Tag: artist

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“Tattooing someone is a real bonding experience and I love to discover what makes them tick,” tattoo artist Nick Lazaris

Tattoo artist Nick Lazaris, aka Laz (@Laz_tattoo), creates black-and-white realism tattoos at Animalistic Body Art in Adelaide, Australia. He started working life as a security guard, but art was in his heart from a very young age – so he did an old-school apprenticeship to learn the trade and now he’s known for tattooing football players and Olympic swimmers, we sat down with the artist to find out more about his art and passions…

What made you fall in love with tattooing? Was there a poignant memory from your past? Tell us about it…

I was getting tattooed at 15, which was very young – too young, really. Around that time I was collecting magazines and every time I saw a photo of a tattoo on someone I’d always stare and want to know what it meant to the person.

When did you decide you wanted to become a tattoo artist? How did you learn?

I think it was around the time I left school. I was a security guard and I was looking for a career. I’d always shown talent with my drawing, and I started getting tattooed when I was young. So, it was pretty clear to me that’s what I wanted to pursue. 

I started getting tattooed at a place on the road where I lived in Newtown, Sydney, and got to know the guys there. The boss had a few shops and someone was leaving his shop in Sydney suburb Kings Cross so I took my portfolio in to show him and he took me on. 

I did an old-school apprenticeship; getting stencils ready for the artists, cleaning and watching and I slowly got into it as I went along. 

We love that first and foremost you call yourself an artist. Can you tell us a bit more about that side of your work?

I was always drawing when I was young and never touched any other mediums. When I was an apprentice I had a friend whose parents had an art store that had closed down and she had a big box of oil paint that she gave to me. 

They sat around for a while ’cause I was a little scared to use them and one day when I was down on life I got them out and had a go. I think I painted Vincent Price from Dr Phibes and it opened up a whole new world to me.

Laz’s portrait of his mate Kyle for a portrait painting competition.

What I loved the most is it helped my tattooing and as I got more into tattooing that then helped my painting. I’ve designed album covers for some of my favourite bands, t-shirt designs and football jerseys.

It’s as much a part of me as tattooing is. I also teach drawing and painting now at an art store here in Adelaide that has a workshop, which is really fun.  

You’ve been tattooing for 20 years now, how much has the industry changed in that time? What was it like back then compared to now?

It really has changed a lot, walking into a tattoo expo used to be so loud and now it’s all quiet from all the rotary machines. When I started it was still a bit of a tough guys’ game, you’d have an element of fear walking into a tattoo shop in the mid 2000s and because of that a lot of really good artists were deterred from tattooing.

Now, those quiet people who are great at art who would never have dreamt of being a tattooist are doing it – and it’s upped the quality 1000 times, which is a good thing. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it back then too, there was an exclusivity to the industry that made the community a lot tighter, so it wasn’t all bad. But it’s great to see how far the quality has come. 

Laz and Port Power Star from the AFLW, Gemma Houghton

Why do you think you’ve become the go-to tattoo artist for football and basketball stars in Australia?

I’m a sport lover myself, so I’ve been involved in some art projects for our sport teams here in South Australia. I’ve done murals up at the clubs, among other stuff, so I’ve got my foot in to meet a lot of athletes over the years.

I tattooed a few people, then they told their mates and it snowballs. It’s become a right of passage for teams like the Adelaide 36ers and Port Adelaide football club to come see me when they get drafted or traded here. I’ve had people come in on their the first day in Adelaide at their new club hearing I was the guy to come to for tattoos, which is cool.

I’ve made a lot of great friends through the clubs, we have a lot in common – we’re meticulous about our preparation and we always want to be better.  

It’s also a good way to get to know these guys, it’s a real bonding experience tattooing someone and I love to see what makes them tick. It’s very inspiring to be around people at the top of their craft.

Laz with BA player and NBL Star Jacob Wiley – a “great basketball player”.
Laz with Port Adelaide AFL champion and cult legend Willie Rioli.

