About me


My name is Eric Yi Lin. I live in Redmond, Washington.

I am a watercolor artist who is always on a mission to make people feel loved and accepted. Since I was a kid, I always thought I was a little bit different from my friends. I am more sensitive emotionally, take things more seriously, and have a hard time making friends. I always have problems fitting in with others. Being an artist is lonely; I am usually one of the few people in a class who likes to draw. Even today, in a family gathering, I am the only artist. Drawing is fun, painting is exciting, but accepting my differences as an artist has been difficult. After graduating as an illustrator from Art Center College of Design in 2007, I had more questions than answers. "What kind of artist am I?" "What is my mission as an artist?", "What type of art should I do?"

However, I had to put these questions on the back burner. Having just married my lovely wife, I needed to provide stability. Things worked out for me. Since then, I have been doing graphic design, illustration, film, to digital art for video games. Now, as a video game environment artist, I can make a decent living for my family. Just when I thought I had made it, the questions about myself as an artist surfaced again.

I thought about what I enjoyed the most throughout my life: helping people feel loved and accepted. That is the type of artist I want to be. I want my art to remind people of good memories, beautiful moments in everyday life and celebrate them and their loved ones. So, I decided to become a fine artist when I am not working on video game projects. My choice of medium is watercolor. I enjoy working with its elusive and translucent nature. It gives viewers a soft, airy experience that feels gentle and not imposing. I want my art to be a gateway to precious memories and moments of my viewers and give them the wonderful nostalgic feeling. I also started to share my painting knowledge with teaching and making YouTube videos. My YouTube channel reached 100k subscribers in 2020 and continued to grow steadily.

Still happily married to my lovely wife Betty, whom I have enjoyed painting since my college years. We now always have three boys. It's always fun for them to have an artist/YouTuber dad who works on video games and paint watercolor. I am still in my journey to discover more about myself as an artist and more ways to help others. If you have loved ones, I am here to celebrate them with you through my art. I wish my art could connect with you and provide you comfort and warmth. Thank you for visiting my website, and welcome to Cafe Watercolor.


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I want to remind people they are loved and accepted. I do this by creating art that connects them to their memories and experiences.



My legit corporation photo

Family photo 2021

My wife and I celebrating my YouTube channel reaching 100k subscribers

My wife and I celebrating my YouTube channel reaching 100k subscribers