Tag: Redwood Tattoo

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Interview With Chris Green

We chat to 24-year-old Chris Green, who tattoos out of Redwood Tattoo Studio in Manchester about his love for anything out of the ordinary, his guest spot plans and his own impressive tattoo collection…

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When did you begin tattooing? I’ve been tattooing full time for three years since finishing my apprenticeship, so I still feel very new to everything!

What inspired you and what drew you to the tattoo world? I grew up playing in bands, drawing and writing music. I came to realise that there wasn’t much chance of  me making a living in the music industry and what little money I did have I spent on getting tattooed. I think I needed a career that was still creative, but one where I could be my own boss and work for myself. Tattooing was perfect, I just wish I had thought of it sooner.

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How would you describe your style, has it changed? My favourite style of tattooing is traditional and that’s what I started with. I love tattoos that actually look like tattoos so I try to keep the traditional structures of tattooing in my work whilst showing my love for classical art in my designs.

What would you love to tattoo? What do you particularly love doing? I feel as though I’m quite lucky, as people ask me to do some amazing pieces already, but my favourite things to draw are probably ladies, animals and anything out of the ordinary or a bit weird. I’ve also been enjoying working on big projects like backs and fronts recently, I’d love to start more!

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What inspires your work, do any other artist influence you? I’ve always been mostly inspired by classic art – the Renaissance and baroque periods in particular. I spent some time in Italy and Greece last year and I was fascinated by the architecture and sculptures. I came back to England with tons of amazing references and spent the rest of that year trying to include stories and mythologies into my work. I’m always looking for new inspiration and often find it in the most basic everyday things. Of course, a bunch of tattoo artists also inspire me too!

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Do you have any conventions or guest spots planned? Conventions and guest spots aren’t my strongest points (and by that I mean I don’t really do them), but I would love to start travelling more. I did my first guest spot a couple of months ago at Jayne Doe in Essex to see how much I’d freak out, and I did majorly (mouth full of ulcers, ate half a slice of toast over three days). Everybody was nice there and I became good friends with Becca who owns the shop so I think that helped. I’ll be making regular(ish) trips back there, next being in October. I’ll be at Salon Serpent in Amsterdam in September and hopefully working the next Brighton convention. Also I’m in the middle of figuring some dates out for a few spots in America next year.

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Can you tell us a little bit about your own tattoo collection? I’ve been lucky enough to get tattooed by some great artists (probably forgot a few) such as Eckel, Mitch Allenden, Dan Molloy, Cassandra Frances, Ashley Love, Alex Bage, Lars Uwe and Lauren Sutton and Dale Sarok who I work with. I’ve pretty much always given each artist complete freedom so I have all kinds of subject matter. Lars has tattooed probably the majority of my body and I imagine he’ll probably tattoo what’s left, which scarily isn’t as much space as I thought.

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Redwood Tattoo, Manchester

Established in October 2014, Redwood Tattoo Studio is already carving out a name for itself in the city of Manchester. The studio is home to four custom tattoo artists, each with their own style of artwork. A hand-picked, close-knit team that are as dedicated to the design stage, as they are with the quality of the final tattoo.

Chelsea Ladish specialises predominantly in watercolour and line-based pieces, Lauren Sutton in unique geometric and custom dotwork. Kieran Barnard translates his beautiful sketches onto the skin with bold lines complimenting the fluidity of his designs, and last but certainly not least, Chris Green is producing piece after piece of consistently solid neo-traditional.

With an underground vibe, Redwood is proving to be a new little gem in the already diverse and popular Northern Quarter. All enquiries can be made to redwoodtattoostudio@gmail.com or 0161 258 9252.

 

 

INTERVIEW WITH CHELSEA LADISH:

How did you get into tattooing? Becoming a tattoo artist is something that happened pretty organically for me. I have always had a healthy interest in the art of tattoos, and started my personal collection at the age of 19. It wasn’t until I was working in Brisbane, Australia, that I met the man who would eventually train me. I had booked into Westside tattoo studio, in the West End there, and chosen Lawrence Hocking to do my souvenir tattoo. I actually had to cancel my original appointment because I was moving home to England to drum for a band down south, but he overheard me chatting to the receptionist and managed to squeeze me in on his day off! I’ll always be thankful for that, because after leaving the band a year later, he offered me an apprenticeship at his new studio, Seventh Circle. I was incredibly lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful, dedicated artists. He took a chance on me, and I still appreciate that every day.

Backpiece by Chelsea Ladish

How would you describe your style? If I were to say I had a particular style, it would be a mixture of watercolour and lowbrow. I tend to use a lot of watercolour and black inks on my paintings, and that has bled across into the way I tattoo. I’m pretty changeable though, and like to try new things. I like that when artists develop as individuals, and experience different things in their own lives , it can be seen in what they create.

Robin Williams by Chris Green


How long have you been tattooing for? I have been tattooing since the summer of 2009.

Dotwork Raccoon by Lauren Sutton

Where do you get your inspiration from? I often get inspiration from the people that I surround myself with. I think on a personal level, I also draw inspiration from nostalgia, and the places that I have been/people that I’ve met along the way, fragments of time. I’ve always been quite wrapped up in keeping time. Journals, excessive amounts of photographs, all the good stuff. If you pay attention to these things, they can offer an infinite level of inspiration. There’s a richness to the small things that can often be overlooked. On a more superficial level, the artwork of bands that I loved growing up (particularly DEVO), skateboard culture graphics, 80’s popular culture and film, lowbrow artists such as Robert Crumb… I have a lot of time for Robert Crumb.

Inverted shaded skull by Kieran Barnard

If you weren’t a tattoo artist, what else would you be? There are a lot of things I’d like to try. I’d like a restaurant, the kind with a Cheers vibe, where everybody knows your name. I’d also get a huge kick out of making documentaries. Learning about different cultures and lifestyles for a living. I can definitely think of worse things.