Tattoo artist Archives - Page 23 of 28

August 29, 2016August 4, 2022

Interview with Georgina Liliane

23-year-old Georgina Liliane is a tattoo artist based at Intense Colours in Southampton, who is now currently working and travelling across Canada. We chatted to Georgina about what inspires her and the guest spots she has planned while travelling…

How long have you been tattooing? Including my apprenticeship four years and still constantly learning.

How did you start? What did you do before? I drew designs for friends and my close friends got tattooed by my mentor and he was about to open a studio and was looking for an apprentice. My friends recommended me to the studio and they had a look at my work and I was offered an apprenticeship. At the time I was just about to finish my foundation in illustration so it was perfect timing as I didn’t want to go to university at all!

Do you have a background in art? I have always been drawing since I can remember, I studied fine art at college and illustration at uni.

Lucky Cat - Georgina Liliane

What drew you to the tattoo world? I remember being at school and loved flicking through tattoo magazines and pictures online (instead of doing work I needed to do of course). I loved the bright colours and bold style of traditional tattoos.

How would you describe your style, has it changed? In my very early years of tattooing I drew in more of a traditional style, it wasn’t very distinct at first but through practise and patience I started to draw delicate, illustrative and more feminine designs, mostly animal and nature related.

Verity Peacock

What do you like to tattoo and draw? My favourite tattoos to do are cats, any animal, gothic/halloween related and pop culture related designs such as Studio Ghibli, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, all of which I’m a huge fan of!

What inspires you? Classical art and vintage postcards are something I frequently look at. I went to the Robert Bateman gallery on Vancouver Island and his paintings were beautiful. Although incredibly detailed he focuses mainly on creating a certain mood to be felt when viewing his paintings, and adding other details that wouldn’t necessarily be seen at first glance, which I found interesting and something I could take inspiration from.

Patronus (1)

What would you love to tattoo? And what would you refuse to do? I would love to do larger scale pieces in the future, I wouldn’t want to do anything that could be offensive. I often turn away certain cover up tattoos if the old tattoo is difficult or too dark to cover, I always suggest to laser the tattoo to lighten it. This means less limitation on what could be tattooed over it.

Do you have any guest spot or conventions planned? So far I’ve worked on Vancouver Island at Painted Lotus, Vancouver at Gastown Parlour, I’m about to start working at Scythe and Spade in Calgary, followed by the Montreal Convention in September. Then I’ll be working at Deathless tattoo in Montreal, and in Ottawa I’ll be at Ink Spot. That’s all I’ve planned so far! I’m nervous for the convention as it’ll be the first one I’ve done by myself and in another country can be quite daunting. But everyone in Canada has been so friendly and helpful and I’ve settled in quickly.

halloween bats

Can you tell us about your own tattoos? Both of my sleeves have been done by the very talented Antony Flemming, I love them as everyday there’s a new detail I didn’t see before. I’ve done a couple of tattoo trades with my friends Ashley Luka and Charlotte Timmons both stupidly lovely and talented artists in Birmingham. I still have a lot of space and ideas for future tattoos for myself, I’d love it if I can get a tattoo from Sam Smith who I’ll be working with in Calgary, but if not I’ll be more than happy to sit and watch her work and hopefully learn a thing or two!

August 16, 2016August 4, 2022

Interview with Melodie Perrault

26-year-old Melodie Perrault tattoos out of Tattoo Lounge MTL in Montreal, Canada and creates detailed line work tattoos inspired by the funny things that happen in her life. We chat to Melodie about her style and what drew her to the tattoo world…

Photo taken by Monsiieur

How did you start? What did you do before? I have been tattooing for four or five years professionally. I’ve always been in love with tattoos, I used to draw all over my body. I just bought a shitty machine on the internet and tried to learn by myself when I was 18. I was in art school back then, studying art and graphic design, and I worked in a sex shop, before that a Boardshop.

melodie

What drew you to the tattoo world? I just love it. I love the fact that people get an illustration they love so much they want to see it forever. It’s wild but it’s such a big commitment.

