Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Kim.
Hi Erin, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Ever since I was young, I was the happiest when I took pencils and crayons and drew all of my wildest dreams, which at the time were a lot of magical fairy fashionistas and beautiful mermen with six packs. Once I hit the sixth grade, I had a sudden breakup with art together where I put away all my crayons and pencils and started pursuing career paths such as golf and speech and debate, to which I dedicated years. I neglected art because I found myself at a point where I felt that reality and dreams could not coexist. Four years later, I found myself coming back to the only thing that had me feel alive and quickly began to rekindle my relationship with art, thus bringing me to where I am today. Often times I still find myself worrying about what I could or should have done better in the past, but I want to focus more on working hard to be a confident and happy artist in the present and future.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I feel that my journey began with prioritizing what I felt like I was obligated to do rather than what I wanted to do. This introduction probably sounds all too familiar, but the only difference with my story is that I was fortunate to grow up in a very supportive and loving environment without much outer pressure; rather, it was myself that was the culprit to these obligations. Most obstacles in my life have been very internal and related to my mentality. Sometimes, I take the crit given to my artwork as a critique of my own character or life, in which my brain can twist the intention and produce a much more painful thought.
At times like this, I try to make this a motivation to work harder to be the best version of myself, FOR myself.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I specialize in mostly design-oriented 2D illustrations ranging from flat graphics to textured volumes. Most of my work is figure based so there is a lot of character designing and shape language involved. Stylistically, there is this charm in pushing the slow and steady process of craftsmanship to create complexity in the strokes and textures to contrast with the simpler shapes it holds.
I make a lot of work to heal myself and hopefully to help others, whether that is in a somber-emotional way or a cackling-humorous way. The goal is to create work that is fun for me to make and has me giggling on a bad day, that is there for me when I feel alone and want to be seen, and that pats my back after a long day.
If there is one thing I always say, it’s that “I hope my work makes you feel at home.”
What matters most to you? Why?
Thankfulness! That is the key theme in a lot of my work.
I create work to give thanks to people in my life, the events that happen, the ideas that are held, and the to learning opportunities that have come and passed. Fortunately, I am so blessed to be surrounded by abundant love, so I am never running out of ideas for work to make dedicated to these special thankful moments of my life.
Because I am thankful for my family, my friends, my Korean-American identity, my past pains, and my mistakes, I am constantly growing and developing as both a person, as well as an artist.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://erinkim.work/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/minjismoody/
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/erin-kim-724573259
