interview with artist pol tattoo
Hello! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview.
How long have you been tattooing? Do you remember your first
tattoo? I started tattooing in 2011/2012 when I had my son, I was curious
about the tattoo world and I was painting portraits and grafitti by
then, but it was a difficult way of living so I decided to try. My first tattoo was on my brother, it was a skull
with a barbed wire on his back and it was a disaster hahha.
Q: How long took to gain confidence?
A: It was difficult to gain confidence in the beginning, I wasn't
sure if I really like tattooing and it was so hard. I was never
satisfied with the result. But I had a few friends that helped me a
lot with the process and with patience everything started to
improve.
Q: I like how you mix more images into one design. Is it all
your idea or you negotiate with your clients?
A: Normally the idea comes from the client. I'm kind of a
mercenary in that way hahah but I'm lucky because they really trust
my work.
Q: What about the big tattoos, do you do all the work in one
session or sometimes it could take a few sessions?
A: For a piece that goes from the shoulder to the elbow it takes me
1 session 7/8 hours. People use to say that I'm fast at tattooing.
For bigger pieces it depends on the design and the size of the
client, a full back piece normally takes me like five sessions more or
less.
Q: Being constantly busy is hard. Some
people think being a tattoo artist is fun but is it? What are some
of the most challenging aspects of this job? How do you get inspired?
A: Tattooing is fun, but not for the tattooing itself but for the
people you are getting to know. A lot of stories and personalities. For me, the most challenging part of the
process is to put the transfer perfectly. It's super important to
make a clear transfer and to put it in the best way possible. If you
do it correctly you have half of the job done. I get inspired by movies, videogames
and anime.
Q: Would you try a different style?
A: Improving is a road without an end. Every day I find new artists that inspire me to improve and I try
to learn as much as I can. Actually I'm starting to try new styles,
more lineal tattoos like the mangas I like and little by little I'm
mixing realism with more lineal techniques.
Q: Your advice for those who are willing to start
tattooing?
A: Don't bite more that you can swallow. I mean, is important to know your limitations and to be
patient, experience and know that you can't have it in one month. So
go easy, little by little and draw a lot, because is the base of
everything we do.