We hear you’ve tattooed Olympic swimmers like Kyle Chalmers? What was that like?

Yeah, I tattooed Kyle and that opened so many doors for me, he’s a great friend. I tattooed him a couple times and we hit it off, we’re very similar in a lot of ways, and we became like brothers over the years. We even had a YouTube show (Mates & Plates) where we interviewed athletes at his house and made a meal for them. 

The chest piece Laz did on Kyle Chalmers is probably the most recognised tattoo he’s done.
When Olympic gold medalist Kyle Chalmers asked Laz to tattoo his name on his arm.

Who’s the most interesting person you’ve tattooed?

I tattooed Fred Durst from Limp Bizkit some years ago and we had a really good chat about an incident that happened at a music festival where a young girl lost her life. Fred opened up and showed a lot of emotion during the tattoo and I saw a side that only people that know him would see. It was a fun day hearing some of his touring stories from over the years. 

Tattooing Fred Durst at Bondi Ink.

What album covers have you created for bands?

I’ve been very lucky to do album covers for some of my all-time favourite bands. Most recently, I did Carnival of Killers by Macabre – if you haven’t heard them you should check them out they do true crime songs and call it ‘murder metal’, a very unique band.

I did The Murder Junkies album Road Killer, which was quite controversial and received a lot of angry press – perfect for an offensive punk band!

My good friend Nick Oliveri who played in Queens of the Stone Age and the Dwarves has a band called Mondo Generator and I did the cover For Hell Comes to Your Heart.

Does this mean you get to go to lots of fun gigs?

Absolutely, I love my music as much as I love my sport so I’ve been lucky to tattoo a lot of musicians when they tour. Also projects like this get me in touch with bands directly so I get lots of tickets thrown my way, which never goes unappreciated.

How do you like to work with your customers? Do you mostly do custom work or flash too?

I do all kinds of tattoo work, but I mainly specialise in realism. So, people will come to me with an idea and give me a few references and they’re usually fine with me doing my own thing with it. That’s the good thing with online portfolios and social media these days, our clients put trust in us when they’ve seen what we’ve done before.

Does your style of art and the style of your tattoos complement and inform each other – if so, how?

It’s funny but I do mostly black and grey with tattooing, but mostly colour in painting. I don’t know why that’s turned out like that but it has.

However they’ve really helped each other over the years. I use a lot of the structure from my painting from my tattoo preparation and I’ve used a lot of colour theory to help my tattooing.

So they definitely complement each other. I find I’ll be doing something while I’m painting that I’ve adopted from years of tattooing, like working in a certain direction and not even realising it’s happening at the time.

What do you do when you’re not tattooing?

These days I have a bit more of a low-key life, if I’m not tattooing I’m teaching art or painting and hanging with my pets (my dog Curtis and my cat Polly) as much as I can.

Going to sport games, live music, hanging with friends and seeing my family as much as I can, too.

Laz and his pets.
Laz’s dog Curtis and cat Polly.

What are your hopes for the future? Both for your personal work and more general in tattooing?

I’m looking to tap into the horrorcons and comicons to share my art. It’s a bit of a dream of mine to go over to the US to tattoo and showcase my art at conventions and do as much of that kind of stuff as possible. I love to paint horror movie characters and things like that and no one does those kind of expos like they do over there.

Same with the tattoo conventions – we don’t have a big market for it over here and I’d love to be able to get my name out more.

We’ve loved chatting… See who @Laz_Tattoo is tattooing next and find out more about his painting commissions by following @PaintingsByLaz.

We’re always talking to amazing tattoo artists, check out our latest interviews.

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Out For Blood: Interview with SAFIRE

We chat to female crossover metal artist SAFIRE about her new single, aesthetic and tattoo collection…

How would you describe your music? DOM POP! I make dominant pop music drawing inspiration from my love of metal/hardcore punk, RnB and Pop. My music is angry, empowering and sexually charged by my lust for shifting the power dynamics from the masculine to the feminine.

