Tattoo artist Archives - Page 27 of 28

December 10, 2015

Interview with Han Maude

22-year-old Han Maude works out of Jekyll & Hyde Tattoo Company in Rugby Warwickshire and creates all manner of tattoos in solid dot work. We chatted to Han about her love for Disney and what inspired her to become a tattoo artist…

How long have you been tattooing? Two years

How did you get into the industry? I became very persistent about getting my foot in the door, took my portfolio around numerous studios, until someone took the chance and saw potential in my work.

When did you get your first tattoo, do you still love it? Unfortunately, I made the same mistake as most young insubordinate 16-year-olds did, and got tattooed at 16. Luckily for me I was realised quickly that it was a silly decision and had it covered up, once I was 18. It was an upside down ribbon with some stars on my wrist, so no, I really don’t love it.

What drew you to the tattoo world? I always wanted to get into the industry, I remember being about nine and having my own play tattoo studio in my wendy shed, parents of the local area weren’t happy when their children went home covered in permanent marker. I always liked the seemingly male orientated jobs, and its amazing to see the amount of female artists pushing beautiful work out in the industry.

What inspires you? I really fell in love with Studio Ghibli, and Japanese style anime, watching the films or spending an hour here or there with my nose in the animator’s books really inspired me too tattoo pieces like this.
I also spent some time in India last year, and the beautiful artwork was everywhere. While I was there a woman did some henna on my hand and completely freehanded the design, which made this stunning piece of art.
Obviously with sea, sun and sand it didn’t last long, but I couldn’t wait to get back home and start drawing.

You tattoo a lot of cartoons and Disney are these something you love? Disney really was something I always loved, I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who hasn’t loved Disney, in one way or another. Everyone wants a bit of sparkle in their life. And if I can be the person to do that, on someone’s skin forever, amazing! I’m a child at heart.
Anime was what really got me into tattooing, I loved it, I wanted to draw like it and produce pieces to the standard these illustrators was creating , it was 70% of my portfolio when I applied for apprenticeships.

Is there anything you wouldn’t tattoo? I remember maybe in my first year of tattooing, we had a guy come in and asked for EDL to be tattooed on the back of his head. I really couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I think I’d rather hang up my machines in a career I love than do something that could potentially cause offense or deemed racist.

Do you admire other artists? Definitely, the list goes on and on.
But a few of my favourite artists, would be Flo Nuttall, Amy Savage and Kolahari from the Circle London.

You predominately do dot work how did this come about? When I first started my apprenticeship, I wanted to do traditional and then neo trad, and then black and grey realism. I had a bit of a bad attitude, and wanted to find me niche quickly.
I saw all these amazing artists producing pieces like they had been doing it their entire life, I felt so behind. Then we had Ema Sweeney and Billy Hay guest spot at the studio, Ema is an amazing dotwork artist and I had maybe done one or two dotwork pieces and she really helped and gave a few pointers.
And everything after that started flowing, like my hand knew what it was doing before I did.

November 22, 2015

Tattoo Experience: You talkin’ to me?

In this post Anna Casey-Woodward a 24-year-old legal trainee from Oxford who spends the majority of her time knitting, baking and getting tattooed. She talks about her different experiences with getting getting tattooed by different artists…

For me, a large part of getting a new tattoo is meeting the artist and watching the illustration turn into a piece of beautiful body art. And for the most part, this has been my experience. However, there has been one occasion when poor communication with my tattooist almost led me to the dreaded tattoo regret…

Good communication with your tattooist stretches from your first email right until you are talking about aftercare. When I commissioned my tattoo, it was by an artist who I had Instagram-stalked for a long time and was in love with their style. I emailed them with a clear idea of what I wanted, where I wanted it and what my budget was. I was very detailed in my proposal and I hope the tattooist appreciated having such clear instructions. There was artistic licence and of course I wanted it in their style, but we both knew what the finished product was.

