Tag: Australia

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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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Exhibition: Their Heart on Their Sleeve

Celebrated Australian visual artist Stormie Mills has teamed up with award winning photographer Frances Andrijich to present an exhibition that celebrates tattoos and the reason why people choose to get inked.

Their Heart On Their Sleeve - Stormie

A collaborative exhibition by Frances Andrijich and Stormie Mills

Opens 2 – 17 November

There Is

49 Stuart Street Northbridge WA 6003 (08) 9228 4111

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While people have been opting to get ‘inked’ since prehistoric times, this number is rapidly increasing in Australia, yet reasons remain the same. It is the need to feel unique, fit in or stand out, a silent expression of a moment in time. 1 in 5 Australians has one or more tattoos with a further 1 in 5 of those getting their first tattoo aged mid 30s or older.

The idea of creating portraits of these individuals has inspired a very special collaboration between internationally renowned visual artist Stormie Mills and award-winning photographer Frances Andrijich. Now for the first time they bring their crafts together in a series of unguarded moments.

Frances has captured the essence of each subject through her lens. Stormie has then taken these images and painted a representation of the subjects’ internal portrait to create a striking work that connects the outside with the beauty within.

Their Heart On Their Sleeve - Spencer

“Their Heart on Their Sleeve” is an intimate insight into humanity from the perspective of ten people who until now were nothing more than strangers to one another before a love of art and a photoshoot brought them together.

From a University Lecturer to an award-winning Mixologist, an Architect, FIFO worker and Furniture Maker, the one common thread these people share is the fact they have become a human canvas, choosing to carry a piece of Stormie’s artwork with them wherever they go.

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Tattooed Silicone Art Gallery

Posthumously preserving tattooed skin is a great way to appreciate tattoos without the need for animated human flesh holding it all together. But if the thought of having dead human skin framed and on display in your living room is a little too macabre for your liking then Melbourne’s Thing Gallery has you covered.

Thing Gallery commission tattooists to work on hyper-real silicone hands that they then exhibit and sell online. Have you ever wanted a unique tropical piece by Sam Kane or some black work by Hannah Pixie but live on the other side of the world? Thing Gallery have been busy curating hands from artists living in all corners of the earth, like Or Kantor in Israel, Poland’s Edek, and Oozy in Korea.

It’s a unique opportunity to own real tattoos as pieces of art disconnected and distinct from the human body.

Below are some of the first hands uploaded to their gallery. Be sure to sign up to their mail-list to be among the first notified when new hands become available, or keep an eye on their Instagram page for updates and images of awesome works of art.

 

By Charley Gerardin (Melbourne) @charley_gerardin
By Charley Gerardin (Melbourne)
@charley_gerardin

 

By Nina Waldron (Melbourne) @goatlumps
By Nina Waldron (Melbourne)
@goatlumps

 

By Elizabeth Huxley May (Melbourne) @elizabethhuxleymay
By Elizabeth Huxley May (Sydney)
@elizabethhuxleymay

 

By Sam Kane (Melbourne) @samkanetattoo
By Sam Kane (Sydney)
@samkanetattoo

 

By Mark Jelliman (England) @marktattooist
By Mark Jelliman (England)
@marktattooist

www.thinggallery.com

https://www.instagram.com/thinggallery/

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Lea Katz Illustration

19-year-old Lea Katz is a resident artist based in Melbourne, Australia, soon to be living in Bavaria, Germany. We chatted to Lea about the beautiful women she draws and how tattoos make her feel about her body…

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Inspired by Things&Ink Lea created this illustration just for us…

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What medium do you use? How do you create each piece? I work digitally and traditionally. For my digital paintings, I use a graphic tablet and Photoshop. When I work traditionally, I usually rely on pencils, ink and sometimes watercolour. I also love mixing my drawings with other elements to create a collage-like look. I have some gold paper for example, that I combine with my drawings, sometimes I use photos from magazines for that and on other days, I just take whatever I can find and glue it to my sketches.
When I get to work, my usual process is to start out with a very messy sketch that I refine until I’m happy with it. Once that’s done, I begin to work on details to achieve a semi-realist look on certain parts of the artwork (like the face, when I draw a portrait), when I’m finished with that, I start bringing in flat shapes and lines and in the end, I combine it with different scans (in digital paintings), older drawings and photos.

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What kinds of things do you draw? I love drawing portraits, but I also enjoy drawing flowers, nature and birds. Every now and then I also do some typography, but I really need

What is it about women that makes you want to draw them? I guess it’s something that I do since I’m a kid, so it’s almost like a habit now. I love women, I love being a woman (most of the time, at least) and women get so much shit so often, that I just want to celebrate women and femininity in my paintings. I draw them as queens, strong, proud and independent, cover them in gold and all things fabulous.

What inspires you? Huge inspirations for me are art history and music. I’ve always been a little art nerd and a huge fan of art nouveau and surrealism, which are two big influences on my work. Music is a big part of my life, I always listen to music, I love singing (even if I’m a horrible singer. Doesn’t stop me though) and there are always songs that just make me want to catch the vibe of it and put it in a painting.

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How would you describe your style? I’d say my style is a mixture of semi-realism, art nouveau, graphic design and sometimes surrealism. It’s basically a huge collage of styles that I love and try to combine into one piece of work.

