Tattoo artist Elvira Garcia works at Hive Tattoo Art Gallery in Milan creating stunning iceberg inspired tattoos, here she tells us the story behind them…
I have been tattooing for 4 years. I started when I was 20, now I’m 24. I became a tattooist because I love to draw, I’ve been drawing since I was three years old. It’s my passion and my life, everyday I need to draw something.
I remember when I was seven I would love to paint the skin of my friends at school with coloured markers. that’s where it started later when I was studying fine art in university my friends encouraged me to start tattooing and so I did.
My style is a mix between blackwork and sometimes black and grey. I normally use black because I like how it lasts in different kinds of skin.
When I was a kid my father told me that inside our mind we have two things: conscious and subconscious. What we know about us, the conscious part is very small, and on the surface, instead our subconscious is deep inside us, under water, like a deep sea of things, emotions, forgotten experiences that never disappear completely.
The iceberg represents: our love, our fears, our happiness, our depressions, what we have lived, our influences.
I’ve always drawn iceberg flash to show some of my ideas. To show how the design can look with the iceberg with a subject inside, but they can be also custom. I love to tattoo icebergs and anything related with nature including; animals, flowers, plants, woman and space.
I normally like to do guest spots because they are easy to organise, you have everything you need in the studio and I tend to work better My next guest spots will be in Munich, Reykjavik, Amsterdam, Zürich and London in 2020. I’ll be posting details on my Instagram so follow me on there for updates.