What is your creative work?
Visual Artist
Tell us how you started your business / creative venture?
I started painting after being inspired by Bob Ross’s show “The Joy of Painting” when I was seven years old. We didn’t have a lot growing up, so I would use my mother’s makeup brush on the bathroom mirror using the steam after a shower. This escalated to using cheap craft paints on random sheetrock pieces I found. Years later, I started my art business, “Reinilda’s Art Shop,” and I still have that inner kid guiding my creativity through any means.
How long have you been doing your creative work?
My first memory of creating was four years old drawing a stick figure while sitting in the front of my home in the Dominican Republic. I remember trying my hardest to get the proportions right. I still struggle with proportions, but I think I have improved since then! I also remember painting my first mural in the 5th grade in NYC. Those moments have been continuous, so I would say I have always been creating.
What made you choose this journey?
I always say that passion is something you do for yourself, but purpose is something you do for others. I feel creating is my purpose, and it was a chosen path before I manifested here.
What kind of struggles did you face in your journey?
The biggest struggle has been my self-doubt in my work. I know this is common with creatives, but it can stop the journey that your soul had set before arriving on this planet. I have been painting all of these years and have opened many social media pages, but I was not consistent. Last year, after some push from some new artist friends, my husband, and close relatives, I finally took it seriously and launched my artist page and website.
What is one advice you can give to creatives struggling right now?
I once read that when your physical self leaves this Earth, so will all your unique talents. Always remember that whatever you came here to do can only be done by YOU. Your experiences become your art, and every bit of that is significant in moving our collective forward. Never think that your art is not good enough, not unique enough, or not marketable enough, because if there’s one thing I have learned from my marketing degree is that everything has a target audience! And your target audience is waiting on you.
Share a quote you live by. It can be yours or something else that inspires you!
See Life Vividly. This is a quote that came to me one night, which I have incorporated into my brand. It means to see the world with the full spectrum of color. To never dull yourself to fit into any gray areas. It’s about being a vivid being that radiates love and joy to others.
How can people learn more about you and your business?
What are some resources that have helped you succeed?
Any free drawing/editing app
CMATL is an interview series where our team collects submissions and find Atlanta’s hidden gems of creators and creative entrepreneurs. This project powered by The Creative Folks.
