Features

What is your age?

I was born on January 5th, 1970 so I’m 39.

How many years have you been in the tattoo game?

I’ve been tattooing for about 18 years. This year marks the 10th anniversary of PluraBella.

When did you decide to pursue tattooing as a career?

That came about after I arrived in Hollywood as a 19 year old. My first job was working in one of the tourist stores on the Boulevard, as most young people do when they get there. And in this particular store they had… It was very typical of the kind of place that you’ll still find there today, which is anyway they can to sell you something. So you have airbrushers upfront, and you got t-shirts and tchotchkes and knickknacks in the middle, and tattooing in the back. And I worked the front.

My first job, actually, was applying fake tattoos to people- stick ‘em on and hand paint ‘em, and selling band t-shirts. But one of the tattooists in the back saw that I could draw and a short time after that, he told me he was opening his own place and he asked me if I would like to be his apprentice. And even though I didn’t realize how valuable it was at the time, I was smart enough to say yes. And that’s how I decided- someone prompted me and that was right when I was turning twenty.

Where did you get your start in the game?

I started in Hollywood, which it’s a difficult place to start. But I’m very glad for having had the opportunity to learn in that environment and survive it. It makes you well prepared for a lot of things that you’re going to encounter later in your career.

Who has mentored you and influenced your development as a tattooist?

There’s been a handful of individuals that have played the biggest role in influencing and mentoring me. I think first and foremost is my friend Clay Decker. He’s a tattooist and the owner of True Tattoo in Hollywood, California. A man named Luke Atkinson- he’s a world-class tattooist and he owns a place in Stuttgart, Germany called Checker Demon. And a gentleman named Leo Zulueta, someone I consider to be a living legend and one of the greatest contributors in all of the history of tattooing. And what I’ve learned from these individuals is as much about who you are and how you behave, as actual technique.

They’ve all helped me with technique, with drawing, with painting, with the day-to-day stuff, with the knowledge. But mostly they’ve shaped my ideas about how to receive value and believe in your own values, how to treat the people you work with, and work for, and work on. And for these things, I’ll be eternally grateful.


Tell us about the studio that you now run? Is there a particular style of tattooing that your studio is recognized for?

The studio I have now is a private place. We have no signage. We’re on the second floor. If you didn’t know we were here, you wouldn’t find us and that’s how we like it.  For years it was just me and I chose this format after spending many years working in street shops and semi-custom- you know, part custom/ part commercial shops. And I departed that world because though those are good working models for some, I found that I’m much more effective if I can segregate myself and my clients into a more private, focused environment. So that’s why I created a private studio. Obviously, there was a risk there that this model would not work, but it’s worked out well and I’m very grateful for that.

Currently in my studio, I actually have two studios because my wife, who’s been tattooing for twelve years now and in my opinion is a very vital and relevant artist, she works here with me. But I have my private studio, she has her private studio and we have Kim, our manager, in the middle. So we’re able to retain my original goal for this place and do it all under the same roof.

I don’t know if anyone who will be reading this, if they work with their spouse, but if you’re there side by side all day, it makes home life difficult. So we can work under the same roof and we still have something to talk about at the end of the day. The particular style coming out of PluraBella- we do larger tattoos.

I tend to do a lot of Japanese influenced work. My wife does a lot of beautiful portraiture and she likes realism, depictions of flora and fauna. But we both like to make overall constructs- we like sleeves and backs. Not that we don’t do individual pieces, but we both are most interested in wholistic tattooing and that’s how we like to approach whatever subject matter.

Black and Grey ink seems to be the dominant colour scheme in most of your works, how did you develop into this style?

I think this fits in nicely with the previous question because coming out of Los Angeles, I did a very Southern California- influenced black and gray, monochromatic. And you know, we say it’s “black and gray”, but really, you can look within non-color approaches to tattooing, you have gray monochromatic looks and you have what I’ve developed into, which is using lots of black with the gray. So I think when I first started, it was really gray and gray and now it’s evolved into black and gray. That came because most of my clients were Hispanic and they love portraits, and I would do portraits of their family members or Catholic icons, or praying hands, or saints. Same thing with the lettering- they would bring in beautifully drawn lettering and I would tattoo it line for line. So that stuff has always influenced me. And it was the first thing I got noticed for.

