Ambassador Spotlight: Q&A with Sophia Trinh
By Sophia Trinh & The Art Toolkit Team
Where is your favorite place to make art?
I don’t have just one favorite place—I make art at home, in my studio, in nature, while traveling, or in a cozy coffee shop (Hello Em, General Porpoise, Temple Pastries).
What matters most to me is natural lighting and a good setting. That’s also one of the reasons I love working with watercolor—it’s portable, space-friendly, and easy to bring along wherever inspiration strikes.
How would you describe your style?
My style is ethereal and geometric, with a quiet, zen-like quality. I grew up attending Seattle Waldorf School, so many of my watercolors are influenced by veil painting techniques. I enjoy the contrast between the softness of watercolor and the precision of geometric forms—there’s a dance between control and flow in my work.
I am curious to see how others describe my artwork.
How do you describe my artwork?
What recent projects should we know about?
I just launched a tote bag line featuring my Four Whale Series—a project that’s been close to my heart. They come in two editions, including one with hand-painted gold accents. I’m really proud of how they turned out!
Also, I was recently interviewed by my friend Dr. Suzan Ahmed on her podcast Design Deep Dive on Spotify, where we explore the intersection of design and psychology. If that sounds like your thing, I’d love for you to give it a listen:
Episode 5: Aligning Personality and Place with Sophia Trinh!
What are your top three most used colors in your work?
Payne’s Grey (Winsor & Newton)
Indanthrone Blue (Daniel Smith)
Coral Reef (Daniel Smith – new favorite for 2025!)
What travel supplies do you bring everywhere you go?
Masking tape (Carried outside my Pocket Art Toolkit)
Eraser
Small container for water
Clear Ruler
Micron Pen
Mechanical Pencil
Windsor and Newton gold ink (Carried outside my Pocket Art Toolkit)
Salt water in droplet (Carried outside my Pocket Art Toolkit)
Legion mini watercolor paper
What is your favorite piece of creative advice?
The best advice I’ve received? Take care of your creativity financially. Don’t put pressure on your art to sustain your livelihood—protect it.
What’s a fun fact about you?
According to my Reiss Motivation Profile, a scientifically developed standardized assessment that my in-laws created, my top three motivators are:
Idealism, which means I value fairness, compassion and social justice. (+2.00 SD)
Beauty, which means I value exposure to beautiful objects and environments. (+1.86 SD)
Tranquility, which means I value safety, security, and living pain-free. (+1.36 SD)
They show up in who I am and my strong motivation to create art.
When do you usually make art?
Whenever inspiration calls. Sometimes that’s on the bus, mid-flight, with my morning tea, or right after waking from a dream. Creativity doesn’t wait! Now that I am doing art full-time I have the opportunity to make art whenever I can.
Who inspires you?
My mother and grandmother inspire me—they are my source of strength and resilience.
As for what inspires my artwork—always, Mother Nature. She never ceases to amaze me.
Why do you make art?
Georgia O’Keeffe once said, “I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way—things I had no words for.” That speaks deeply to me. Art allows me to process, express, and honor things that live beyond language. In my teaching practice, art also has helped me to provide spaces for others to heal through being creative. That brings me a lot of joy!
Sophia Trinh
Website | Social Media | Ambassador Page