InkSpired Magazine BEST OF ISSUE | Page 56

Tell us about your shop. It’s a different concept than the usual. I realized most of my clients were traveling from all around Ireland to come to me. So, I was thinking of that when I opened the studio. Basically, it’s in a small town in the middle of nowhere. The idea is that it’s a super relaxed place; in the middle of beautiful Ireland. We take only one person a day and we are appointment only. All bookings are done through our website. That means there are no distractions or interruptions. Just the tattoo, the artist, and the client. The whole idea is that we enjoy tattooing like we do painting. When I paint or tattoo there is nothing else in the world. Describe how you go about creating a tattoo from concept to finished design and how you try to put your own unique touch on your tattoos. I actually think I spend more time with the design than the tattoo. At least some times. First, I search for references all over. My ideal is to select 3, one face, one abstract painting, and one landscape photo. Then I go on Photoshop and spend hours mixing them. A piece of the face here, a part of the painting there for hours until I have a design that looks as similar as possible to the final piece. How would you describe your style, and which tattoo style do you like best? Abstract Realism is the name I gave my style because it really describes the essence of it. Which, for me, is having something realistic aspects mixed with something abstract. I just like the opposites together. 54 InkSpiredMagazine.com