Obviously, when you’re trying to develop your name and get a foothold in the trade, you play the hand that you’re dealt, that’s working for you. And that worked for years. As the portrait guy, it was difficult to break free from that and expand the scope of my work, which is always what I intended to do. But I feel we’ve achieved that now. But you know, I still do portraits and I work them into larger pieces. But I think the black and gray is dominant because that is my first love and that’s what the public really seems to respond to. Though if you do look at my body of work, I tend to mix in components of color because I like the juxtaposition.

In fact, it’s not only the juxtaposition of color and black and gray, it’s the differences between natural and unnatural lines and say, photorealism and tattoo based delineated work. Mixing these things together, for me I think, is the most effective. But if I had to choose one style for the rest of my career, it would be black and gray.

How would you summarize your style?

I think holistic is the way that I would describe my style. I like tattoos that fit on people’s bodies. That means that the work is bigger, it’s larger work. But I don’t think it’s gratuitously large. I like the challenge of working with the individual, making sure that whatever their ideas are for subject matter fits them. It’s my belief that the individuals getting tattooed are what make the tattoos unique. So I would say my style is now, large scale, holistic work tailored to the individual. That varies in subject matter, but the overall approach is always the same.

What are some of your influences? 

To me, my all time favorite, and the one I would argue has been the most prolific and influential on the modern era of tattooing is a wonderful person and a great artist from Switzerland named Filip Leu. I’ve only had the pleasure of meeting him once but he and his family have taught us all how to become better tattoo artists, and I think how to become better people. I’m also a huge fan of Horiyoshi III, Horiyoshi II, Jack Rudy, Paul Stottler - I could go on from there. Greg James, Shige… I could go on all day. Let me think of a couple more- I think Ed Hardy contributed a lot, definitely his vision and his scholarship and his efforts. I love Leo Zulueta’s work. I’ve always been very much into Darren Stares from England and Ian of Reading.

I mean there’s amazing tattooers in every country and I meet new ones all the time. In fact, I would say most of my influences now come from a steady stream of brilliance that I see from people I was otherwise unaware of. And that bolsters all of us because every time a beautiful tattoo is done, it excites people and I think that’s wonderful.

How much input do you have into the designs for your clients’ tattoos?

I have all the input except for what their basic ideas are. I ask this from my clients and I’m very up front about it that I very much have a double agenda- I want them to get the subject and the sentiment that they’re trying to express but I want to leave my fingerprints all over it. And if I encounter a client that isn’t willing to work with me on that level, if they still seem like really decent folks and we’re just not seeing eye to eye, I’ll make a very carefully thought out referral.

I know some of the world’s best tattooers in every region and if I feel that the client and I just aren’t clicking but they’re good folks, I’ll make a calculated referral. If the client is a power freak and is a micromanager, I won’t refer them to anyone. I’ll just dismiss them. But most people, I’m very happy to say, give me a lot of latitude and they want my input. So I get a lot of input and I’m incredibly happy and satisfied with that. And I hope that it continues.

Is there any kind of tattoo that you won’t do?

There are many kinds of tattoos that I won’t do. First and foremost, if I think it’s irresponsible- if I think it will harm the wearer. And that class of tattoos that I won’t do covers everything from dangerous symbols and icons that I will not be a part of tattooing onto people, messages expressed in the tattoos that I don’t agree with and I won’t participate in spreading those messages, facial tattoos or visible hand/neck tattoos on people that aren’t old enough to understand what they’re getting themselves into.