What inspires you as an artist? Rage! War! Blood!

When did your musical career start? I’ve been singing, dancing and acting since I was a kid, but I guess things really started to come to life during the pandemic lockdowns. I lived alone and had a lot of time on my hands to get creative, which is where things really began to take shape.

I wrote a whole record and even recorded two music videos during that period. I think that was the only thing keeping me sane! 

How have you got to where you are today? Blood, sweat and tears. And then some more blood and tears! I’m a self made, independent artist.

I’m lucky to have had the support of some incredible thinkers and creatives to help me develop what I see in my mind. My career and life are synonymous in that respect.

Can you tell us about your new single? I’ve arrived at a point where I have absolute respect for the divine feminine and will no longer tolerate oppression of any kind from the masculine. This is the message.

Out For Blood is about reclaiming your feminine power. It’s a self chant reminding you that you’re a fucking warrior!  

I think the message is clear. You fucked with the wrong woman. You’re on my list and I’m coming for you. 

What’s the process behind your songs? I sometimes draft a concept or storyline based on thoughts that I’ve been having or maybe it’s a nightmare I’ve had. I then draw together a playlist of elements that I’m vibing and will then sit down with my producer and start creating the track.

Whilst the track is being built I’ll start to hear melodies and rhythms. I then build in the storyline and lyrics that I’ve written. The process can be different depending on the mood but that’s a formula that works for me. I like to work in small circles of people that I trust, respect the opinions of and share a similar vision with.

Where can people see you live and find your single? OUT FOR BLOOD is out on all streaming platforms now! The music video is out on the 11th October at 6pm on YouTube.

I’ll be announcing other releases/live shows on socials so follow me there for dates.

When did you get your first tattoo, what is it and do you still like it? I got my first tattoo with a fucking amazing artist and human – Woody @woodfordtattoo. It was a heart made of question marks with soundwaves. It’s done well but nothing I’d have done now. It’s hidden amongst my sleeve on my inner arm. Even though I’m not a huge fan of it I do remember drawing it whilst listening to Tool’s new album (10,000 Days) and it holds some cool memories for me so I wouldn’t change it. 

Walk us through your tattoo collection, do you have a favourite? On my fingers are lyrics from a track by The Hope Conspiracy “It’s a gun at my neck, a voice in my ear, to never look back” handpoked by Adam Sage @adamsage13 and I think they are my favourite tattoos.

I have wings on my neck which is my latest tattoo done by Woody which are my second favourite tattoo. Number three has to be my cat x-ray on my leg by Jack Newton @jackthomasnewton. I got that one done shortly after my cat Canaan died, so it holds a lot of meaning. I’m really into iconography so a lot of my tattoos have some of these pieces within them. 

Do your tattoos help you to feel more confident? I think they did when I was a lot younger but I don’t really see them now.

They’re a part of me and an extension of my thoughts and feelings that I’m willing to convey outwardly. It’s a similar process with my music and visual art. 

Did your fashion style come first or your music, how do these come together? I think both elements have evolved concurrently and are both just a culmination of my interests and influences. I’m influenced by darker aesthetics and sounds for sure! Always have been.

Do you listen to music while you’re getting tattooed? Yes! I remember listening to Isis’s (then) new album ‘In The Absence Of Truth’ whilst getting my tattoo sleeve done. I LOVE Garden Of Light. Very cathartic.

Being tattooed has opened doors and conversations for me that I don’t think would have otherwise been opened. It’s equally closed some!

Can you share any experiences, good or bad, of being a tattooed woman? People definitely make judgements about who you are based on your looks and tattoos. I remember being stared at by an old and very disgusted couple in Belgium years ago. That felt weird to me. I don’t even notice my tattoos any more so I didn’t know what the hell they were looking at!

I’ve had the opportunity to appear in tattoo magazines and to host conventions when I was younger which was amazing. I met some incredible people during that period, so no regrets! 

