Tag: female tattooer

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Interview with tattoo artist Jing

Fineline tattooer Jing works in a private studio in the Arts District of Los Angeles, a hidden gem of a place where she has lots of plants and sunlight. Jing tells us her Chinese name is 静月 meaning peaceful moon, which fits beautifully with her private studio, a space she can focus on her designs in and work peacefully.

What inspired you to become a tattoo artist? How did you become an artist? To be honest, I never planned to become a tattoo artist. I became a tattoo artist by accident. In China, tattoos are still connected with gangs and gangsters, and I had negative opinions about them for this reason. It took me almost half a year to understand why people were getting tattoos. But I will share how I got from there to where I am today…

My uncle is an artist, specialising in oil painting. He has an art studio in Chengdu, China. I was his very first student when I was a little girl. After high school I got accepted by the China Central Academy of Fine Arts (中央美术学院) to study arts and design. During senior year, I went to Zurich University of the Arts in Switzerland (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste) to study style and design. At that time, my dream was to become a visual merchandise designer or a UX designer.


One day while helping a friend shoot for a video, we went to a tattoo studio. At that time, my life was boring as I was preparing for the GRE exam. So I thought learning to tattoo could be a fun hobby. So I started my apprenticeship, and because of Instagram, I was lucky to have clients who supported me and helped me move to Los Angeles. Then luckily again, I met Eva Karabudak. She was a big inspiration for me, and she helped me to see the value of my work, and build a stronger technique.

Today, I study Chinese traditional painting and Chinese calligraphy. My goal is to bring traditional Chinese Arts into tattooing and integrate them.


How would you describe your work? Have you always tattooed like this? What drew you to this type of tattooing? I say the tattoo is my client’s “mark of the soul”. As a HSP (highly sensitive person), I can easily have connections with my clients, and help them to make their ideas come to life. Even though right now, during this crazy time, I can’t do consultations in-person. Even so I always spend hours talking with my clients and adjusting the designs with them.

I know perfection is impossible, but I always try to make my designs and tattoos as close to perfect as I can. I treat my clients with love from the bottom of my heart. That’s why I can’t tattoo too many people in a day, otherwise I would burn myself out. 

For the style: from the beginning, I’ve done small fine line work. Now I would like to take those skills and tattoo more East Asian style arts, both colour and fine-line. I will say my master Pingguang Zhou 周平珖 helped me to step into the traditional Chinese art world. I paint with him every week, and this work draws me closer towards to this type of tattooing, and also the peaceful lifestyle of a Chinese artist. It guides me on my way to becoming a better artist and a better person.


Can you tell us about the process behind your tattooing? Actually, my tattoo process is really casual. That’s why I hope my clients are chill people. (Luckily almost all of them are chill and nice people!)

  • Step 1: Clients fill the booking form from my website when I open booking.
  • Step 2: After the appointment is confirmed, I will read their tattoo ideas before we meet. If they already have certain ideas, usually I will have the designs prepared for them. But sometimes, clients don’t have specific ideas, maybe either it’s their first tattoo, or they want too many elements in one small tattoo. Then I will talk with them in person first and design the tattoo with them.
  • Step 3: I will wear my earphones and focus on tattooing. My rectangle tattoos usually take one to one and a half full days, depending on the placement, size and details of the design.
  • Step 4: When the tattoo is fully healed, clients will give me feedback on how their skin took the ink. Because I do colour packing (which means each spot packed colour three to five times), most tattoos heal great. If there is any spot that didn’t heal great, I welcome them to come back for a free touch up session within a year.


What inspires your designs? East Asian culture is always my biggest inspiration, especially traditional Chinese painting (especially from Song Dynasty), Japanese Ukiyo-e, Jingdezhen porcelain, Dunhuang Murals etc.

What do you love to tattoo and what would you like to do more of? I like tattooing both fine-line and colours. For fine-line, I love tattooing Chinese meticulous line drawings. For colour tattoos, I love the rectangular designs with many details. I feel satisfied after seeing my client’s surprised face after their tattoo session. In the near future, I want to design and tattoo more shapes with Chinese paintings.


Can you tell us about your own tattoos? Are you a tattoo collector? I don’t have many tattoos yet. But all of them are important to me. My first one is by my friend @yuantattoodesign, it’s a moon. I got it during my apprenticeship, mostly because I wanted to experience the pain that I was causing to others when I tattoo them.

My second one is from @gloriatattoo. We tried nine machines on a two and a half inche fine-line tattoo. I used myself to test which machine was good for fine-line, the differences of pain levels and healing progress.

