We were lucky to catch up with Gina Ariko recently and have shared our conversation below.

Gina , appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

My jichan and baachan (grandpa and grandma) were both working artists, and I spent most of my childhood summers visiting their house-turned-art-studio in Kokura, Japan. I was two years old the first time my jichan put a stretched canvas in front of me and a paintbrush in my hand, so I can’t even remember a time when I didn’t love painting. Throughout my childhood I thought, “I want to be an artist like them when I grow up.”

Fast-forward to college, where I earned a B.A. in English and studio art with a minor in art history. At the time, I wasn’t sure how I’d make a career out of any of it, but felt pulled towards all three subjects. Looking back, I’m really glad I followed my instincts because having a grasp on other subjects alongside painting was a huge help to me once I started working as an artist. Most notably, I learned how to contextualize what I like and don’t like about art, how to write about myself and my work, and to see the through line in my constantly-evolving creative process. I also have a true appreciation for art and storytelling and love connecting with other artists, which I wouldn’t exactly call a skill, but has been an invaluable part of my learning process. In fact, if I had to pick one thing that would have sped up my learning process to get where I am now, it would be to reach out to more artists sooner. I had a lot of insecurity when I was first starting out, and as a result I held myself back waiting until I felt “ready,” but waiting only delayed my progress.

Gina , 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?

I’m Gina Ariko, and I’m a second-generation Japanese-American painter. I’m named Ariko after my obaachan (grandma), and owe my life-long love of painting to my maternal grandparents, who were both working artists and my biggest inspiration. My dad is from the U.S. but my mom is an immigrant, and I spent most of my childhood summers visiting relatives in Kokura, Japan. Growing up biracial and second-generation American, I often felt caught in the in-between, sometimes feeling “too American to be Japanese” and other times “too Japanese to be American.” This push-and-pull shows up in my work: nostalgia, a search for belonging, and the comfort of home are recurring themes in my paintings. My paintings also reflect my love for traditional Japanese crafts, and the mindfulness they evoke.

On the technical side, I mostly paint oil on canvas, and occasionally watercolor on paper. These days I’ve been focused more on creating original collections of paintings, but I do accept commissions, and some of my personal favorite projects have been commissions. I love capturing the quiet intimacy of everyday moments and the soft expressions in an old family photo. For me, the personal and professional are intertwined and I tend to be very sentimental about my work. Painting makes me feel closer to my cultural heritage and the family I didn’t get to spend enough time with, but it also makes me feel more connected to artists everywhere. Whenever I’m sitting in front of an easel painting, even though it’s a solo practice and isolating in a way, I still feel a sense of kinship, like painting makes me part of the “artists club”.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Japan enforced some of the world’s strictest lockdowns during the pandemic, and as a result me and my family in the US were barred from entering the country and seeing our relatives for an undefined length of time. I experienced an intense amount of anxiety during 2020 and 2021 worrying about my family abroad, especially my jichan (grandpa), who was 89 at the time. My biggest fear was realized when he got sick and eventually died from Covid-related complications in February 2022. We still weren’t able to re-enter the country for another six months, finally returning in August 2022. That whole year I felt stuck in grief, and because my studio practice is so closely tied to my connection with my Japanese family, every time I tried to paint it further triggered my grief. The smell of oil paints brought me back to childhood summers in my grandparents’ art studio. Most of my paintbrushes are hand-me-downs from my jichan, and holding them reminded me that he’d never hold a paintbrush again. Since my livelihood was directly tied to how much art I was creating, this grief was not only impacting me emotionally, but financially as well. For a while I tried to push myself to keep painting regardless, but quickly realized if I actually wanted to get anything done I’d need to pivot. Once I closed the door on oil painting, two new doors opened: first, I set up a print shop and began selling reproductions of my previous work, and second, I took on a part-time job assisting local floral designers. The year prior I did a large series of watercolor florals, and had started taking an interest in floral design just by setting up my own still life references to paint at home. When faced with the question, “What else do I want to do, if I can’t paint?” the answer “Something with flowers” popped in my head. I’m so grateful to Seattle florists Angelene Little of Villanelle for first taking a chance on hiring and training me, and to Krista Kintner of Little Joy Fleurs for hiring me that same year. Floral design work tends to be seasonal, beginning in late spring and ending early fall, and even though I returned to my painting studio in 2023, I’ve continued working seasonally in the floral industry and it’s been one of the most surprising and enjoyable developments in my creative practice. It introduced me to a whole new group of creative professionals in my local community, inspired new oil painting ideas, and led me to start teaching floral watercolor painting workshops. Pivots can be scary, because they’re usually the result of obstacles pushing us off our initial course, but they can also be huge opportunities for growth and learning. As artists, I think there also tends to be some shame or discomfort in admitting that you work other jobs, as if doing so downgrades you from “full-time artist” to “part-time artist”. The reality is that as a creative professional your job definition will probably be in constant flux, but you ultimately decide what needs to be done in order to keep making your work. I never could have predicted that taking on a seemingly unrelated part-time job for a little extra cash would benefit me in so many ways, both personally and professionally.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I’m so glad you asked! I’m a huge bookworm and podcast binger, the result of my former life as an English major. I could talk books all day, and have an ongoing side project where I paint curated stacks of books.

Books that significantly impacted my entrepreneurial thinking:
– Make Your Art No Matter What by Beth Pickens
– How Creativity Rules the World by Maria Brito
– Building a Storybrand by Donald Miller
– How to Be an Artist by Jerry Saltz

Books that significantly impacted my creative/artistic thinking:
– Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
– Women in the Picture: What Culture Does with Female Bodies by Catherine McCormack
– Vermeer’s Hat by Timothy Brook
– Epitaph for a Peach by David Masumoto
– This is What I Know About Art by Kimberly Drew

Additionally, while I’m not an illustrator, I’m a big fan of the art and storytelling in children’s books. My favorite is Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say. I also recommend reading any Calvin and Hobbes collection by Bill Watterson.

Art/Entrepreneur podcasts I recommend:
– Art & Cocktails hosted by Katerina Popova
– Not Sorry Art hosted by Sari Shryack

Contact Info:

• Website: ginaariko.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ginaariko/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gina-ariko-marioni-80907a69/

Image Credits
personal photo: Liz Zuluaga first additional photo: Courtney Martin