Melodie1

How would you describe your style, has it changed in any way? I only use black ink, so dot work and line work with lots of details. I always drew the same way, kind of –the only thing that has changed is that I used to do a little bit of colour and I don’t anymore. I love tattooing the things I do, I only do tattoos that I want to do in my own style.

IMG_2296 (1)

What inspires your drawings and tattoos? I love to draw and tattoo animal, devils and naked ladies. With my illustrations I try to be a little bit funny, so I’ll think of funny things in life and draw that. My own body is covered in the things I love.

August 4, 2016August 4, 2022

Interview with Katie Shocrylas

31-year-old tattoo artist Katie Shocrylas tattoos out of a private studio in Vancouver, BC, Canada and creates mesmerising and bright tattoos inspired by the beauty of nature. We chatted to Katie to find out more about her distinctive style and what drew her to the tattoo world…

Screen Shot 2016-05-13 at 8.48.08 AM

Photo taken by rolydee.com

How long have you been tattooing? I have been tattooing full-time for about four years.

How did you start? What did you do before? I became fascinated with tattooing about a year after finishing art school, while I was travelling and started getting tattooed myself. After my apprenticeship I ended up going back to school for art therapy; I took a bit of a roundabout route but ultimately found my way back to tattooing and haven’t stopped since. Now, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

I did a lot of different things before I got into tattooing: I spent four years completing a Bachelor of Fine Art degree, a year travelling in New Zealand, and in the time between then and the beginning of my tattoo career had a variety of different jobs in the service industry. My apologies to anyone who got me as a server, I was always terrible at waiting tables and serving drinks!

Do you have a background in art? I have always drawn and painted, and have an undergraduate degree in visual art specialising in mixed media figure drawing and painting. I also danced semi- professionally until I was 18.

What drew you to the tattoo world? I have always loved the fact that tattooing allows you to make one-on-one connections with other people through images. I think it’s a really unique way to make even just a small difference in someone else’s life, and being able to learn a little bit about their experiences by creating a piece of really personal artwork for them. I am drawn to the directness of drawing directly onto someone’s body; tattoos are aesthetic and I love that they’re a way for people to adorn their skin with images they find beautiful and/or significant – I see tattoos as a movement towards self love and often acceptance and healing. Also, it’s really, really fun and super rewarding to be able to make art for people every day!

How would you describe your style, how has it changed? I always have a hard time describing my style but I suppose I would say I do illustrative, vibrant, somewhat neo-traditional and mostly animal-based tattoos. Over the past few years, I feel my work has become a little freer and more whimsical – my line work has definitely evolved to have a bit more of a sense of naturalism to it. Also, I find myself working with bright colour schemes in a way that combines black and neutral tones to contrast the hyper-vibrant rainbow palettes I love so much. I think my sense of colour is becoming more refined and I’m really enjoying the depth that results from that.

What do you like to tattoo and draw? Animals! Crystals! Anything that grows in nature. I love doing pet portraits, anything magical or whimsical, food tattoos are really fun (fruits and veggies and anything sweet), patterns, ornamentation, anything that combines the real world with an imagined world.

What inspires you? I am inspired by nature, pop culture (especially anything from the 80s), travel, and lots of other artists (tattoo and otherwise, both past and contemporary).

What would you love to tattoo? I really want to do more pop culture tattoos – think X Files, drag queens, iconic musicians, 80s inspired imagery. I’d also love to do more insects, snakes, and exotic as well as mythological animals. I really want to tattoo a zebra, if anyone’s keen!

Do you have any guest spot or conventions planned? I’ll be part of Art Basel again this December with my lovely sponsors Hush Anesthetics! Otherwise I am going to be primarily in Vancouver for the remainder of 2016 as I’ve been on the road a lot this past year and am looking forward to a few months at home. However, I am in the beginning stages of planning some North American and UK guest spots for 2017. I am also planning on heading back to Brighton for the convention in 2017, I was part of the convention this year and had a blast.