My third one is from my friend @ink_by_bae. I got it when I became a tattoo artist. During that time, I felt huge peer pressure and competition. So I got the tattoo to remind myself: “Don’t compare your life to others. There’s no comparison between the sun and the moon. They shine when it’s their time.” 

My fourth and fifth tattoos were made together from my friends @ink_by_bae and @frommay_tat: they’re a leaf branch and my grandma’s favourite flower, Japanese honeysuckle. She is the one who raised me, and I really miss her.


What is the tattoo scene like in L.A? How are women in the tattoo industry treated, how has your experience been? Los Angeles a city that’s very tolerant of different cultures and immigrants. I feel happy, safe, respected and blessed to work as a tattoo artist in this city. Most of my clients are women, so I feel lucky as a female tattoo artist. I can create really feminine designs, and also neither of us will feel awkward about sensitive body placement, like the chest. There are some times that I don’t feel safe to work late alone, but all in all, my experience is really great.

Make sure to follow Jing on Instagram for more beautiful fine line tattoos.

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The growing bodies of Lauren Hepple

Lauren Hepple of String of Hearts Tattoo in Southsea shares her love for cat tattoos and the inspiration behind her ‘growing bodies’ tattoo series…

Photograph taken by Bradley Salmon

How long have you been tattooing and how did you get into the industry? I have been tattooing for around three years now. Tattooing was always something I wanted to do but after being discouraged at school from looking into it seriously as a career, I moved onto other arts practices and worked in textiles briefly. After a few months of this, I saw a local studio advertising that they were looking for apprentices. I sent my portfolio in and that’s where it all started.

What does tattooing mean to you? Tattooing is a big creative outlet for me. Even while I can still draw at home, creating a piece for someone and bonding over the experience is very fulfilling. It is also a medium unlike anything else. It is constantly evolving and changing and with each tattoo I do I get new opportunities to push myself to create the best work I can. It’s a huge motivation to be able to see myself grow as an artist.

Outside of my personal work, tattooing is all about the community. I have been missing my clients and seeing other artists. Over the last year especially, even while we haven’t been able to see each other in person, the support has been overwhelming.

How would you describe your style? I always use the term illustrative to describe my work. It has strong roots in printmaking which is where the off registration colour comes from. 

Where do you get your inspiration? I tend to separate my work into two categories of things that are full of fun such as the fruit cats or animals, and then the work that focuses on the growing bodies – and the inspiration comes from different places for these.

The cats are created when I’m in a good mood and am not too stressed. I’m always influenced by what I scroll past on social media – and an idea will usually stick from there and I have to make it into a cute illustration.

The bodies are created from days I don’t feel so great and am feeling the pressures of the world around me. They’re a great way to get emotion down onto paper. They help me work through anything that’s bothering me and having them resonate with other people feeling a similar way is what made me keep creating this work. 

We love your cat tattoos, are they your favourite animal to tattoo? Cats are always my favourite animal to tattoo – not that that means I don’t enjoy others, but their round faces always make me smile so much. Along with the fact that I do a lot of these pieces to look like my clients cats – hearing their love for their animals as the most wholesome thing. 

What else do you love tattooing? I love tattooing anything with a little note of love to their owners on them. This could be on illustrations of hands or on little envelopes. I love hearing what they mean to my clients – each one is so unique. 

Your drawings and tattoos of the ‘bloom girls’ share a message of self-love and growth, how does this resonate with you? Is this something you like to talk about and share with others? I first created one of the growing bodies after hurting myself skating and it meant I couldn’t do something I loved for a long while. I found that super tough so had to channel this energy into something else. After creating this first one, it resonated with a lot of people – and they expressed to me that it really showed what they were going through. This connection is a huge driving force for me when creating the growing bodies. These have now moved from encapsulating how others and I were feeling emotionally, to expressing the journey we had been on and the progress we are still making.

To me, the phrase ‘still growing’ is a constant reminder that I am always on a journey with self-love, and it’s not an overnight achievement or something to be ticked off a list. It’s a constant practice. 

During this time I also wanted to see more representation of bodies that looked like me in this industry, and when changing how the bodies looked, I had input from others wanting to see more of these illustrations that represented them. What these illustrations mean to others is what keeps me creating them. I have drawn pieces to specifically look like clients and being part of their self love process is something I am so grateful for.

For me, when I create these they are a time of focus for me. I am an anxious person and sitting focusing on these creations of self-love, stop me spiralling. Literally writing ‘I am enough’ or ‘watch me grow’ stops me being so hard to myself, and taking a beat to think what’s actually going on right now and what I can make manageable.