Do you admire any other artists, do they influence your work? Definitely! Frida Kahlo, Alfons Mucha, Gustav Klimt, Cindy Sherman, Man Ray and Hannah Höch are people that never stop inspiring me. I love Frida’s self-portraits, Mucha’s girls and Klimt’s golden paintings. Cindy Sherman’s photography is simply fascinating to see, as well as Man Ray’s and Hannah Höch’s dadaist collages.

Can you tell us about your tattoos? I just got my first tattoo in March this year when I visited Amsterdam so I don’t have too many yet. My first tattoo was a beautiful little heart by Angelique Houtkamp, as a souvenir that reminds me of one of my favourite cities. Next, I got a flower on my wrist and after that Frida Kahlo from her “Wounded Deer” painting, which is a piece of art that has a lot of personal meaning to me. And since this Frida was tattooed in a more traditional style, I decided to get another one. This time, full on classic Frida as we know her. It was also my first tattoo in Australia, done by the amazing Marian Machismo.

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How do tattoos make you feel? Have they made you feel differently about your body? Tattoos make me feel great, they make me feel like a badass and I’m happy that they give me the ability to carry things that I love with me wherever I go. They definitely changed a lot about how I view myself and my body. I, like probably every person who had to go through puberty, have a lot of insecurities, I’m unhappy with that part of my body, this could be thinner, this patch of skin has too many freckles, blah blah blah. You probably know what I mean. Covering myself in art that I love changed the way I look at myself. I don’t look at my arm and worry about it being too fat or too whatever anymore, I look at it and see my beautiful tattoos and feel incredible. In fact, I’m happy for every inch of skin that I have because it’s potential tattoo-space.
Do you have any future tattoo plans? Definitely. My next appointment is in September, with Clare Hampshire from Hot Copper Studio here in Melbourne. And I have a lot of Australian artists on my list that I need to get a tattoo from before I move back to Germany in January.

Do you do commissions? Where can people buy your art? I do! I love doing commissions. I sell prints, shirts and a ton of products with my drawings on it via redbubble and I’m always open to sell my original, traditional drawings.

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Interview with Rachie Rhatklor

27-year-old tattooist Rachie Rhatklor works out of Blue Lady Tattoo in Melbourne Australia and creates beautifully fierce tattoos. We chatted to Rachie about the strong women who inspire her and her own sassy women tattoos… 

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How long have you been tattooing? I’ve been tattooing for eight years now.

How did you start? What did you do before? I was living in Auckland, New Zealand at the time. I took a gap year after high school working at a cafe. I really wanted to start tattooing, so I quit and focused on drawing and painting flash for months and months. When I felt like I had some what of a portfolio to show (looking back now it was so bad), I approached as many tattoo shops as I could find. I was shit scared and the tattooists I spoke to were definitely intimidating.

Eventually one guy, Clint Jones at Blue Lotus Tattoo, told me that he couldn’t pay me and he already had an apprentice, but that I could hang out a couple of days a week. I showed up everyday and worked my ass off and eventually the other apprentice was let go. It was a fairly old school apprenticeship. We didn’t use pre-made needles, Clint made them every morning and taught me how to. I would do all the cleaning, emails, scrubbing tubes, setting up and breaking down, draw all his tattoos and stencil them by hand and more, plus trying to squeeze in learning what I could. That apprenticeship was tough as hell but I really appreciate it all now. That’s how it should be.

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Do you have a background in art? Art was my strongest subject in school for sure. I didn’t really care about anything else at the time.

What drew you to the tattoo world? Drawing came naturally to me and I had some outside influences like some family members and friends who were getting tattooed. It always fascinated me, it’s one of the oldest cultural traditions around. I also wanted to be able to make a living off of what I loved to do, and I was really drawn to tattooing because of every other challenge it involves. There’s a lot to learn, it never stops either.

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Describe your style, how has it changed? I would say it borders on traditional because of the way it’s put down – bold lines and simple shading and colour. But I’m trying to push different images, using references from sources other than traditional flash and where I can, from my own head.

What do you like to tattoo and draw? I think my absolute favourite subject to draw is women. Every aspect is always different, the hair, the face, I never get bored with them, they’re always fun to tattoo. I like to draw tough, sassy ladies and anything that ties into that theme.

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What inspires you? Strong women, I am lucky to know so many of them! Especially my mum who had the hardest childhood and still managed to raise three kids, work full time and now rides a Harley! She’s a big inspiration, which is why I think I like to portray strong women in my artwork. Also, vintage playboy, cars, movies and beauty advertisements, old tattoos, nature, classic hip hop & soul, 90’s girl grunge bands and my boy Jordi who is the hardest working person I know and influences me everyday.

What would you love to tattoo? I love tattooing from my flash of course, ladies, man’s ruin themes etc. I still enjoy traditional flash too. I think as long as there’s people wanting to get tattooed I’m happy to do anything.

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Do you have any guest spot or conventions planned?  I’ve just come back from a guest spot in New Zealand at Two Hands Tattoo. No other plans set at this stage, but I would love to get over to the States, Asia and back to Europe in the next couple of years!

Can you tell us about your own tattoos? Most of them are from trades with good friends I’ve been lucky to have worked with over the years. You guys rule!