You know, I won’t tattoo anyone that it seems they don’t respect themselves. I don’t want to participate in someone’s self-destruction. So sometimes I don’t do a tattoo because of the imagery or the symbolism of it. Sometimes I don’t do it because I think the person is reckless in asking for it and I’ll make them wait for a year and ask me again. Nine times out of ten, they won’t want that tattoo. Or I think that they are trying to hurt themselves and I won’t participate in that.

It’s not to say that I’ve never tattooed a neck or hands or maybe done subject matter that some might find controversial, but it’s just that I find that where the person’s coming from in expressing the idea is healthy, they have a healthy sense of self-esteem and I’m not participating in anything that’s harmful to them. I think that it’s commonly understood among the most ethical and sincere tattooists. I know that we take the same oath that medical professionals do which is first do no harm. So these are things that I take very seriously.

Where has your tattoo work taken you?

It’s taken me all over the world, you know? I’ve been all over Europe. I’ve been to Japan- several cities in Japan. North America, several States- several cities inside the United States, several provinces and cities in Canada. Soon, I’ll be going to tattoo in Mexico. But more than that, it’s taken me to deeper levels of relationships with interesting people who have helped me learn about life and have given me insight that I otherwise wouldn’t have.

Tattooing is just a wonderful occupation if you’re interested in human beings. So it can take you to geographical places but what’s wonderful about it is it can take you into, for short periods, to get brief glimpses into people’s worlds. So you can never leave home and not be taken on many adventures. It’s one of the many things that I’m grateful for in the life that I have.

Outside of your tattoo work do you have any other artistic pursuits?

I keep up a consistent workload as a commissioned artist for various things. I work with one individual musician and I hand carve his guitars for him with portraits. This gentleman favors- I’ll mention who it is, it’s Jack White from the White Stripes, and he has a fascination with some of my favorite actresses from the 30’s and 40’s. So the first guitar I did for him was Claudette Colbert, and I did that on an orange acoustic Gretsch- a Rancher. And then I did Rita Hayworth on a white acoustic Gretsch and now I’m doing a Veronica Lake portrait on another Gretsch. Those are very time consuming, difficult projects but Jack is very understanding. I explained to him that I’m a tattoo artist first and I’ll do his work as quick as I can but he understands. He’s an artist, he understands what it takes. A lot of what I do is just elbow grease and sweat equity. So he understands that, thankfully.

My work has also appeared in movies and advertising, various illustrations. I sell packages of my drawings and I’ve engraved metal- custom engraving- lots of things, really. In fact, I work in several different media. It’s nice for a working tattooist to be able to sell something more than once. Tattooing is my first and only real profession and so it takes precedence. But if I can make some paintings and drawings and prints can be made and they can be sold through distributors, that’s wonderful. So I do a lot of that as well. And actually in the future, there might be more interesting things to come.

Do you have anything exciting on the horizon?

Yes, despite economic turmoil and a somewhat strange feeling hanging over what seems like the entire world these days, tattooing has never been as exciting as it is now. And I’m working with a level of clientele that are allowing me to grow, I think, exponentially as an artist, exploring within the medium of tattooing. In addition to that, as I mentioned, I have some stuff appearing in some movies and possibly a book coming up. And I’ve been slowly working on a documentary about tattooing and the focus of this documentary is about the people involved.

Sometimes I think tattooing, the results and the images that we see come out of the tattoo world, they get divorced from the process. Tattooing is at its heart a folk art. It’s the least mediated form of art there is- one human sitting down with another using essentially carbon and natural pigments to create pictures. It’s really beautiful. And the documentary wants to capture the humanity of the moment. A little bit about the past, a little bit about maybe technique or certain individuals, but mostly about the people involved- the artists, the clients, the people at the magazines, the people at the conventions, the distributors- everyone. And that includes the bad tattooers- I’m not leaving anyone out. So hopefully when we’re done, it will be something that we’re seeing- we may or may not cut it into a movie and try and show it to others. Maybe it’s just for us. I started off as a fan and an outsider in tattooing and I’ve never lost that viewpoint. I’m deeply involved in it now but I still get really excited by the entire milieu and that’s what I hope to represent in the documentary.

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