Things might be tough but that’s okay, I’ll get through it.  

Can you tell us about your own tattoos, have these helped you to see your body differently? My tattoos make me feel more at home in my own body. I don’t have many where the design has any hidden meaning, but so many are done by friends, and always take me back to a positive moment in time.

My work focuses so much on self-love and self-positivity – I feel the artwork that is on me is part of my process in being more comfortable with myself. Having artwork on me that makes me feel strong always helps on days when I am struggling with my body image. 

Follow Lauren on Instagram for more gorgeous growing bodies tattoos.

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Cuteness overload with Little Rach

Rachel (Little Rach) tattoos at Luck and Love Tattoo in Darlington, UK where she creates, bright, bold and super cute tattoos. We chatted to Rachel about her style, inspirations and how she’s been spreading a little kindness during lockdown…

How long have you been a tattoo artist? I started my apprenticeship in 2016, so just over four years.

What drew you to the world of tattooing? I was always attracted to the alternative from a young age, noticing people with bright hair, piercings and tattoos. When I first started listening to heavier music as a teen, a lot of the bands I listened to had tattoos and I just thought it was so cool! As I got older and started getting tattooed myself I just loved everything about it.

I would buy tattoo magazines with my partner and we would sit and redraw our favourite designs from them for fun. I knew it was something I really wanted to get into.

I loved how tattoos looked but also the feeling it gave me to take ownership of my body and my choices in life (which at the time felt quite rebellious).

What inspires your work? I really like to collect vintage kitsch ornaments and kawaii toys, so I’m often inspired by things I surround myself with. I have always loved Sanrio characters and that look of cute animals or inanimate objects with big sparkly eyes. Sometimes I’m just inspired by a colour I see and I want to use it in a design.

How would you describe your style? I always struggle to answer this question because I find it difficult to say where I fit in, in terms of style. I guess cute and colourful with bold lines and a bit of sparkle. It developed from being taught how to tattoo in my apprenticeship.

I was taught by Kenny Ackerman who specialises in realism, so I learned colour blending techniques and the impact of a nice white highlight to make a tattoo pop. I was also taught by Ben Roberts who showed me the importance of clean solid line work and bold colour, so I have combined elements of the two techniques to come up with my style.

Has your style developed over time? My style has definitely developed over time. At the moment I’m really enjoying stripping my tattoos back – focusing on a solid line and saturated colour to make the design stand out on the skin. I am enjoying using a different colour palette – I have been using nice bright warm colours but contrasting them with more muted tones to give them a bit of a vintage feel.

What do you like to tattoo and what would you like to do more of? I love tattooing things with faces that wouldn’t normally have a face – stick a cute pair of eyes and a smile on a banana and I’m happy! Anything cute and colourful I love to do. I am also a HUGE fan of drag, so anything drag related I am always keen to do and would love to do more! It’s so much fun.

How have you found the pandemic, have you found time to be creative or been feeling blocked? The pandemic has been really tough. As someone who lives with anxiety and depression, it has been difficult for me to keep motivated and inspired at times. There have been times where I have had creative block for months and it becomes frustrating. I start to doubt my abilities and feel really low.

That being said, the lockdowns have given me the opportunity to explore my work in different ways, and come up with ideas that aren’t solely focused on tattooing or being a tattoo-able design. I guess being unable to tattoo takes the pressure off my art having to then be translated to a tattoo design – it can be anything it wants to be.

I’ve taken to drawing positive/inspiring messages within my art that represent things that have helped my mental health experience, trying to focus on gratitude and putting kindness into the world. 

What does tattooing mean to you and what does it mean to not be tattooing? Tattooing means the world to me. I feel so grateful to have been given the opportunity to tattoo and I’m so fortunate for the life it has given me. I have been so lucky to have such supportive people in my life who have encouraged me from the get go. I have met so many wonderful people, artists and clients, and it still blows my mind that people want to wear my artwork on their skin forever, I will never take that trust for granted.

Not being able to tattoo at the moment has been hard. Me and my partner, Ben Roberts, have our own private studio, so it has taken away a big chunk of our lifestyle. We love tattooing and everything about it, we owe everything we have and everything we do to tattooing. We miss being able to travel and see our pals across the UK, guesting in studios and doing conventions, and financially it is a worry as we both rely on tattooing for our income.

We are fortunate that we have people who are really supportive of our work and have bought prints and other bits and bobs from us, it really does make a difference and I encourage everyone to support small businesses and the arts during this tough time. I look forward to the day when there are no more lockdowns and I’m allowed to my give my clients a brew and a biscuit again when they come in the studio. 