Follow SAFIRE for more music, fashion and tattoos.

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Sextiles: Molly Cavell

Molly Cavell is an erotic feminist artist based in Leeds where she creates stunningly colourful and detailed textile art, ranging from sex themed rugs to plush vaginas and sex toys. We caught up with Molly to discuss her personal tattoo collection, her inspiration and what drew her to creating sex inspired art…

Tell us about your artistic journey, how did you first get into textiles and how did you come to create your business? My mum first taught me how to use a sewing machine whilst I was in high school and I absolutely adored it, but never stuck with it. It wasn’t until my foundation course and then university that I properly got into textiles as a medium. I just adore creating things with my hands and find sewing beyond therapeutic. Being such an impatient person, it’s taught me patience and allowed me to take that time out for myself and just sit and listen to music or be at one with myself and create art.

From sewing I then started to get into punch needling. Amy Hastings on Instagram was the first account I saw creating rugs and I became obsessed (her work is beyond beautiful). However, I still wanted to create art by hand as the process of hand work is really important to me, through this process I then discovered punch needling which is now my main way in which to create work.

As for my business, this came about accidentally to be honest, I first created my art account during my foundation course about three years ago. I made this account as a way to document my art and in no way thought I would ever make money from my art let alone grow a following. As I kept on posting my art the account slowly grew momentum and eventually, I got a message requesting a commission. This is mad to think but this only happened at the end of 2019 so just over a year ago and from then I have started selling my work. My dream goal is to become a freelance artist, so fingers crossed I can get this going in 2021.  

What made you want to create sex/masturbation/pleasure/genital diversity inspired work? Since high school I’ve been creating feminist art, however it wasn’t until my A-levels that I began looking at sex and masturbation. For me personally, I have always been a really open person in regards to talking about sex and masturbation. I just did not care, I’m a very sexual person so why should I hide that when it’s something I love? I soon realised though that with owning your sexuality comes a lot of backlash. I’ve had creepy men assume that just because I talk openly about these things it must mean I automatically want to have sex with them. I’ve had people make pre-assumptions about me, I’ve been called a ‘slag’ and all kinds of sexist names, all because I’m not embarrassed to say I love all things sex.

Creating my art is all about being true to myself and saying a huge fuck you to all the misogynists that expect a woman to act a certain way, cause news flash hun, women are just as, if not, more powerful than you. Why should women have to sit at home like I did when I was younger and think my labia are wrong, that I have to act this way, I should orgasm through penetration alone and I can’t express my sexuality because I’ll be shunned etc? It’s just disgusting that women feel that way and have for so long.

My art is all about empowering and educating women and it’s also been a personal self-love journey too. My work is really for all women (myself included) encouraging us to own that sexual power! 

What else inspires you, your art and designs? Women have always been at the forefront of what inspires me, not only in regard to my artwork but in my personal life as well. Female artists that create work surrounding their sexuality have always drawn me in. The fact that when I was in school, boys could freely have sex and talk about it openly but a girl doing the same was shameful. To then come across these powerful women that were essentially saying ‘fuck you’ to a system that told them to behave a certain way was amazing to me. Womanhood and the coming together of all women, whether they’re cis, trans, white, woc, disabled, working class etc. is what really inspires me and my work. 

The power sexually rebellious women exude is something I really try to bring into my own work as I think it’s so important for other females to know they can exert that same power.

How important is feminism within your life? Feminism to me is everything and is beyond important to me in everyday life. I have seen so many women from my mum to my closet friends experience struggles, backlash, and abuse at the hands of patriarchy and there is nothing more important than standing up against it. I speak from the position of a very privileged person, I am a cis white femme woman and although I am working class, I am still very privileged compared to other women, so I feel its so important for me to knowledge that and support and uplift the voices of those who do not have this privilege.

Feminism is extremely important to every aspect of my life especially my art. 

