Tattoo artist Tina Caruso (@tinacarusodot) tattoos at Buzz Club in Leeds. Here she talks about her journey into the tattoo industry, never giving up on her dreams and her new project, the ‘pay as you feel campaign’ for those who’ve had mastectomies…
How long have been tattooing and how did you get started in the industry?
When I was 19, I started out of curiosity. My parents helped me buy my first tattoo machine and get my licence – I started tattooing from their house. At the time, in my small hometown in the south of Spain, there weren’t any tattoo studios.
I moved to the UK in 2016 and tattooing stopped being a priority for me, it wasn’t until 2018 that I tried to find an apprenticeship – I didn’t have much luck. So, I kept practising at home, I started English classes and I found the tattooing style I wanted to go for and put together a professional portfolio. I finally started in my first tattoo studio, Skinz, at the end of 2019.
What inspired you to be an artist? Do you have a background in art?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been painting or drawing. I’ve also experimented with a range of media. I fell in love with oils. My mum’s house is covered in canvases. She has always pushed my creativity.
For me, becoming a tattoo artist came from the urge to be an artist. I felt that selling my art through tattoos would be an easier way to make a living. Now that I feel more settled in the tattoo industry, I can’t wait to start painting my canvases again and combine them with tattooing.
How would you describe your style? Have you always tattooed like that?
No, I started very young, with no guidance – not even YouTube to help me. I didn’t have anyone to ask about styles, so I started with the most popular style: Old School.
I’ve always been curious to try other styles – my first ever portfolio was chaos. It wasn’t until a year before I started working in my first ever tattoo studio that I began to stick to one style. It was dotwork, a very illustrative style – my designs and tattoos would be done dot by dot.
In the studio, I learnt how to whip shade, so I could start evolving my style. It became very dainty with small details creating fine-line realism. I’ve moved more towards surrealism, even more fine, delicate and smooth.
What inspires your designs?
Nowadays, my designs are inspired by people’s emotional scars and happy stories.
I would say daily life and storytelling inspires me the most.
For my personal projects I always use myself for inspiration: a bad moment, a certain situation I disliked, mostly negative emotions I’ve felt over the years. I would paint self portraits, not necessarily realistic, but to express what I felt in that moment and use it as a healing process.
Now I create more realistic looking pencil drawings, filled with certain emotions I have felt at some point. I find objects, human figures, animal, flowers, plants or anything that symbolises what I feel in the moment or relate to in some way.
What do you like to tattoo and what would you like to do more of?
I like to challenge myself with things I’ve never drawn before, this is what keeps tattooing exciting for me.
I’m feeling a bit experimental lately with human figures. I find I’m attracted to them every time I create. I find mythology from any culture exciting. Mostly mythological creatures, as I think these are very hard to capture. I’m learning to make them look real without losing the magical or ethereal look of them.
Can you tell us about your latest project?
The ‘pay as you feel campaign’ is a free service for those who’ve had mastectomies – if there is any exchange of money – but there doesn’t have to be – it will go to charity. I would love to tattoo more over scars and I’d love to help anyone who has had a mastectomy or top surgery.
The idea is to convert scars into something pretty; in other words, to transform a difficult experience into something beautiful.
I want to combine my profession with a social cause, as well as positively impact lives through my art.
How do you see your tattoos evolving in the future?
I am a very changeable person, I’m always creating and experimenting. I would love to start larger scale pieces, not necessarily bigger tattoos, just covering more of the body. They’d have lots of the delicate detail but would be spacious compositions that work with the body.
Do you think tattoos need to have a meaning or story behind them?
I prefer them to have a story. It helps my creative process so I can conjure up something different and unique every time. But I don’t think this is necessary, tattoos can be funny or for no reason. As long as they make the person happy and don’t offend anyone.
What was your first tattoo? Do you still like it? How has your tattoo collection developed since then?
I got my first tattoo when I was 19, it’s a line-work Converse shoe. I did it myself, in my bedroom. Fine-line tattooing wasn’t a thing until recently, so I had loads of colour traditional and black work tattoos.
I started covering everything two years ago, with a blackout from my left arm going down my back and finishing at my bum… for now. I decided to go for a neotribal bodysuit, as I feel it is a much more elegant and less noisy style.
Where’s been your favourite place to travel and tattoo? Do you have any guest spots planned?
I haven’t had the luck to travel outside the UK with my work yet. But, 2024 is full of guest spots, and I can’t wait – I’ll be travelling all over the UK. I’ll also be going to LA in September, so I will try to work in San Francisco and Mexico. But, nothing is confirmed yet. I’m also planning a full month in Germany, after the US. I am very much looking forward to these guest spots, seeing all these new places and meeting new tattoo artists.
What’s the tattoo scene like where you are?
Leeds is a very artistic and youthful city. I feel very lucky to be part of a team with young creatives and talented artists like the Buzz Club family. It is a great city to be an artist, even more so a tattoo artist.
What do you do when you’re not tattooing or drawing?
Emails! Tattooing is a 24/7 job. But when I have the free time, I love to go to the countryside, mostly in the summer, and in the winter, you will find me in any art gallery or exhibition. I find them very inspiring and sometimes I’m lucky enough to meet new artists while I visit their exhibitions.
What moment in your career are you most proud of?
When I moved from Spain to the UK at that young age, it definitely marked a before and after in myself. I kept pushing to become a tattoo artist – even when I wasn’t good enough.
The second was when, with no previous apprenticeship, I started working in a real tattoo studio as a real tattoo artist. All the effort wasn’t for nothing. I finally got into the tattoo industry.
And the last, the moment I learnt that every one of us has a different path, and it’s okay to have a rest when following your dream. It’s hard work, but never give up even if it takes years. You’ll get there if you put effort and care into what you do.
Follow Tina Caruso (@tinacarusodot) on Instagram for more beautiful tattoos. She works at Buzz Club in Leeds.
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