Can you tell us about your own tattoos? Half of the tattoos on my arms are cover ups, and my favourite tattoos rarely see the light of day – I’ve got a little collection of animals on my legs (a horse, toucan, squirrel, puppy, kittens – still lots of space on my one leg to fill with more creatures!) Steve Moore is doing a full backpiece for me, we’re two sessions in, I’m pretty excited about that as his work has inspired me since before I even started tattooing.

July 28, 2016August 4, 2022

Interview with Karolina Skulska

25-year-old Karolina Skulska tattoos out of Kult Tattoo Fest in Krakow, Poland and creates wonderful floral tattoos. We chatted to Karolina about the natural world that inspires her and how she started tattooing…

How long have you been tattooing? It’s been two years since I took hold of a machine for the first time. But I’m not sure if my first steps could even have been called tattooing!

How did you start? What did you do before? Before I was studying journalism but after a short time I realised that the work didn’t suit me. During that time I was a customer of Kult Tattoo Fest and was getting tattooed by Edek. One day I noticed that guys from TF Mag (magazine about tattoos which is released by people who are a part of Kult team) were looking for another editor. As a journalism student and tattoo fanatic I was a good candidate. I worked there for few years and was drawing a lot of the time, I was tottally absorbed in the tattoo industry.

Do you have a background in art? I didn’t graduate from art school or academy, but I was always drawing a lot and also taking some drawing lessons. I was doing it for no real reason, but I felt that it might be useful in the future.

What drew you to the tattoo world? Since I remember I’ve felt that there’s something in tattoos that attracts me more than other people. When I was under the legal age I was begging my parents to let me get my first tattoo. Then work in TF Mag showed me this tattoo world from the inside. Doing interviews with tattoo artists was helping me to become more more interested in the craft. I wanted to try the things they were talking about and understand them. Now it’s my greatest passion and job all in one.

Describe your style, has it changed? I don’t think it has changed, my career is too short for big changes. I call myself a tattoo florist, because I love to put lots of flowers into my works, lots of leaves and other botanical aspects. It looks great on all body types as it’s easy to fit the anatomy lines of the body. I use strong outlines but in the same time add small details, I love pastel colours and dotwork.

What do you like to tattoo and draw? What inspires you? As I mentioned, nature is the most inspiring thing for me. In my camera roll I have more photos of botanical elements than food and selfies combined. I love drawing these things, I find a great sense of pleasure from the dots, lines and floral designs.

What would you love to tattoo? And what would you refuse to do? I don’t have a list of stuff I want to do, I simply love all tattoos. Colouring people and using machines is great fun and pure happiness for me, so I just want to do it! I will refuse to do motives that are harmful for other people like racist symbols etc. and I’m also not into religious stuff. I also refuse to make designs that I know will look really bad after a few years, like very small and detailed stuff or super fashionable white ink tattoos.

Do you have any guest spot or conventions planned? This summer I will go to Trondheim for a few guest spot for sure, but as I was travelling a lot last month I’ll probably take a break. Then I’ll start guest spotting with renewed energy next year.

Can you tell us about your own tattoos? Most of them are made by Edek, but you can also find on me works of Piotr Bemben, Bartek Kos, Marie Kraus, Davee, Mazak, Kay Lee. Most of my tattoos were spontaneous and creates in the happy moments of my life.

July 13, 2016August 4, 2022

Interview with Tatiana Sandberg

27-year old tattoo artist Tatiana Sandberg works out of her own little place in Montevideo, Uruguay. We chatted to Tatiana about how she started tattooing and her neotraditional style…

How long have you been tattooing? I’ve been tattooing for something like three years now. It was a bit slow at the beginning, just doing one or two small tattoos a week, so I’ve just been tattooing seriously for a bit less than that.

