the driving factor in my understanding of the world, and it fuels my ability to find joy, curiosity and passion in life. When I began to see my art as not only a personally therapeutic experience but as a potential career, my main concern was preserving those original feelings of sheer joy that my art process brought me. I began to publicize my art with the intention of sharing those deep feelings with others, to help others reveal within themselves their deepest fears, their darkest emotions and be able to move through them. It’s important that I don’t drive my art according to what I think will be financially rewarding. Instead I focus on what fuels my inner fire, and what might change the perspectives of others. Pursuing art with this intention not only drives my success but brings me a deep sense of peace and satisfaction, which is most important to me.

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 live in Joshua Tree, about 2 hours outside of Los Angeles. It’s a place where reality bends, where the strangest of humans converge to create art and to mediate in the never ending expanse of desert. The landscape here evokes within you thoughts and feelings that are easier to ignore in a bustling city. If you ever have the chance to take a drive out to Joshua Tree, you will undoubtedly return a different human. The dry expanse of the Mojave desert has profound effects on our psyche. It offers us a place to unwind, to reflect and perhaps to create some art. A place to meet people whose path is anything but ordinary, anything but mundane. Underneath a rainbow spectrum sunset and into the Milky Way of stars you will have the chance to feel alive, to be whoever you truly are, to live for a short while in an ethereal world where the little things just don’t matter anymore.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Cw Mihlberger is my biggest inspiration. As an artist, art promoter and all around creative personality, his insights and advice into the world of fine art has changed the way I operate as a business as well as the way of conceive of myself as a creative.

Website: https://roadkillreno.wixsite.com/roadkillreno

Instagram: @roadkillreno

Other: Patreon.com/roadkillreno

Image Credits
Martina Albertazzi Andrew Barber