The deposit was paid, the appointment booked and the day soon came around. On the morning of the tattoo, I saw the sketch and was in love. I got to the studio and we worked around positioning the tattoo where I wanted it. Because of my career, I have to be careful that my tattoos are easily hidden and my tattooist was more than understanding about this and we got the position absolutely perfect. Then it was time to get the ink flowing! This was not going be a short tattoo, and at the time I was reasonably new to it, so I was a little nervous about managing to sit for so long. I don’t sit like a rock, as much as I want to, but was reassured by my tattooist that when it got too much we could take a little break or have some of that hallowed bactine! As a result, several hours later I had a beautiful tattoo which I adore.

Now to my less positive experience. This was a more impulsive tattoo, I was away on my honeymoon, but I still told the studio what I wanted and the tattoo was some four days later. It was something I had been thinking about getting for quite a while and I had a Pinterest board full of ideas. I had been assigned an artist who was guesting from over 4500 miles away, and I was really keen on the idea of getting art done by someone who I would probably never get the chance to see again.

I got to the studio, and had to wait a good half and hour before the artist was ready for me. During that time, I did a brief sketch of what I wanted (as I liked parts of several different illustrations I had found and wanted to put them all together) and collected my thoughts. When the tattooist was then free, I talked to them about that I had drawn and showed them my inspiration (I really am a terrible artist!). We had a quick discussion about bits of my idea that would not work as a tattoo and ways they could be substituted. The artist then disappeared for another forty five minutes and eventually reappeared with a sketch. They showed me the sketch and… well… I wasn’t sure.

It was obvious in that moment that the tattooist and I hadn’t been on the same page when we started. I went ahead despite my reservations, and the first part was soon done. We then started to talk about colours, and the situation didn’t really improve. I had ideas, they had ideas, and they didn’t match. I didn’t feel that comfortable talking to the tattooist as I felt they weren’t really listening. The tattoo went ahead as they had suggested and about half an hour later it was finished. Throughout the tattoo, the studio was playing floor-thumpingly loud music. As a result, there was not much of a chance to talk to the artist and I didn’t have a chance to say when the pain was too much. It hurt, and my leg bled. None of my other tattoos had ever bled outside of the studio, and this one bled all night. Did I go back to talk about after care and what to do? No, because I didn’t feel comfortable enough to go back.

However, there is a happy ending. The tattoo healed well and the next tattoo I had framed it really well. I was saved from that gut-wrenching feeling that a tattoo wasn’t quite what I had wanted, and I wasn’t sure if I really wanted it. My next tattoo is just under a month away, and I will be chatting my way to another wonderful piece of body art.

Have you had the same experiences as Anna? Has how an artist talks to you changed how you feel about a tattoo?

September 21, 2015

Interview with Tattoo Artist: Charlotte Ross

Tattoo artist Charlotte Ross is currently travelling around the UK guesting at different studios. We chatted to her about her tattoos that resemble paintings, her love for birds and her own tattoo collection…

How did you first start tattooing? When I was studying at university we had to do a work placement course. Having the opportunity to create our own placements, I managed to organise mine in a tattoo studio. I would help out, clean, ask questions, watch the tattooists work. By the end of it I didn’t want to leave! The owner of the studio asked to see my portfolio and then offered me an apprenticeship. I then began my apprenticeship in my final year of uni.

Do you have a background in art? What did you do before? I have six years studying art after leaving high school. Two years at college and then four years doing my BA Honours Degree in Fine art at university all before starting tattooing. I have now been tattooing over seven years.

How would you describe your style? I find it hard to describe my own work. I get put in the ‘watercolour tattoo’ bracket, but my work isn’t quite as soft as most watercolour tattoos are. When painting I don’t just use paint. All my art is done with layers of watercolour paints and pencil. So I can build strength where it is needed which gives a nice contrast between strong and soft areas. I tend to just say I do ‘painterly’ tattoos.