How did you start? What did you do before? It all started quite randomly. I always drew and someone that saw potential in me offered to teach me how to put a tattoo machine together. I didn’t trust myself that much at the beginning, so I was just doing it for fun. At that moment I was studying architecture in college and that was taking most of my time. I slowly, and without noticing, became more and more interested in tattooing than my actual career, so I gradually started changing my priorities. Until one day I found myself tattooing every day! By that time I was getting tattooed a lot by a guy I admire a lot and took a great part in my growing enthusiasm for tattooing. So I can say I got all my basics from seeing him tattoo me.

10540724_10153376119029720_1758875443265069865_o

Do you have a background in art? Since I was a little girl my parents encouraged me to go to painting, drawing and ceramic classes, probably they needed a break from having two energetic kids, but it turned out pretty well for me in the end. I’ve been drawing and painting since I can remember, and always brings me a lot of joy. Also, my father is a very artistic person, I used to see his drawings from when he was young and the first thing that came to mind was “Wow, I want to be able to do this”. That’s why in a way I took architecture as a career path, I wanted to do something related to designing and being creative, but in the end it didn’t turn out as I expected and ended dropping out after many years of studying. I also studied graphic design and did some digital drawing things some time ago, but it just isn’t my cup of tea.

10403935_10153954525159720_9059119431451740723_o

What drew you to the tattoo world? I guess it was my taste for tattoos and how you can let out so many things by getting tattooed. I started to realise how happy I became every time I got tattooed and that probably helped me get more involved in the tattoo world. I really love the happy faces on people when they see their tattoos done, after all the pain. All the stories behind every design and even if it sounds dumb, how they are still there when people come back to you for a new piece. It still amazes me!

Describe your style, has it changed? I guess my style has changed a bit over time. It became more complex in lines and colours. I used to draw really basic figures when I started so I could do them properly, without taking much time because I used to be really slow at tattooing. Also, my drawing has evolved a lot but I try to keep it simple and clean, so it can be understood at a glance. I guess I would categorise my stuff as neotraditional, but with a quite caricaturist twist, a bit more playful, less serious. I get a lot of inspiration from anime and comics, like how I use colours and really thick lines.

12401791_10153800596259720_8404016637069894256_o

What do you like to tattoo and draw? I like drawing and tattooing mostly everything I can find a way to fit into my drawing style, it is hard to explain, but I really try to make all my tattoos have something in common, so they can be easily recognisable. I do have a strong preference for drawing and tattooing girls, birds and cats, but I enjoy almost everything.

What inspires you? I would say mostly music and observing. I’ve done a bunch of drawings based on songs, taking the name, the lyrics, or just the music to create something out to if. Looking at other artists work is also very inspiring to me, I admire a lot of people and it’s incredible to be able to see their progress as artists and encourage myself to work harder. Also vintage magazines and drawings, where I take most of my ideas from when I’m drawing.

12363076_10153732316244720_4122737366387081740_o (1)

What would you love to tattoo? And what would you refuse to do? I’d love to tattoo more girls actually. I’ve been drawing a lot of that lately and I really enjoy it. And there’s never enough cats !
I would refuse to tattoo anything that defers from my style of drawing. But it’s not a definite no to those who ask, I like to offer an alternative to those things as long as the other person likes my stuff and is willing to take a suggestion.

Do you have any guest spot or conventions planned? For now I only know that I’ll be tattooing in Buenos Aires, at the begging of August, Stockholm in September and October, and Panama city during January.

13235537_10154155669659720_6719658033685772807_o

Can you tell us about your own tattoos? Well, my own tattoos are a mix of really different things, as I really like a lot of tattooers and styles. I have anime characters, really girly designs, blackwork, churches on fire and a lot of cats! I’m actually quite near to finishing my cat sleeve, that’s my right arm. I really want to have at least one piece of all my favourite tattooers, so, as long as I still have space left, I’m planning to get new things.