“I started my tattoo career in 2009, before then I was studying architecture and in my 4th year I lost 2 years. And during my 2nd year back, one of my friends who was working as a tattoo artist knew I sketched, so she called me as she was looking for an artist who can customize designs. I went to the studio and showed my sketches. The artist there took a small test and he liked my designs and I was hired to make customized designs.”
“Before you start inking on a client it’s important to begin with yourself so that you know the right techniques and feels of getting tattooed. For a year I customized tattoo designs and then the following year I practiced tattoo lines on my leg, eventually I learnt shading and then filling colors.
Tattooing myself was surprisingly not as scary as I expected. Like any other human I too thought it would be painful, but once I started, my sole focus was on getting the tattoo right, distracting my focus from pain. I did feel some burning sensations but that was a matter of time.”
Inspiration
“I never planned or intended to become a tattoo artist, it just happened. Back in college I knew I liked sketching but never thought it could lead me to become a tattoo artist. But I’m happy I became one, the best part about being a tattoo artist is that every day is different. I get to make new designs, meet new people, make more connections, listen to different stories, being forever imprinted in their life whenever they see their tattoo.”
Art in one word
“I can’t describe my art in one word because I’m doing something new every day. I’m meeting new people, designing different tattoos, catering to all the demands of clients so I won’t say there’s one particular definition to my art. But I like to get my inspiration from nature, like animals or portraits, basically anything nature.”
Tattoo a taboo?
“I think we’ve moved past that sort of thinking. Yes I agree that it was a taboo, people would stare at you if you had a tattoo but now it’s pretty much normal. As an artist, people of all age groups have come to me to get inked with different designs. Though I have made a lot of designs, I’m still not happy or very proud of my work, I’m still learning and I believe one must keep pushing themselves and their limits in order to get out of their comfort zone. Life begins at the end of your comfort. The challenging part about being a tattoo artist according to me is, you can either be an artist or a businessman, but then as a tattoo artist you have to do both.”
Tattoos
“At the moment I have 12 tattoos and I’m planning to get more. Most of my tattoos have a meaning but some don’t.”
“I have Borneo rose tattoos on my chest on both sides, and you have to get them in pairs as it’s a protection for your body. If you get on one side, only that particular side will be protected. In the center of my chest I have a spiral yantra, it stands for spiritual healing and again, protection of the soul. Apart from these I have a tattoo of mother nature on my left hand due to my love for nature. I am a firm believer of the egyptian sculpture hence got a tattoo of the same. Rest of the tattoos do not have any meaning and were done purely out of fun.”
Tattoos and Humans
“Being a tattoo artist is all about interesting stories and my experiences are no different. Once there was a client who was a biker, he was confused as to what should he get inked, whether a Ganesha or a bike. After a couple of brainstorming hours we combined both the ideas and came up with the conclusion of lord Ganesha on a bike wearing a leather jacket and boots. So that by far is the most interesting, out of the box and hatke tattoo I ever made.”
“My two cent advice as a tattoo artist is that never get a name inked on your body, even if you’re married I would advise you to not get names because the future is unpredictable and there’s a pretty good possibility for you to remove the name in future. Rather get a symbol which defines your love, it works better than names.”
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