Make sure to follow Little Rach on Instagram for more cute tattoos and artwork.

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Interview with tattoo artist Sonia Cash

If you love traditional tattoos and pinups Sonia is the tattooer for you. Sonia Cash works at Berlin Ink in Berlin, in this interview we discover where her love for tattooing started…

How long have you been tattooing? I’ve been tattooing for eight years now. From time to time I take a break for a few months to gather new motivation and inspiration. I don’t like it when my work gets too monotonous.

What drew you to the tattoo world and how did you get into it? I have roots in the subculture of punk, hardcore and psychobilly. 20 years ago most tattooed people came from there. That’s why tattoos have always had a big part in my life. I always thought they were very beautiful, cool and outstanding. Also because tattoos weren’t for fashion and more about making a statement.

I got my first tattoo when I was 15 and I totally fell in love with this kind of art. Then I started to get tattooed more and get to know more people from the industry, which was very small and snobby back then in Israel. After some years I decided to follow my dream and with help from my tattooer friends I started to learn tattooing – that’s how I became a tattooer. Since I was young I’ve loved art and I always dreamt of having a job where I could share my art and make people feel pretty.

What inspires your work and how would you describe your style? I get inspired a lot by vintage photography, pinup drawings, athletes, body positivity and other tattooers like; Angelique Houtkamp, Paul Dobleman, Marie Sena, Jessica O, Olivia Olivier, Matthew Huston, Andrea Giulimondi and many many more!

What do you love to tattoo and what would you like to do more of? I love to tattoo lady faces, tattooed and non-tattooed pinups in different positions and flowers. I’m always happy to do more and more of them.

Where do you see your art in the future? On people all around the world and also in their houses or work places.

How has the pandemic affected you and your tattooing? The COVID-19 situation affected me in good ways and bad. Good because I became more creative and fell in love with drawing again. Also good because it made me accept a lot of situations that are not under my control. It has been bad because I can’t travel as much to see my family, friends and clients in Israel like I did last year.

Follow Sonia on Instagram for more traditional style tattoos.

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Strength in softness: Claire Louise Tarrant

Claire Louise Tarrant creates cute girly tattoos with a tough edge at Gravity Tattoo in Leighton Buzzard. We chatted to Claire about her tattooing style and inspiration...

I was first inspired to become a tattoo artist when I was at university studying fine art. My work has always been illustrative, but I never thought tattooing could be a “grown up” career. Nowadays, I think it’s the most intense job I’ve ever had! I was very lucky with finding a studio where I could learn to tattoo, but found the male dominated studio and industry difficult to navigate.

When I first started dating, before I met my partner Josh, I got the typical weird questions about my tattoos and if it meant I liked pain. Even now I often get the odd customer who says comments such as “women with tattoos are sooooo sexy”. It’s boring! People who have loads of tattoos or can easily get tattooed, honestly forget that they’re a big thing to other people. 

I quit tattooing around three to four times due to anxiety and fear of what committing to tattooing meant. It’s such an amazing, insanely cool job, but it’s also overwhelming. It’s helped shape me as a person in more ways than I can count.

I’m now at a all female studio, Gravity, run by the fabulous Holly Astral. Having a female mentor who understands what being a woman in the industry means has given tattooing an entirely new light. It’s now fun and exciting! Tattooing makes me feel like my inner child is playing every single day; I get to be creative, I get to chat with exciting people all day and I get to travel around and discover new places all the time (well before lockdown I could).

I feel as though I’m doing what I was put on earth to do; I practice Reiki and I’m studying to become a counsellor as well. I get to use these tools I’ve learnt on clients too and I feel so connected to the people I tattoo and other tattoo artists. I hate getting tattooed as I’m a huge baby, but the powerful feeling of having another piece of art on me forever reminds me how clients must feel! 

I would describe my style as traditional, playful, feminine and illustrative with a pastel and muted colour palette. In the future I’d love to concentrate on traditional style pieces covered in glitter effects, pink and gold! 

I am massively inspired by history in my flash sheets and tattoo designs. I’m obsessed with the Tudor period; there’s something so magic about castles, weapons, royal flags and embroideries. I also love traditional styles of tattoo flash, but with the colour palette of mustard, gold, pink, mint and maroon.

I like the idea that something tough can be beautiful; women can soften anything!

I love tattooing flash sheet pieces; I only ever tattoo them once, so I like knowing that it’s been tailored colour wise to the client specifically. I do, however, love connecting with a client and understand them more to do a custom piece!