Feminism is all about equality and not just between women and men, it’s about trans women and women of colour having equal opportunities and rights as white cis women. It’s about non-binary folk and all those on the gender and sexuality spectrum having equality.

We love that your art and designs are so strongly empowering, do you intend to help educate your followers on female sexual liberation? I think my work started as more of a reassurance for myself more than anything. I used to be a very shy and quiet child and as I grew up and discovered that I was a very sexual person. I started creating art to express that and kind of input the message that ‘yeah you are completely normal and it’s okay to express yourself this way’.

My art has given me so much more confidence. When I started posting on my Instagram account and explaining my own personal experiences about things such as labia shaming and masturbation and the ignorance. I experienced more and more women came forward and began messaging me with similar experiences and then it’s just become this creative outlet for me to empower and validate myself and also educate and (hopefully) liberate other women. I absolutely adore this aspect of my work and it still blows my mind that people actually enjoy and connect with the art I make. 

Can you tell us about your personal tattoo collection, do your tattoos inspire your work at all? I only have 15 tattoos at the moment, but I plan on covering my whole body in them. I got my first tattoo at 18 and god its such a bad tattoo but we move! Most of my tattoos are done by completely different artists, I have all sorts of different styles on me, however my most recent piece is more traditional style, and this is something I want to stick with going forward. If I’m completely honest my current tattoos don’t have much connection to my art and I don’t take my tattoos too seriously. I feel like some people want really meaningful tattoos (which is so lovely) but for me it’s not about that it’s more about the art side of them. Most of them are animals – I got my flying pig because pigs are my favourite animal, the two headed lady because I saw her on a flash sheet and fell in love with her and

I am starting to get more meaningful tattoos though, the most recent ones I got was the words ‘feminist killjoy’ above my knee because that is exactly what I am! I have a Venus symbol on my arm with plans to get ‘no terfs no Tories’ above my opposite knee. I want my body to reflect my political beliefs as I’m a VERY political person but also displaying my genuine love for art at the same time. I’m really not precious about the tattoos I get, most of the time if I see a design or a flash that I love as an artwork then I’ll get it tattooed.

Tattoos for me are self-expression and make me feel literally about 100 times more confident in my skin and I cannot wait to be covered head to toe in them. 

Do you have a particular design you want to create more of? At the moment I am enjoying creating my sex scene work. I started making work about sex toys in order to normalise them and their use and slowly that developed into me actually showing scenes of sexual nature displaying masturbation, pegging scenes, oral sex etc. I’m really loving how it’s going. I don’t think too far into the future about where my work is going. I just think the best things develop and grow naturally so I’ll continue creating this work until I feel another direction or concept would be exciting to explore! So, expect a lot more sex scene rugs! 

Do you have any upcoming plans or collaborations you want to share with us? My plans for the rest of the year are to hopefully get my website up and running and I’m going to be bringing back my vulva cushion commissions very soon which I am so excited about! I graduate from university this year and I’m so excited to be able to put all my focus on building up my business and hopefully going freelance! I have a few collaborations coming up with some amazing artists that I can’t wait to share, mainly creating pieces to raise money for various LGBTQ+ charities and individuals, so keep an eye out on my Instagram for the details of these bitzz! 

Make sure to follow Molly on Instagram and check out her shop.

Words: Lucy Edwards, 21-year-old tattooed freelance writer, cat mum and trying-new-things enthusiast. You’ll most likely find Lucy posting about mental health awareness and self-acceptance on her Instagram.

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Modern Woman, Indigenous Spirit

The story behind Laurence Moniasse Sessou’s tattoos and scarification

Photography and Art Direction – Josh Brandao / Model – Laurence Moniasse Sessou / Words/Story – Laurence Moniasse Sessou and Alice Snape / Illustrations and Set Dressing – Katerina Samoilis / Styling – Olivia Snape / Make-up and Hair – Anna Wild using Nars / Septum Ring – Studio Lil Art and Design / Earrings – Manaka Handmade / Thanks to India Ame ‘Ye’

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From a very young age, I have always been fascinated by body art, everything that seemed a bit forbidden and weird, I pay attention to. I was always a dreamer and would often get in trouble for not conforming and being different (mainly from my peers in the neighbourhood). I grew up in a small town in France called Evreux. It wasn’t easy being a teenager, I’ve experienced a fair bit of bullying while growing up.

