SINGER

What activities/art-form did you pick up as a kid that shaped you into the artist you are today ? In what way do YOU think it shaped you ?

“So I think mainly I started out as a doodler, probably as a symptom of some type of hyperactive disorder, to cope with my boredom in classes and stuff, and that evolved later in life. I met more artists as I moved to Savannah and I found Folk Art and some stuff that was particularly really interesting to me that I wanted to try to re-create, particularly Francis Bacon, the painter, and so I kind of just started messing around because I knew artists and they were encouraging me to kind of do my thing. Most of my early drawings until my late 20s were doodles with no reference. They were really rudimentary, but they were completely mine and unique and so I think if anything it made my art more creative it gave me confidence in making the silly things that I wanna make.”

Were you picked on as a child ? If so how ? How do you think that affected your life today as an artist ?

“Yeah I was absolutely picked on as a kid. I was a fat kid and that resulted in a long time of me un-twisting myself. I’ve finally come to a point that my parents always told me I would, where I don’t really care what people think of me, or think of my body, and it’s given me a lot of freedom, but I try to keep that time of my life in mind. I like to bully the bullies now, in my later childhood, people accused me of being a bully, which I never thought of myself that way, but it kind of rubbed off on me. I really make it a point in my life to be a strong sensitive person that stands up for people who may not be able to stand up for themselves, and that’s why I feel the creative freedom to make the silly things that I do, that some people would call stupid or insane or childish.”

What daily activity makes you feel most connected to your Art-form ?

“I just try to do art in someway every day. There are many different aspects to the tattooing medium whether it’s sketching, drawing, tracing for practicing your your line work, painting, and even just studying reference, going through, looking at the paintings of one particular person seeing how they painted or whatever, and sometimes it’s just watching a movie that inspires you, or taking a picture of a logo that you see in public, It’s just always kind of that being nagging in the back of your mind that you have a project that you want to finish, something that’s fulfilling you, that you think is cool, and that you think will make you cooler for having made it.”

What do you appreciate most about how YOUR art makes you feel ?

“Well tattooing in general is a service, and I’m a people pleaser, so I am happy to give people what they want from me. I’m happy to provide people with something that they can’t get from someone else, something that’s uniquely me, but yet a shared experience between me and that person in that instant. We’re sharing that time together, the process of tattooing, the sounds, the conversation that we have, the smell of the shop, these are all things that factor into that process. At the end of the day, you know, I’m just happy to help people feel better about their bodies, or give them whatever they are ultimately seeking, whether that’s to feel stronger, or more beautiful or sexy or if they just want to memorialize a loved one and so they can keep that memory close to their heart. I’m happy to do that for people.”

What pushes you to be a better artist today ?

“To better serve my clients, and to impress my current self and the wondrous 10 year old version of myself.”

BONUS QUESTIONS

Do you have any memorable scars? What is the story on them?

“Oh yeah, I have many memorable scars most of them bicycle injuries. One of them self-induced I guess could be considered as my first tattoo, which was basically a gang that I thought that I was in, it was a group of me and my friends it was called The Crew and I ended up scraping a TC in my arm that’s still there. It looks kind of like a pie symbol And I guess those are my most notable scars.”

What is your favorite part of your body? What is your least?

“My favorite part of my body now is probably my hair. I hated it as a kid, it caused me a lot of trouble because it was different. If you can’t see these pictures, I have red hair. My least favorite would have to be my stomach or my abdomen you know just as being a fat kid, most of my life, and my tattoos have made me more confident in that part of my body now.”

Favorite Quote ? Why ?

“So the quote that I chose is by Theodore Roosevelt, it was shown to me by a therapist that I had in middle school or high school and it basically says that the bravest person is the person who goes out and tries and fails and not the person who criticizes what that person does, and the rest of the quote speaks for itself.”

How do you wish others describe you as ?

“I hope that others describe me as you know kind loving, supportive funny person you know just someone that they can trust and you know wanna be around I don’t know really what else you can ask for.”

What was your favorite Disney movie growing up ?

“My favorite Disney movie was Fox and the hound because I love dawgggzz and it makes me cryyyyy.”