About the Artist & Founder
Some Gifts You Are Born With
Mine started in Manizales, Colombia. My mother entered me in every art contest she could find — and little did I know that her belief in me would someday become my saving grace.
My teenage years were rough — in and out of trouble, by my own choice. But in the middle of all of that, I met my wife. We were in high school. We have stayed together ever since — not by chance, but by choice, made every single day. Through every high, every hardship, every moment that would have broken most people. We stayed.
The Best & Hardest Years
We had a son. Then a beautiful little girl — who we lost at four months old. Grief does things to you. I found myself in trouble again. God gave us another little girl, but I still hadn’t found my way back to myself.
I ended up in state prison, then immigration detention. Sitting in that cell, I thought about everything I stood to lose. Our own lawyer told me to sign the deportation papers.
We didn’t sign.
United in Faith
My wife and I stood together — united in faith that I would come home. I started drawing again inside those walls. I went back to God and made a promise: if I got out, I would make things right. I would use my gifts for something good.
By His grace, I was released. And then our son — our eldest, my boy — passed away.
I shut down for a while. But eventually, I picked up a pencil again. I took all of that pain and put it into the work. Into the lines. Into the art.
This Is Why I Create
I draw for our daughter — our one gift remaining. For my wife. For my community. For anyone who has ever had to fight to become who they were meant to be.
Every design is 100% hand-drawn by me. No AI. No clipart. Just real art, from a real life.
When you wear a Bareta Fina design, you’re not just wearing a graphic. You’re wearing a story. A piece of Colombian heritage. A reminder that beauty can come from the hardest places.
Thank you for being here. Thank you for supporting independent art.
— Artist & Founder, Juan Jimenez