Tattoo artist Archives - Page 26 of 28

January 15, 2016

Interview with Morg Armeni

Our Italian contributor Ilaria Pauletti chatted to Morg Armeni a travelling tattooist and artist, about how Morg puts her soul into everything she does and how her passion for life is felt by all…

Your style is very traditional but you have put your own stamp on the genre, did you choose to tattoo in this way or did it choose you? It’s nice to think that ‘he’ chose me, and it can be true, in some ways. I love to put my own sort on magic into the tattoos I do. I actually use symbols that are familiar to me, coming from art, my musical background, and everything I like. Then I recreate an image that conceptually can be interpreted in various ways.
I like to imagine an idea, but also its opposite, both in colours and shapes. The contrasts are what make the difference.

When did you fall in love with art and tattoos? Since I was very small, even in kindergarten, my grandfather used to take me to Staglieno (a monumental cemetery in Genova). I could stay there for hours, I was fascinated by those beautiful statues and bas-reliefs.
I started drawing when I was 12-years-old, and I went to see my first exhibition, well the first I chose to see, which was Dalí After that I fell even more in love with art. At art school, in addition to learning the techniques of drawing, I studied the history of art and I loved ancient and medieval art. My love for tattoos was born from a fascination with the mystery and the underground scene in the 80s. All my musical idols were tattooed, and it was also thanks to them that I wanted to be tattooed.

It seems like you have a sixth sense when you are about to create something for your clients, you always find the best way to draw any subject. What are your methods for researching and creating a tattoo? I try to get to know the client first and understand how I can translate their idea into a tattoo. I prepare a first drawing and then I simplify it, sometimes I also use photographs as references to edit my subjects. Often people are attracted to my imagination, and I think I accurately transform what a clients wants into a drawing.I like it when they trust my interpretation and my style of art.

Do tattoos leave a mark on your life, as much as on the client’s ?
Yes, of course! I put a lot of love into the creation of the subjects I tattoo. Often my customers and I reach a sort of harmony during the tattooing process and ritual which creates very positive vibrations that resurface when I happen to see them again.

There are many differences between your paintings and your tattoos. Can you tell us the main ones? The main differences are the canvas and the techniques. I have to consider that the skin changes and ages, and that my customers will have my tattoos forever on their skin. With regard to the tattoo, I try to make sure that the subject represents and fits the wearer. I play with the customer’s ideas until the concept becomes a workable tattoo. That’s why I love sharp lines and contrasts.

In painting, I am definitely more surreal and visionary. For instance, I love micro realistic details for my paintings, but you won’t see many of them in my tattoos. I am in constant evolution in both fields, and both have my dedication.

You have some really amazing pieces (by Rob Admiraal and Rudy Fritsch, just to name a few). Who else have you been tattooed by? Who do you plan to get tattooed by in the future?
I’m very proud of my tattoos and they make me happy, and these two guys you mentioned have been among the greatest inspiration I have had.
I also have pieces by Amanda Toy, Monga, Angelique Houtkamp and many others! I have a lot of talented friends from whom I would like to be tattooed by.
The list never ends!

I am still so in love with the artwork you created that was exhibited at Somerset House. Can you tell us more about the whole process? I was excited when I got asked to contribute to this great event! I gave it my all to create something worthy of a museum like Somerset House.

It took me a month to decide what to paint, but it came to me in a dream and I created Flora’s clock. It really exists and is composed of different species of flowers, from all around the world, that open or close at a given time, so the flowers can be used like a clock to tell the time. The painting represents time, seasons, beauty, inner growth and realization of what we are, in the here and in the now.
Now I am also focused on some new paintings that will be exhibited in March at my solo show in Rome.

Can you tell us why you decided to close your own studio in Genova? I let go a part of my life, yes. I closed my studio because I wanted to change, taking off a bit of bureaucracy, only dedicating myself to art and creation.
I will surely do some guest spots in London and in Milan, (Milano City Ink and Oink Farm) and now I’m living in Rome and guesting in some great studios.

