Tag: art

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Interview with Tattooist Joe Ankave

26-year-old Joe Ankave is a tattoo artist from Te Aviv, Israel who is currently traveling in California. We caught up with Joe to chat about his tattooing style and the tattoo scene in Israel…

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How long have you been tattooing and how did you get into the industry? I’ve tattooing for almost seven years now. When I was 16 years old I knew that I wanted to develop my drawing skills and take them to the next step. After a couple of years I bought my first machine and started working privately at home and I work by myself till this day – I don’t have a master. In Israel you don’t need a license to do this, and it is quite different from the UK.

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What inspired you to become a tattooer? Was there a particular person? From day one, Shige inspired me the most, and he still inspires me today actually. Shige is the one who took traditional Irezumi to the next level, he turned it into the modern form of neo-traditional tattooing.

How would you describe your tattooing style? My main style is neo-Japanese. Some would say that I do bold colour work, which is kinda funny. All tattoos must be done as bold as possible, so that they look right. In time tattoos fade more and more, so why not make it bold from the beginning?

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What do you like to tattoo? Is there anything you would love to tattoo? The object that I like to tattoo the most is the peony flower. This kind of flower has great potential, especially when it comes to different sizes. You can create a beautiful movement within the tattoo and of course to do a nice bit of colour work.

What was your first tattoo? I’m not sure about that, but I think the first tattoo I did was a smile on my friend’s leg.

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What’s the tattoo scene like in Israel? It’s getting better and better! People are getting more and more tattoos and also big ones! There are many new tattooers and new tattoo shops, especially in Tel-Aviv. Also every year there’s the Israel Tattoo Convention and every year more and more people are coming over. Now you can clearly see a huge difference in the amount of people that are exposed to tattooing.

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What kind of reactions do your tattoos get? It’s funny to say that but people love my tattoos even those who don’t have tattoos or say that they don’t like Japanese work at all. I believe that when I try to do my best with each new tattoo, when I harness the ability to focus on the small details, I can create a sort of magic. When people look at my tattoos they can see it too, it’s hard to explain but just the way I see it.

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Interview with Kelly Julio

Tattooer Kelly Julio works out of Pulse Tattoo in Banbury, UK. We caught up with Kelly to chat about his tattoo style and how his career is more than just a job to him…

How long have you been tattooing? What inspired you to get into the industry? I started getting serious about tattooing around the end of 2004, after learning a lot from working at a friend’s tattoo studio in Jakarta, Indonesia.
I had and still have a strong passion for drawing, painting and graphic design and knew I wanted to make art part of my career.


What did you do before? Did you study art? I worked in hospitality for a couple of years, but deep down I knew it wasn’t for me and what I was meant to be doing. Although I have never studied art formally, I learned a lot from friends, art books, architectural art, photography as well as from traditional and cultural arts from several countries, especially my own, Indonesia, an infinite resource of inspiration for me.


What do you like most about your work? Tattooing is so much more than just work, more than just a way to make a living. I feel extremely happy when I can translate my customer’s idea or concept into something that they are happy to get inked on their body, which will accompany them throughout their life. I also love the human side of tattooing, being able to talk about everything and anything with my customers, not only about tattooing; sharing thoughts, ideas and learning from them.

How would you describe the style of your work? I am probably best described as an all-rounder, because so many things inspire my work. I want to please my customers by translating their ideas into a tattoo without restricting them.

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What is your favorite style of work and your favorite subject to work on? What inspires you? I love color as well as black and grey, I really enjoy working on mandala, geometric and pointillism pieces. I am really inspired by Art Nouveau, traditional ornaments and patterns.

Do you have any planned conventions or guest spots? I am taking part in the Oxford Tattoo Convention on 1st and 2nd of September this year. Next year, I am planning to participate in several tattoo conventions in Europe and the UK.

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Be sure to follow Kelly Julio on Facebook to see more of his tattoos and artwork.

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Tattoo Artist: Sasha Foteev

27-year-old Sasha Foteev works out of a private studio in Moscow, Russia. Sasha also belongs to the professional team of Ego machines with which he works with the studio Bugpin.

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I have been involved in the tattoo scene for six years, and I got into this profession quite spontaneously. I am constantly trying new kinds of art, and besides tattoos I’m fond of graffiti. I make canvases with acrylic paint and posters with markers.

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I can describe my style as a mixture of several styles (graphics, ornament and realism). As an artist I represent creativity and activity, as a tattoo artist my first step is to search for my own style. This usually happens by testing a large number of different directions. And many of tattoo artists can’t decide what exactly they like: is it Japanese, Tradition or Watercolor with realism? Likewise it was very difficult for me so I chose a combination of several styles. I like the contrast between styles, shadows, blending and hard-edge painting.

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I’m inspired by a combination of styles and techniques, I like the visual combination of lines and smooth shadows.My favourite artists are Aivazovsky and Vrubel for their diligence and memorable style. And there are many modern ones, but it’s there are too many to list. In the tattoo world, I like it when people come  to me for my style and “my hands”.  I love it when they trust me and they’re ready to listen and hear my advice, especially if we have similar looks and tastes.

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I really want to work in England soon, especially at the Triplesix studio with Bez the owner of Ego machines, as well as work in other studios in Europe. I have already worked as a guest tattoo artist in Paris at Chez Meme, in Prague at One Love tattoo and in Hamburg  at Vaders Dye. In the near future I plan to participate in the Moscow tattoo convention.

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Rogues & Sacred Idols

We chat to Fudge, co-founder of Rogues and Sacred Idols, a brand that champions female artists about how the company started, what inspires their designs and who they work with…

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Co-founder Fudge in LA

How was the brand/company set up? How long ago? Rogues and Sacred Idols is the sister brand of RSI Apparel (which Rob set up 5/6 years ago). A lot of girls were asking about a women’s line from his brand, and after chats over the last couple of years about all the cool stuff we could do we decided to make it happen last year!

What inspired you to create a brand designed by women for women? Can you tell us about the brand’s ethos? We’re keeping the same idea as Rob’s brand, featuring our favourite super talented artists and supporting their work, but keeping it female specific which is something we hadn’t really seen done. There’s so many amazing female tattooists and illustrators we want to work with and shout about!

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How do you choose which artists to collaborate with? Do you only feature tattoo artists? We launched with a good pal of mine, Barbie Longfox, who’s designs have had an amazing response! We have also worked with an illustrator called Laura Schneider. We’re not exclusively featuring tattoo artists, but it’s been a good starting point for us and ties in nicely with the tattoo conventions we trade at throughout the year.

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Can you tell us about the design process? What influences and inspires the products? Our first collection with Barbie had a 70s Cali vibe and I’m currently revisiting an old ska phase, so who knows what the next few collections might bring! Our artists design us a flash style sheet or couple of smaller pieces as well as a bigger design from a starting point or idea I’ll give them. I’m keen to use our artist’s work in new ways other than just a chest print on a tee so the smaller designs make their way onto elbow patches, make up bags and pins. We have so many exciting ideas down for future collections so definitely give us a follow to see all the new product we’ll be bringing out!

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Are there any new and exclusive things in the pipeline? Currently putting the finishing touches to an exciting collaboration with Toni Moore for all you mammas (both human and dog/cat). We’re mega excited about this one, as well as some new pieces by Rizza Boo. Towards the end of the year we hope to be bringing cut and sew styles, to really expand the range beyond tees, sweats and accessories!

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Where can readers get their hands on your apparel? We’re at a few tattoo conventions later on in the year. Come and say hi if you see us! You can also buy online at www.roguesandsacredidols.com (we hand wrap all orders in the best polka dot paper if that tempts you!)