Meet Yanin Ruibal | Visual Artist and Illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yanin Ruibal and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yanin, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I’m a risk-taker because I’m impulsive, and yes, sometimes I regret my decisions, but I always learn from my mistakes. It’s just my nature. I tend to be at peace with my decisions, I don’t wallow on what could’ve been, I learn and I move on.

I took the impulsive decision to move to Mexico City. I had the idea,
and a week after I was living here. I had no family, no friends, no job, I’ve never been there for more than a few days, but I knew that if I wanted to be an artist, here is where I needed to be. And I never looked back, it’s the best thing I’ve ever done for myself.

Of course my impulsiveness hasn’t always been good for me, like when I moved-in and got married to someone real fast when I was young, but oh well, I sure learned that lesson.

For the most part, taking risks has payed off, I’ve had lots of adventures because of it, like buying a motorcycle or redecorating my whole house on a whim. I recently took a big risk and took a loan to finance a big solo show. I was scared shitless that I wasn’t gonna sell enough to pay it back, but it turned out amazing! I sold almost everything and it was a huge success.

I like my impulsive nature, but as I get older, I’ve learned to take calculated risks. Like, yes I bought a motorcycle, but I also took lessons and safety courses, and bought good equipment and insurance. Or yes, I took a loan for a show, but I consulted with financial-savvy friends to see if it was a good idea. It’s all about balance.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I do what I do because it was never a question for me, I’ve been creating art all my life, and I don’t see myself doing anything else. I’m very lucky that get to do what I love for a living. I love that I can work whenever I feel like it, in an environment I created for myself, with minimal human interaction, and my dog always by my side.

Of course being a full-time artist is not an easy goal to accomplish and for many years I worked for creative agencies and production companies, but always with the goal of eventually being an artist. It happened gradually, getting a few side gigs, applying to group shows, eating shit and doing free work for the “exposure”, and all that crap that new artists have to go through. But eventually I was able to do this full-time and for that, I am thankful.

My evolution as an artist is tied to my growth as a person, because my art is very personal. When I stopped being scared of painting my most vulnerable self, is when I really started to find my voice as an artist, and people started to connect with it beyond my art just being “pretty”.

My work as a painter is rooted in personal memory and the desert landscape of Sonora, where I grew up. Through mixed media—using aerosol, acrylic, oil, and graphite—I explore themes like identity, family, neurodivergence, and emotional transformation. I often use imagery like horses, cacti, and dreamlike scenes to build a symbolic and intimate visual language. I’m interested in creating pieces that feel personal but also invite others to see their own stories reflected in them.

If I had to choose the biggest lessons I’ve learned so far that have helped me grow as an artist, I would have to say the following three:

One: I took myself too seriously and I would take forever to start a piece because I wanted everything to be perfectly planned, and every piece to be a transcendental masterpiece, which left very little room for fun and experimentation. Then I met some brilliant artists that were doing whatever and having fun, and I learned so much from them. I’m never gonna be an easy, go-with-the-flow person, but I’m doing more experimental pieces with silly themes and trying to loosen up a little, and it’s made me a better artist.

Two: I have two spaces for creation: a small space in my apartment, and my shared studio. I’ve become so much more productive, because “parallel play” (or work) helps me a lot when I struggle with executive disfunction (I have AuDHD); having someone doing their own work quietly next to me motivates me to do the boring stuff like setting up and cleaning up. But I also need my alone time to create ideas more freely, so I have a desk with drawing materials at my house. I can afford to have my own studio now, but I chose to stay in the shared space because it’s a few nice women doing their work quietly, with brief moments of socialization, which is the perfect balance for me.

Three: I have two main sources of income: fine art and commercial illustration. I like commercial illustration because it’s more of a job-job, the work I do is not tied to my identity or “a piece of my soul” like my fine paintings are, and it takes away some of the financial pressure off my personal art. Sometimes it’s relaxing doing exactly what the client asks for and having a clear deadline, gives my life structure. Lots of artists do fine art and something else on the side, like a friend of mine is a famous sculptor but also has a production company that helps other artists make their own pieces. Gives you financial freedom to not put pressure on your own art. I also have a couple of side-gigs like teaching occasionally, selling prints, and licensing illustrations.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Although I don’t live in Los Angeles, it’s my favorite city to visit, and I know it well, (I lived there for a few months back in 2012 before I moved to CDMX) and I visit about twice a year.

I love how many weird places LA has, I’m always inspired and entertained when I visit. I love The Giant Robot Store in Sawtelle, the Time Travel Mart, The Museum of Jurassic Technology.

Burbank is not the prettiest part of LA, but it’s full of cool bookstores and vintage stores like House of Secrets, The Illiad, Bearded Lady Vintage & Oddities, and Hyaena.

For walking around surrounded by plants and silence, I love the Huntington Library and the Arboretum. I also did the Hollywoodland stairs last time I was there and it was so nice!

Restaurants… I can’t even begin to list them. When I go with my parents we HAVE to go to Laurie’s because it’s my dad’s favorite. Last time I was there with my mom we went to Matu and Funke because we stayed in the area and they were sooo good.

But when I go alone I’m on a bit of tighter budget. Pie n Burger in Pasadena is one of my favorite places to eat alone with a book. I also like Roma Market, Dulan’s Soul Food Kitchen, Roscoe’s, Pizzanista, Seulmates, Nexx Burger, Zam Zam foods, Dollar Hits, and Furn Saj.

I didn’t mention any Mexican places, because I never eat Mexican food in LA (why eat what I have easily available in cdmx?) But I did go to SonoraTown one time and it was very good (I was homesick).

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are so many people I want to thank, but this is an LA magazine, so I’m gonna thank my LA friends, Moonlight Arts Collective, and Dorado 806 projects, are the organizations I’m currently working with and they’ve been amazing.

Galeria Lucita Aguilera in my hometown Hermosillo, Sonora too, because they have believed in me since I started.

Website: https://yaninruibal.co/ for Illustration, and https://www.saatchiart.com/en-mx/yaninruibal for painting

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yaninruibal/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yanin-ruibal-8b342657/

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@yaninruibalp

Image Credits
The photos with people other than me, are credited to Mayra Navarro, the rest are mine.