Today we’d like to introduce you to Mahin Tariq.
Hi Mahin, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
It started 7 years ago, in 2015, when I first took an art course for extra credit while I was doing my As Levels (British education system). This is when I still lived in UAE, where I was born and raised. Back then, I never thought of myself as an artist… or a painter. I certainly never imagined there would be a time when I would be a full-time artist. In hindsight, I was always drawn to creativity and art. In my free time I would practice henna designs, nail art, and make-up looks on my friends and even my grandma! When it came to school and education, I would always be sucked into science and psychology, and scored my highest in those subjects – so that’s what I naturally pursued for education until then.
I picked art for extra credit because I thought it would be the easiest subject to score in, so I would have one less course to stress about and focus on the subjects that mattered to me the most. What ended up happening was that I started to fall in love with creating on canvas. My art professor would let us play whatever music we wanted in class and experiment to our heart’s content. You see, I thrive when I’m given no limits. I slowly started looking forward to my art classes and started creating art that I loved… and that turned into art that my friends loved.
My friends started to see my work on social media, and they wanted to commission paintings for themselves. I remember the first painting that I sold was for $4!! Today I sell them for anywhere from $2,500-8,000.
Anyway, art was still a hobby by the time I was done with as levels and went to college. All through college I kept taking painting commissions and kept increasing my prices and investing back into my business. I loved social media, so I made sure I showed my work online. It was a fun game for me. I love business.
By 2017, I ended up in Business school, with a part-time job in B2B Sales, and I was leading TEDx at college for extracurriculars. Art stayed a fun hobby on the side – a way to relax and unwind. I took commissions at my own pace and painted as a way to de-stress. To be honest, even now that I’ve taken art as a full-time business, the process of creating art does not feel like work to me. It’s still a way to relax and unwind from all the other (fun) tasks of running a small business.
Fast forward to 2021, I graduated and moved to Dallas. That’s when I really started to take art seriously. I started selling paintings to a furniture store in Frisco and started posting on social media more consistently. I was mostly getting clients from the store and a few from social media. A few months after the move and settling in, I started to operate as a part-time business after my 9-5.
By the end of 2022, I started doing well on social media when one of my posts went viral and got 2.7M views, and 40k+ followers in 3 months. At that point, I was at a crossroads trying to decide if I should continue to climb the corporate ladder since I really loved working in sales and performed really well. Or, if I should take the risk and turn art into my full-time business… which felt like a very risky move because I never thought I’d be an “artist” one day. Everyone around me and even my manager encouraged me to take art full-time. So, I took the leap of faith, and here I am. Currently learning the ins and outs of a business, excited to see what the future holds.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It wasn’t exactly a smooth road, but it felt smoother than all that I’ve pursued so far. Maybe that’s because I let art be a hobby, and then grew it into a side hustle, and then a full-time business. It felt like a very slow, seamless journey.
It was a very slow and organic process over the course of 7 years. It gave me the opportunity to give it unconditional effort and the ability to reinvest almost all my profit back into the business. I financially secured myself with a full-time job and took my 9-5 as an opportunity to develop the skills needed to run a business. I let my business be a place to freely make mistakes and try new things. It was a perfect win-win situation.
From the outside, however, it almost looked like I was struggling to keep up… and maybe I was. My loved ones saw how much I had on my plate and how stressed I seemed most days. I was probably working 80 hours a week before I took my business full time, I would get up at 5:30 am, work out, and start work by 7 am which wouldn’t end by 9 pm most days. It might sound rough, but when you’re in flow and you’re managing your energy well, it feels way easier than it sounds.
I have a lot more time to rest and go easier on myself now that I’ve taken my business full-time. However, I think the pursuit of building a successful business is much tougher than working 80 hours a week with a stable income.
A huge factor making this journey easier is that I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have my family as my backbone. When I first started, I had no experience with woodwork, building canvases, framing, or handling tools. Fortunately, my parents have always been there to help and support me any time of the day, whether that’s late at night or early in the morning. Even when it comes to slower days in my business, I’ll always have my dad share business advice, my mom to lift me up, and my brothers cheering me in the back and helping me wherever I need. I think anything in life becomes easier when you have your loved ones supporting you
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I create large-scale abstract paintings that complement interior spaces. Mostly textured paintings that involve resin and stonework.
It started with 3-4 ft. pieces, but I had a growing desire to create bigger paintings. The biggest single-panel painting I’ve made so far is 8 feet! I’ve also worked on multi-panel paintings that are 5×4 ft. panels each. I’m really happy with myself that I’ve been able to make huge resin paintings.
When I first started creating large-scale paintings, I was simply curious to see how big I can go. Eventually, it turned me into one of the few large-scale resin artists in the market. When there’s a smaller supply than the demand, you’re naturally at leverage in many ways. It’s given me the ability to win clients in that niche.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
One thing I wish others to know before they start?
Sales. I know it can be a really draining job for most people but try working in sales early in your career. It gave me one of the most important skills I needed to pursue my business. Imagine this, you’ve come up with a great product that can benefit hundreds of people, but you’re unable to bring it to market… now what? To me, sales is a mindset, it’s a way of relating with your customers. Once you’ve nailed it, you can effectively market and sell your products online and in person.
One thing I knew before I started?
Focus on one thing at a time.
I don’t actually know how true it is, but I’m noticing a growing importance of focusing on one thing at a time. It seems like that’s how most people found success. In my opinion, if I hadn’t done a million things in college, I wouldn’t know how far I can push myself, and I might’ve not been able to uncover many of my strengths and weaknesses in such a small period of time. On the flip side, now that I’m just focusing on my business, I’ve freed up a lot of my mental energy that I’m now using to grow deeper within the business. Rather than trying to juggle between 2-3 different things successfully.
I’d say try as many things as you want, but don’t expect yourself to be the best at everything all at once.
Pricing:
- 12×12 inch paintings – $250-300
- 4×5 ft paintings – $2,500-4,000
- 4×8 ft paintings and above – $4,000-8,000
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mahintariq.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mahintariq.art/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahin-tariq-sheikh/
