10/29/2015
"My dad started tattooing in the late 50s and is still doing it today at 73. It was always assumed that my brother and I would just go into it, which we did, as soon as we left high school.
I call tattooing a craft not art. When you describe it as art then it comes with a whole bunch of w**k but as a craft it means doing a job well and getting paid for it. I make paintings as well and when you do that, you show it to the world and people either like it or they don’t. When you're asked to tattoo somebody, you do it to the best of your ability, then you get paid for it. I like the directness of that.
Generally, when tattooing someone, I stay out of the way when it comes to choosing the content, that’s for the customer to decide, but when it comes to drawing it, I appreciate the same consideration. If you've come to me or someone else for our styles, then let us do it the way we see it. I call that the ‘what’ and the ‘how’. I wont tell you what to get, you don't tell me how to draw it.
I use to do a lot of tattoo portraiture - maybe of a loved one who’s passed - so that they could have it on them forever. I think that’s a really nice reason to get one done.
For myself, I took it very seriously when I was younger. I’ve got ones that make me laugh and ones that still make me think. My brother did this, it took a very long time, about 12 months from start to finish. It was a great project to work with him on. We spent days trying to work out how to fit it on my arm, I still love it." 1/2
Intimidating.Life
