We recently had the chance to connect with Ben Roseland and have shared our conversation below.
Ben, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What are you chasing, and what would happen if you stopped?
I’m chasing growth—creatively and personally. I hope to always stay curious and continue to push myself to see and experience the world more deeply.
If I stopped chasing that growth, I think I’d slowly start to feel disconnected—not just from my work, but from myself. I’ve learned that when I’m not creating, things tend to get stagnant. When my art suffers, so does my mindset. Creating gives me a channel to focus my efforts and keep me engaged with life.
So what I’m really chasing is that sense of engagement—being present, challenged, and connected. I want to always feel alive and purposeful.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m an artist based in Indiana, and my work is rooted in landscape, nature, and the idea that art should be experienced over time, not just glanced at. I paint both traditional canvases and three-dimensional wood-block pieces that add depth and movement, encouraging people to engage with the work from different angles and live with it day to day.
What makes my work unique is the balance between structure and intuition. There’s a lot of planning and craftsmanship involved—cutting, building, layering—but I leave room for imperfection, texture, and emotion. I’m interested in how order and chaos coexist, both in art and in life.
My story is shaped by resilience. About 5 years ago, I survived a major heart attack that forced me to slow down completely and reevaluate everything. That experience stripped away a lot of assumptions and clarified what mattered most. Since then, my work has become more intentional and more connected to how I actually want to live—present, curious, and grateful for the ability to create.
Right now, I’m focused on continuing to evolve my work, showing it across the country, and creating pieces that don’t just decorate a space, but shape how it feels to live in it.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
Surviving a major heart attack in my late thirties fundamentally changed how I see the world. In an instant, everything slowed down. The future I assumed I had was no longer guaranteed, and I was forced to sit with uncertainty in a very real way.
Since then, I’ve tried to live with more presence and less assumption. I don’t take my health, my art, or my time for granted anymore. That shift has shaped not just how I see the world, but how I choose to move through it.
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
The fear that held me back the most was fear of wasting time, fear of failing, and a deep desire to get everything “perfect” before putting it out into the world.
For a long time, that made me hesitate to fully trust my instincts or commit as boldly as I wanted to. I’d second-guess myself, waiting for the right moment or the right version, even when I knew what I wanted to do.
Over time, I realized that the cost of not trying was heavier than the cost of failing. That shift helped me take more risks, trust my own voice, and move toward the life I actually want, even when it feels uncertain.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Is the public version of you the real you?
I think the public version of me is a real version of me, but not the whole picture. What people see is the outward-facing part—my work, my curiosity, my optimism, and my creativity. That’s all genuine, but it’s naturally more distilled.
In private, I’m a little quieter and more reflective. I spend a lot of time thinking, experimenting, and sitting with ideas before they show up in my art or in conversation. I enjoy my own company as much as I enjoy being around people.
So I wouldn’t say the public version is fake—it’s just incomplete. It’s one layer of who I am. The core values are the same, whether anyone is watching or not.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
If I knew I had 10 years left, I would stop worrying about what other people think of me. I’d stop filtering my decisions through imagined expectations and stop hesitating out of fear of judgment.
I’d move faster toward the things that feel meaningful. I’d say no more often to people and things that drain my energy. I’d do what I think is right for me, regardless of what others say.
In reality, these are things I’m already practicing. After everything I’ve been through, I’ve often wondered if I even have 10 years left. That uncertainty has made me much more intentional about how I spend my time and energy.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.benroselandart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benroseland
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/benroselandart