And finally do you have any personal advice for our readers?
I highly recommend to people, and also to myself, to spread positive feelings, as much as possible! So that we can change and affect more and more the reality around us and to improve the world in which we all live. It’s hard work but we can do it!

January 4, 2016

Interview with Hannah Willison

Hannah Willison is a travelling artist who creates bright and bold gemetric tattoos featuring every aspect of nature. We chat to Hannah about her experimental style and what inspires her work…

How long have you been tattooing? How did you get into it? Five years so far. I was offered an apprenticeship at a local studio in Exeter. After a year, the owner decided he didn’t want another tattoo artist. So, I left that studio and set up a market stall selling my own graphic t-shirts and hand painted converse. One day when I was working on the stall, the owner of another local studio approached me. She really liked the artwork I’d painted on the shoes, and asked if I’d ever considered becoming a tattoo artist. She offered me an apprenticeship on the spot. The opportunity was a gift from the universe, and I was grateful for the second chance. So, I closed my stall and the rest is history.

What were you doing before? I was working as a model in London and internationally.

Do you have a background in art? I attended an art foundation course and dropped out after a month. I didn’t pursue further education after that. I’m pretty much self taught. Drawing and painting has always been a form of self expression for me, something I’ve always enjoyed doing in my spare time.

How would you describe your style? It’s hard for me to pin-point a particular style. I like to mix and collage monotone illustrations with coloured graphic/geometric elements. My style of work is constantly evolving and changing. Each new design is a process of discovery.

What kinds of things do you like to tattoo and draw? Up until now I’ve mostly drawn, painted, and tattooed animal designs. As a vegan I like exploring themes related to our connection with nature, and concepts related to human and animal consciousness.

What inspires you? Nature. Everything related to the natural world interests me. Also travelling. I take inspiration from what I see, i.e. old architecture and street art.

I’ve recently joined The London Library, and feel like a child in a sweet shop when I’m there. I’ve fallen in love with their old collection of 18th century books. I enjoy looking through vintage natural history illustrations. Aside from this, I like the ‘Lowbrow’ art scene- Mark Ryden, Lori Earley, Tara Mcpherson are a few artists I admire.

Do you have any guest spots planned or conventions? Yes, I plan to travel a lot in 2016. I will continue to guest at The Family Business in London, I’ll also be working in Berlin, France, and New York.

Can you tell us about your own tattoos? I have a dotwork sleeve by Tomas at Into You.This was my first piece and it’s my only piece at the moment.

December 29, 2015December 29, 2015

Interview with Ali Samantha

31-year-old Ali Samantha works out of Mom’s Tattoo in San Francisco and creates dark traditional style tattoos. We chatted to Ali about how she got started in the industry, the artists that influence her work and her dark sad girls…

How did you start tattooing? How long have you been tattooing? I started tattooing almost ten years ago under a bizarre set of circumstances. I have to give a lot of credit to my Schwinn bicycle because if I hadn’t been riding by a particular tattoo shop at a particular time on it I might never have become a tattooer. I started out with a lot of help and guidance from Devon Blood of Oakland California and put in a few years working the counter and watching other people tattoo at Sacred Tattoo which is also in Oakland. Devon taught me about passion and dedicating one’s life and body to tattooing. I learned a lot of things through trial and error honestly. I had a lot of people come into my life at really important times.

What did you do before, do you have a background in art? So I’ve been tattooing for almost ten years, professionally for about 7 or 8 years. I’ve been in a few different art schools but was not what I would consider a visual artist. I really didn’t start drawing all the time until I started tattooing. When I was in school my focus was on writing but I took drawing classes as well, I just wasn’t very good at it.