I have always been fascinated by body art, everything that seemed a bit forbidden and weird

I came to London for the first time in 1999, when I was 20 years old, to pay a visit to my sister. From that moment, I knew I had to come back to that sense of freedom. London was so big and messy, but I knew I could find myself in that mess. A year later, in 2000, I came back, supposedly, for one year to learn English – but I never looked back. I graduated in 2007 with a Bsc Natural Therapeutics (Bodywork and Neuromuscular therapy) from the University of Westminster. I have been practicing for over eight years now and hold two busy practices in London.

While I was at university, I started travelling, Thailand was my first big trip – I was amazed by the Thai culture and, of course, tattoo was part of it. One of my friends at the time had her full leg tattooed, I thought it was insane. I loved it, but never thought it would be my cup of tea. This idea of having something permanently on my body freaked me out. But as I travelled more through the world, I became more open to many things, including spirituality and body marking. My first tattoos were two little ankhs on my wrists. I was 21 and in London at the time. Then I went on another trip to Thailand and decided to get
a fairy on my right shoulder, it was an African fairy that looked nothing like a fairy after a few months. I had started losing a bit of weight and her face disappeared.

I love flowers. They are beautiful, feminine – I just love they way they always face towards the sun

I guess the big trigger to my transformation started in Mexico, when I went to Palenque for the first time. That’s where I met tattoo artist Sanya Youalli, and we had a chat. I was originally there just to view her work, but our conversation ended with starting to decorate my left arm with flowers and spirals. I love flowers. They are beautiful, feminine – I just love they way they always face towards the sun, I like to see myself as a flower and always look and walk towards the light. I love the warmth and the way the sun kisses my skin. Spirals symbolise infinity, this ocean of opportunity that never ends. I could have my body covered in them, I can’t see myself falling out of love with these symbols. Sanya and I became close friends, we’re like sisters, every time I go to Mexico, she continues work on my arm and when she came to London for the tattoo convention, last year, she stayed at my home and we carried on.

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Then I was looking for another artist to do a cover up of my right arm, Sanya had started doing some kind of removal work for the fairy, but we didn’t get a chance to cover it completely. I knew I wanted it to be covered as soon as possible, so I searched for another artist. I found Touka Voodoo at the Divine Canvas studio – again it was an instant connection. I loved his work, so Touka did the cover up of my right shoulder and we carried on the theme of flowers and spirals – I have a full sleeve now. I also met Iestyn at Divine Canvas, I knew the kind of work he specialised in: scarification and piercings. I remember thinking to myself, “Who on Earth in this age would want to go through this?’ He proposed to perform scarification on me as he’d never worked on black/African skin before. I told him, “No way! You will never cut my skin, never!’

About a year later, I was going through some changes in my life and my spiritual practice started to become more important. I initially wanted to tattoo my back with some symbols of my spiritual path, I spoke to my sister about it and she thought that my skin tone was so beautiful, if I did tattoo my back, my arm work would disappear. That is when the idea of the scarification came to me. I thought it would be a way to embrace my spiritual practice, as well as my tribal African roots. One day I went to see Iestyn, we discussed the design and we started. Iestyn knew me for about a year and he understood my journey and where I was coming from – I trusted him fully with it, he was absolutely amazing.

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The meaning of the symbols – the cross in the middle is ‘the Chakana’ sacred cross where the fire of life burns, the four arrows around it represent the four nations and four directions, flowers symbolise beauty and femininity, spirals symbolise infinity, and dots for their simplicity – and how lovely they look. To me, it is like carrying my dream in my back: the four nations enjoying the fire of life together in the four corners of the globe, in beauty and harmony with each other and nature… It sounds a bit dreamy, but that is the truth. I live to see a better world and become a better person.

