Rising Stars: Meet So Yeon Kim

Today we’d like to introduce you to So Yeon Kim.

Hi So Yeon, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born in New York but left the states to Korea when I was six. I experienced pretty bad culture shock and was bullied in school because my Korean was not fluent back then. A lot of times, I was insecure as I felt like I couldn’t be myself. Then I met this 70 years old female watercolor artist ‘Jeong-Hui Park’, who owned an art studio and held watercolor classes. I was nine years old when I met her. Her studio was small, but there were always lots of students ranging in age from 9 to 60. The students came from all walks of life- school teachers, mothers, night school students, college students, and businesswomen to list a few. It was a judgment-free zone, and I looked forward to going every week. We sat in a circle and painted fresh beautiful flowers with couple of random objects on the table. I remember the first class fondly, I painted a self-portrait. It was hard for a nine years old to work with watercolor for the first time, so she had me use crayons for the portrait and I painted the background with watercolors. I just fell in love with all the colors, paint brushes, and paper. Not only was it fun, but also everyone in her studio was so welcoming no matter what background you came from and how old you were. I was able to make a lot of friends at this studio naturally and started to dream about wanting to become an artist. I continued painting flowers, objects, and landscapes with watercolors for years feeling the dream of wanting to become an artist becoming stronger.

My dad is old-fashioned and conservative, so he didn’t like the idea of me becoming an artist. In Korea back then, people used to think being an artist meant being poor – low quality/salary job. He wouldn’t let me continue doing art. I had to find a way to convince him. I decided to participate in one of the biggest national watercolor landscape competitions in Korea and won 1st place when I was 15 years old. When I found out I won, I remember getting goosebumps- I could finally prove to my dad that I had the potential to become an artist. He finally said yes. I was able to get into an art high school that has various programs. I learned Korean Calligraphy, Oriental Painting, Oil painting, Sculpture, Ceramic and Fabric. After graduating high school, I went to Tama Art University located in Tokyo, Japan.

I came back to New York in 2010. I ultimately wanted to get a job related to the art field but wasn’t sure what job I could/want to have. I started re-learning English as it had been 20 years since I left the states so that I could find a job. So I went to school part-time and worked part-time teaching watercolor painting classes for kids. A year after taking a job at a tattoo shop in Queens as an assistant, I soon became an apprentice. By 2012, I became a full-time tattoo artist. I built a good clientele in New York, but after eight years, I wanted to have a life where I had a good work/life balance. I was too busy in NYC, I didn’t have any time for my own drawings and paintings. I met a friend online who lived in Nashville during my bikini bodybuilding competition days and got a chance to visit her in 2016. I fell in love with this city filled with laidback people that appreciated art and music.

Nashville left such a great impression during my first visit, which led me to think about how I would love to live here. I visited three more times that year and finally moved to Nashville 2017.

Now I have a baby, family and my own studio Fine Line Cosmetics, LLC. Love the city and people.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
People often think that I have gotten to where I am easily strictly from natural-born talent. I had to work very hard to develop the skills I have now- for me to get accepted to the arts high school, I had to practice at least 10 hours a day to pass their skills test. I had to spend a bulk of my 20s going through different experiences to figure out what job would bring me happiness and a sense of fulfillment. I went through great deal of personal struggle- including a period of about five years where I didn’t draw/sketch/paint anything because I couldn’t figure out what I wanted.

I became a tattoo artist when I was 27. I feel that I am as successful as I am now due to the struggles and the effort I put into my work leading up to starting this path. As of right now, I am trying to balance being an artist and a mother. It has been challenging but made it work.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am specialized in Watercolor and fine line tattoos. I am known for super thin clean lines, delicate and detailed tattoos. Nowadays, my name is often brought up when people ask for a great fineline/ watercolor tattoo artist, which I feel so proud of as it shows that my work is being appreciated widely.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
One of the things that make me the happiest is when an art piece (paper or tattoo) comes out amazing. It makes me forget all the struggle and stress that comes with creating art, it is a moment where I experience pure joy. That is one of the things that always keeps me engaged in tattooing and painting. It is a great feeling when I have repeat customers because they are so happy with my work!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.finelinecosmetics.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tattooartist_soyeon

Image Credits
Michael Ellis Wright