Have you always worked in a watercolour style? How did this develop? I feel like I’m just at the beginning of it developing. I’m at the point where I love the subjects I am getting and I’m confident in my tattooing ability, but I can see my work evolving and I’m excited to see how it grows.
Even though my work isn’t traditional there are still fundamental rules in tattooing that I still apply, so that my customers get a nicely healed tattoo. I have spent a lot of years doing a bit of everything in tattooing, which I believe every tattooist should do. And this has taught me the importance of lines, using the skin tone and contrast between light and dark. It’s that understanding that has helped to translate my paintings into tattoos.

What inspires you? Nature inspires me. I grew up in the country with a gardening family. So I’ve always been surrounded by nice gardens filled with lovely flowers, fields and animals.

You draw and tattoo a lot of animals, are these your main inspirations? Birds are my main love/inspiration. I love everything about them and have since I was young. If there is ever a moment where I don’t have something to draw up for a tattoo and I’m feeling uninspired, I’ll turn to researching birds to paint. I look at anything from bird books, to watching bird documentaries, or I turn to my own birds! Having domestic birds that I can closely watch and photograph is the greatest thing to keep me productively painting. My two birds are the best!

Is there anything you would love to tattoo? More birds! I would love to have some budgie tattoos to do! But birds and flower tattoos and I’m happy!

Can you tell us about the tattoos on your own body? I have quite a few pieces that I love and quite a few I’m not so bothered by! I wish I was a little more patient when I was younger, so I have a couple laser projects! Some of the ones I absolutely love are, my portrait of my dog Max, done by Marcus Maguire. My countryside rib piece including birds, rabbit and a wee mouse was done by Sarah Carter. I have a portrait of Marc Bolan on my thigh by Emma Kierzek and I love the side of my neck which is a rose with a locket in it by Steve Vinall.

September 15, 2015September 15, 2015

Interview with Tattoo Artist: Alessandro Lemme

Our Italian contributor Ilaria chatted to tattoo artist Alessandro Lemme who works out of Psycho Tattoo studio in Rome. His clean lines and selective colour palette lend themselves to the world of traditional tattoos.

When I first saw your work on Instagram, I knew right away that the tattoos had been made by an artist who had real passion in his blood. Did you always know you would become a tattooist? I don’t think it was a flash of inspiration but rather a path. It starting from painting and drawing (that I have always cultivated), and from the first tattoos seen on other people. It all developed gradually, as my interest for tattoos increased, not only the ones on myself but also the ones I made for others.

How do you feel now that you are doing what you love? Very lucky, and grateful.

What fascinates you the most about the history of tattooing? And tattooing itself? I believe that, in a world that is becoming increasingly abstract and dull, chained to masks and superficial appearances of yourself, the tattoo continues to be a powerful means of self-determination and concrete aesthetics. It is a re-appropriation of your own body and your own inner life, with flesh, blood and symbols, and therefore reality and truth.

The colours you use for your tattoos denote a great love for the past and at the same time they are traditional yet delicate. Do you agree? I hope so, although I do not think they are so unique and rare. I don’t know if we can call it nostalgia, but I think that wherever there is love and respect for the history and the past, there will always be good tattoo artists.

You can create a strong and fierce subject, like a tiger, and at the same time a romantic and mysterious one, like a mermaid. What are your everyday inspirations? The tattoo artists of the past, that’s for sure. I can produce and draw what I want, but I could never create something that coincides with my idea of tattooing without their inheritance. In my ideal tattoo shop, drawings are chosen from the flash sheets affixed to the walls. I do not think at all that perpetuating (even without inventing) is demeaning. There is no doubt that there are and have been great and brilliant innovators of style and iconography, but our world – at least up to a certain point and period – has often had little to do with the ‘real artists’, as it has been composed mostly by people who have just ‘done tattoos’.

What are the subjects you would like to tattoo but you havent’t yet? The Rock of Ages, perhaps the king among the subjects of traditional style. It’s my dream and I hope it will come true!

Tell us about the first tattoo you got and also about the most recent. Two different times on the same skin. What are the differences (if any)? My first tattoo was a Viking on my right shoulder, I was almost 17 years old. I remember that there wasn’t a lot of tattoo shops to choose from and the flash was limited: warriors, tribal and then fairies for girls! Coming from a metal environment, the decision of what subject to get wasn’t difficult! The last needles to hurt my skin were those who traced the lines of my back, by Alessandro Turcio. Two tigers fighting, immersed in vegetation, including palm trees, roses and butterflies. I think the difference consists essentially in the knowledge and preparation regarding the subject, and in the awareness of getting tattooed by an artist I trust.