Prior to tattooing I worked in a lot of restaurants and a couple retail stores. I had a short and unsuccessful stint where I tried to sell handmade shirts with a corresponding mixtape. That would have been cooler if it had worked out. I have realized over the years that I need to do things that keep me completely preoccupied and busy, things that are all consuming. And if there could also be a constant presence of mild to severe anxiety involved that’s even better. So tattooing is perfect for me.

What inspires you? I get inspired by all sorts of things. Women, other tattooers, architecture, smut, art, movies, music, comics, books. I love that over the years this thing has developed where I’ll look at a person or a piece of art or something and go “that’d make a cool tattoo.” Being a bit of a creep really helps with that.

How would you describe your style? I would say the style I most admire and enjoy doing is traditional tattooing. I think that with the exception of a few stand by rules traditional has come to mean something more than I ever thought it could. Which is amazing. I love that something formulaic can be manipulated, played with and even distorted. People out there are doing some crazy shit.

What kinds of things do you like to draw and tattoo? The things I most enjoy drawing are women, hands, reapers, hearts, eyeballs, flowers. I’ve always been drawn to images of women. Bodies can mimic architecture can mimic the human form. Which I find very interesting. I’m also really drawn to vintage flash. The tattooers before me knew what was up. Of course I enjoy tattooing things I draw but I’m also always down for walk in tattoos. When I was younger I had a lot of problems with depression and I noticed that every time I got tattooed I felt better. Adrenaline is super cool. Anyhow, I felt like that was a gift and I wanted to be able to offer that to other people too. So if someone needs a memorial tattoo or just something to make them feel better I have an equal appreciation for that as well.

Do you admire other tattoo artists? Do they influence your work? I am ABSOLUTELY influenced by other tattooers. I’ve had the privilege of working with some amazing people that I still keep in close contact with. Olivia Olivier is my number one crush in tattooing. She got me into this amazing life drawing class her mother teaches that has absolutely changed how I draw. She has shared references, tricks and tips with me and I am so glad that I know her. And she CRUSHES daily.

There are just too many good tattooers out there to list them all! I also work with a really solid crew of guys who push me to be more productive, to paint, to draw, to not hate myself or what I draw so much. I think (like most people) I am my own worst critic so it has been really helpful to have worked with so many supportive people who are just like “shut the fuck up, that drawing is sick just do it”. My little sister just started tattooing too and she has been an integral part of my support system for years.

We love your moody dark girls are these inspired by anyone in particular? I was asked where my moody dark girls come from and I honestly don’t know. They just showed up one day. I can say that my favorite depictions of women are the ones that are dark, dramatic and emotional. Powerful. Growing up I was often referred to as too sensitive, shy or emotional, so I think I relate more to people who seem to have a lot on their minds or carry a certain sadness with them. Happy people generally make me at the least suspicious, at the most uncomfortable. Which isn’t to say that I am never happy. I have my moments. I think it’s just that if I had to pick between a smiling girl and one on the verge of tears, I’d probably choose the crying girl.

Can you tell us about your own tattoos? A lot of my personal tattoos happened on slow days in tattoo shops. I collect mostly traditional tattoos, and I have gotten tattooed by close friends as much as strangers. My back piece was done by Jason Phillips at FTW tattoo and it was the coolest most fucked up experience ever. Jason walked me through it with kindness and humor which was greatly appreciated. My first tattoos were little memorial pieces for my dad and grandpa.

December 21, 2015

Interview with Yle Vinil

Our Italian contributor Ilaria Pauletti chatted to tattoo artist Yle Vinil who lives in Bergamo but works all around the world…

Long eyelashes and red cheeks: these are two of the recognisable elements we can find both in her tattoos and in the artist herself! In this interview, Vinil talks about how it all began, revealing a more intimate view of her tattoo world, among Dolomites, childhood memories and bicycle rides!

How did you get into the world of tattooing? Did you immediately know that it would become an integral part of your life or it was just part of a gradual process?
I basically entered on tiptoe. When I was 18 I got my first tattoo, to commemorate a person who was very important to me, and I had lost a few years before.
I actually had never been attracted to tattoos before, and I did not get tattooed to be cool or to look different, but just to have a memory.
From that moment on, I fell completely in love with tattoos and a few years later I joined a tattoo studio as an assistant.

