Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rina Shin. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Rina, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
I always had a passion for creating things with my hands. As a kid, I was encouraged to build and draw using my imagination. Drawing and painting has stuck with me the most. Being creative fulfills and motivates me to continue learning and improving as a designer.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Rina, I am an illustrator and baker in Los Angeles. I make watercolor paintings of food and people. I attended ArtCenter for college and just when I was graduating, my father passed away.
Growing up, I spent a lot of my childhood at my parents’ Japanese restaurant. And in 2019, they opened a bakery next door. After graduating, I started to work at the bakery and help my mother with the restaurant.
Helping my mother gave me a deeper respect for the amount of labor that goes behind running a food business. I saw the beauty in how food provides comfort and is used as an everyday bonding tool.
My camera roll became flooded with pictures of food and restaurants so I started a series of paintings to post about the business. I got a lot of positive feedback and that’s when I found my niche. With my food illustrations, my goal is to give exposure to restaurants with my beautiful watercolor paintings and create a Los Angeles food guide.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
I seek small businesses who don’t get a lot of exposure and could benefit from my free advertisement. The best feeling is when I surprise the business owner with my works dedicated to their restaurant. It feels good as an artist and child of restaurant owners to be able to honor the business owner’s work.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
What sets me apart from others food content creators is that I’m using hand painted watercolor illustrations rather than pictures or videos. This adds personal connection to the audience because it feels like they are looking at a diary. They also have the ability to purchase my art.
I think the key to gaining a following in the early stages is to avoid monetizing your content. Right now, I am making my service completely free, which is why I do this mainly for small businesses. My goal is to acquire notoriety while building a portfolio so people can hire me later.
The incentive about charging no fee is that the owners are very appreciative and usually share my artwork to their audiences. This is how I have been accumulating an audience on social media.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://rinashinart.com/
- Instagram: Brushinn