Having the scarification done was very challenging, particularly the healing – it is a long and painful process. I was not been able to sleep on my back for over seven months. When the keloids form, it is very itchy. Receiving the scar wasn’t as bad as people may think, of course, you feel it as the first cut is done without anaesthetic, but there is no other way to go through it, you must feel and transcend the pain – and it is a beautiful feeling. I was very high at the end of it, feeling super-human.

I didn’t think the scar was going to raise that much, I thought I would have a very discreet design on my back, but my body decided how it was going to turn out and I love it! It is quite bold and shocking for some people, but I don’t really care, the journey and the story behind this back is worth it.

The chest scarification was also performed by Iestyn and filmed live by Nick Knight back in May 2013, it was supposed to be used for a music video, but it wasn’t in the end. But, hey, I got paid to have a beautiful piece of body art work on my chest and got the amazing opportunity to work with a genius like Nick Knight. It was a dream come true.

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I didn’t realise how emotional I was going to feel about doing this photo shoot for The Modification Issue using pictures of my family, including my mother and grandmothers. I started to have tears in my eyes, because I know how powerful and brave these women are and I know the struggle they have been through in life and in labour. They respectively brought my mother and my father, and my mum brought me into this world. I feel deeply grateful and proud to be a fruit of their lives, I feel they are still living through me, and my nephews and nieces, they are eternal. And I hope that from wherever they are, they are watching over with pride, their lives will always be celebrated.

 Laurence’s story was first published in Things & Ink magazine, when we were in print.

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Visual Artist: Ginger Taylor

28-year-old Ginger Taylor is a freelance visual artist from Sydney Australia. We chat to Ginger about the art she makes, what inspires her and tattoos…

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How long have you been a visual artist and how did you become one? I’ve been properly freelance for just over two years now. I started out sign writing at JbHifi about three years ago and got a taste of a creative job, and I LOVED it. After years of very non-creative jobs it was like a breath of fresh air. Being able to go to work and draw in a tiny room all by myself and listen to music and podcasts all day was my little slice of heaven.

Where do you get the inspiration for your designs from? I would say travelling mostly. My sister lives in LA and when I go to visit her we go on a lot of road trips, eat in diners, stay in motels, go visit weird places. I also just recently visited Japan for the first time and I think you can see that through my work.

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What’s your favourite project you have worked on or piece you have produced? I’m always happiest when I get to paint on a large scale – so murals are my favourite project to work on. I just painted a mural at my local pub so that’s my favourite recent one.

What’s the process behind your pieces? Winging it! I paint bowling pins, watercolours, murals, motorbike helmets, tanks, jackets etc. anything I can get my hands on really so the process is different for everything I do.

How would you describe your art style and your fashion style? If there was a style that lived somewhere in-between a road side diner, a log cabin, and Harajuku – I’d say that.

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Does tattoo art have a big influence on your work? I’ve been into tattoos since I was a kid, even when I was six I remember drawing what I wanted to get tattooed one day (glad that didn’t turn out it was bat wings on my back, yikes.) I wanted to be a tattoo artist all through high school, So I’d say yes, even though I don’t particularly want to be a tattoo artist anymore I still think tractional tattoos make an appearance in my work heavily.

Can you tell us about your own tattoos, did you design any of them? I got my first tattoo when I was 18, it’s an anchor on my head. The rest of my tattoos all have funny stories or dumb ones like the cover up of an ex’s name, your 20s are for huge mistakes, right? I don’t take my tattoos too seriously – most of them have no meaning at all I just like they way they look. I actually just got my art tattooed on me for the first time, it’s a cowgirl with a canteen, snake and horseshoe. @emilyjanetattoo did it and nailed it.

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