Year after year, your style becomes even more recognisable. Do the emotions you feel when creating a design and then a tattoo, remain the same? Every time I undertake a new adventure, when I guest in a new studio, I always feel emotional. Travelling makes me savour the beauty of my work, separating me from the routines of life. I must admit that sometimes we forget, while creating a tattoo, that we are creating something more or less important to the customer and that will be forever on skin.

Have you always drawn characters, or have these developed over time? Like all the things, even my characters have their own story, and their birth occurred absolutely randomly. When I started tattooing I tattooed almost every kind of style, it’s a typical thing in the beginning of any tattoo artist’s career (or at least it should be).
One day, a friend who left a few years earlier to London, returned home for a short break, and he asked me to tattoo something on him. I gave him a little strapping man, because of the courage he had shown by moving abroad on his own. The character had a giant head and blue moustache. From that day on, people started asking me to tattoo in that style.

Who and what inspired you during your journey?
When you manage to find your own expressive channel of communication, you realise that in the end it’s like drawing yourself. And what we are is what we see, what we love, what affects us. Certainly, in the early days, my striking inspiration was Amanda Toy.
I have always been attracted by illustrations for children and I think that this is in general what continues to inspire me a lot.

What makes a good tattoo and what would you like to change?
The fixed point for a good tattoo is definitely the impact: not too many elements or too many details, I love the immediacy of a good tattoo and not too much confusion.
There is not a definite thing I would like to change: I am always looking for an evolution, that extra step.

Following you on Instagram, I can see that you are a huge fan of cycling, mountains and strudel! Are these elements linked to your childhood? How would you define them? I am very passionate about mountains, and then also of strudel and cycling and elements in my life always link to them.
I have been following cycling activities with my father since I was little. While watching the Tour of Italy on the mountain stages, I always looked forward to the Dolomites, the places where I have always spent my holidays since I was born, and with whom I am linked with by a strong bond. There, I always find my peace, and these are places I like to call, quoting Tenco (Luigi Tenco), “my place in the world.”

What aspects of your imagination do you draw upon when you create tattoos? I do not have a definition, I only know what I am not and that many people get confused when they see my work. To many my work is seen as fancy and fantastical. Like I created it with a mind full of unicorns, fairies and candy. Although I think there is a lot of sweetness in my work, I wouldn’t class my style as fairytale-esque.

How do you like to work with your clients? And, most importantly, what is the stage of the process that absorbs you the most?
I always design at the time of the appointment, just before the tattoo session.
I love this approach because it is the most direct: I discuss directly with the client, I can understand what they want. The designing stage definitely absorbs me the most.

I heard you love to call yourself ‘old inside’ and you love the Italian singers of a few decades ago. Do you feel nostalgic toward an era that you could not live fully? Do you think this is reflected in your work?
Old inside is absolutely the perfect definition for me.
I think I have a bit retro/old fashioned taste, and I sometimes have a nostalgic aura about those golden years. The notion that I long for a world that I cannot live in definitely shines through my work.

Who have you been tattooed by over the years? I have had the fortune of getting tattooed by many tattoo artists, some became great friends: Gianni Orlandini, Nik The Rookie, Francesco Garbuggino, Marco Luzz, Pepe and Angelique Houtkamp.

Are you planning any other guest spots?
I have scheduled some guest spots in Paris, Berlin and Moscow! And I hope to return to London with my friends at Cloak and Dagger tattoo shop.

Is there a particular subject you would like to tattoo?
There isn’t a particular one. What I always hope is that in the proposals I receive there could be something I haven’t done yet!

December 19, 2015

Winter Tattoos

With the dark cold nights drawing in and frosty mornings suddenly appearing. We thought we would share some of our favourite tattoos inspired by all things winter…