Do you admire other artists? Do you have any values that you would never give up? I admire anybody who is sincere in what he does and who knows how to do it well. Both those who decide to remain stubbornly in the furrow and those who try to climb over it. Every person and artist who is good, skilled, experienced and humble.

How important is humility for you? Both in your life and in the customer/tattoo artist relationship. It often seems that those who are full of themselves manage to attract and convince as many customers as possible. I believe that, after all, it is nothing more than a state of mind, a distinctive feature of some characters: what brings you to consider yourself to be close to others, rather than constantly trying to walk over their head.

Will you be doing any guest spots abroad? Yes, I will be in London, at the Family Business, from 5th to 9th October!

August 18, 2015August 18, 2015

Interview with Tattoo Artist: Caroline Vitelli

Tattoo artist Caroline Vitelli works out of Brut, a private studio in Geneva and creates beautifully dark and illustrative tattoos. We chatted to her about the ancient art of skin sewing and what inspires her…

How long have you been tattooing? I don’t really know, maybe two years, maybe longer. Years ago, I was introduced, by an Inuit, to a ancestral technique of sewing tattoos or skin-stitched tattooing (Watch Colin Dale on Needles and Sins). Skin-sewing tattoos are a type of ‘healing tattoo’ – the tattooer introduces into the skin, by means of a needle, with a thread, which has been greased beforehand and soaked with soot. The thread, pulled by the needle according to the outlines of the drawing, abandons the colouring agent between the flesh and the skin.

After this I began to stitch my own drawings onto skin. I did my left hand this way. But it took a long time of reflection and self questioning. After a few years I started doing tattoos with a machine.

What attracted you to the world of tattoos? The thing is that I am a non-stop doodler, I needed to find a way to use all those drawings.

What inspires you? I am inspired by feral nature, literature, poetry, animals, poisonous plants, people, the light that we can find in the dark. My imagination – like my head – is filled with a thousand little tiny creatures working, running, screaming, all the time, it’s exhausting. But I think that everything that has been done, and my head is full of images or quotes or reference, of course sometimes one can be deeply influenced and doesn’t realise it.

Do you admire any artists, do they influence your work? I admire some creative creatures such as my friend Old Hag (Darby Lagher), her photography is so mesmerising and heartening for me, she captures auras of dreamlike occult and naturalistic worlds. Also, I am always speechless when I listen to Chelsea Wolfe, I’ve been listening to her new album Abyss non stop since last week, and it gives me shivers, every time. Like Rowland S. Howard, SHIVERS.

And, of course, they may influence me, like everything, I am a super sensitive, but I already have a lot to deal with in my head, things that I have to put together on the paper.

Can you tell us about the tattoos on your own body? My first tattoo was an Icelandic magical stave on my right arm, I got it when I was a young teenager. And I still love it.

I have my shoulders and neck done by Happypets in Lausanne, it’s two black swans and an ornamental thistle. I have a drawing by Max Ernst on my back, if you look closely you can see that the skirt of the woman is hiding an older tattoo, I got it done when I was 16.

My hands are constructed like an altar. Both with sewing-technique and machines.
I also adore my big black rose from Alexander Grim, he and his wife Lamia Vox are so interesting and talented. I have a piece on my stomach drawn by Tracey Emin, a snake in my hand tattooed by Paolo Bosson, cats on my legs by Gem Love, trash poked tattoos done by Ingimar. And my latest one is a piece done by Johnny Gloom, I truly adore it.

I have lots more, and I can’t possibly name them all.

What kinds of things do you like to tattoo? I like to tattoo dark things, black stuff, thorns and rusty nails, monsters, animals, flowers, amulets, medieval faces, plants. I like to tattoo my universe. The things that I collect around me.