28-year-old Louise Loram-Martin works out of Spike at the in Plymouth, and creates dotted pattern work tattoos. We chatted to Lu about her love of mehndi and where she finds her inspiration…
How long have you been tattooing? Eight years.
What drew you to the world of tattooing? To be honest I never made a conscious decision to be involved in the world of tattooing but my life took that path. It was meant for me.
What did you do before, do you have a background in art? I’ve been lucky enough to have been involved in the tattoo world for a long time thanks to Mike and Julia at Spike at the Art, so there wasn’t really a before for me. I began working at the studio as a teenager, just to help out on Saturdays, then I started to do design work for clients and everything just sort of unfolded from there. I did study architecture for a while, but that was during when I was still trying to figure out what was for me. It wasn’t.
How would you describe your style? Feminine
What inspires you? I think that being immersed in the tattoo industry itself is enriching as you get to be involved with both clients and peers, each with their own interests and ideas. And I guess that really allows you to find beauty in everything, but on a personal level. Nature, sacred geometry, eastern philosophy, architecture, literature, truth, fiction, imagination -they all inspire me. Beauty, it’s always there you just have to look for it.
What do you like to draw and tattoo? My preference within tattooing tends to be mehndi inspired patterns and dotwork, but I like to think of myself as an all rounder. At the moment I am really enjoying combining colour realism and mehndi patterns. I find the contrast really aesthetically pleasing. But I believe that tattooing is a continual evolution, so my preferences are always changing. For me it is important to have a range of styles within my art so that it doesn’t become stagnant. I guess I’m easily bored.
When I draw and paint for myself I tend to gravitate towards natural, organic aesthetics; flora, fauna, figures, natural landscape, the ocean, sacred geometry, golden ratio. I’m very inspired by eastern artwork. I tend to paint more realism than anything else at the moment. And I still enjoy sketching architecture. Right now I intend to do more life drawing, I just need to find the time!
