Mikhail Nechaev is based in Germany and frequently travels to tattoo guest spots across Europe. 2014 marked his graduation from a technical university with a degree in Electrical Equipment and Power Supply Engineering for Enterprises, Organizations, and Institutions. As a former executive chef of a high-end Japanese restaurant, he believed that becoming a tattoo artist […]
Category: Blackwork
A Dialogue with Gigi Regarding Her Line Art Tattoos
Gigi, a 35-year-old native of Seoul, enrolled at Suwon University to study apparel and textiles but left after the first year to become a fitness instructor and then a tattooist. With only three years of professional tattooing experience and a strong desire to learn, she has received plenty of advice from skilled Korean tattooers. Her […]
The 5th Seaside Tattoo Show at Ventura County Fairgrounds
The first-ever Ventura County Fair was held in 1874 at the conclusion of the local San Miguel Days agricultural festival; 149 years later, Christina Diaz organized the 5th Seaside Tattoo Show at the Fairgrounds in a Quonset hut named San Miguel. The Pacific Ocean is so close to this venue that it can be heard […]
Yelselogy, Singapore’s Emerging Tattoo Artist
Yelselogy has a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communication from the School of Art, Design, and Media at NTU in Singapore and an MA in Visual Sociology from Goldsmiths, University of London. Worked as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer for a few years, creating backgrounds and photo props for a photo-booth firm, but found she […]
Ian Damien: Singapore’s Next Breakthrough Tattooist
“A tattoo comes alive, when a body moves,” says Ian Damien, a resident artist at Shane Tan’s Singapore studio Feather Cloud. Damien began tattooing approximately five years ago and completed a two-year apprenticeship to enter the profession; however, Tan has been mentoring Damien on the flow and technical aspects of tattooing since he was invited […]
Sop’s Single-Needle Tattoos
Sop, a native of Seoul, has been tattooing since 2016 and has a private studio in the South Korean city. His delicate line-art technique depicts his inner kid with whimsical, flowing lines. Sop aspires to be as proficient with line drawing as the renowned French cartoonist Jean-Jacques Sempé (1932–2022), known for many children’s books. Using […]
Freddy Corbin, Oakland’s Tattoo God
Freddy Corbin was born in Tampa, Florida, in 1966, grew up in Sacramento, and at 18, went to San Francisco, California, to pursue a career as a tattoo artist. Joshua Golden gives him his first professional tattoo at Lyle Tuttle’s shop. Corbin spent a lot of time at studios and received body art from various […]
Kirk Nilsen, a Tattooist Inspired by the Ancient World
Kirk Nilsen’s early works were motivated by customer demands for Mehndi designs, while he avoided drawing inspiration from cultures other than his own. Nilsen has been influenced by historical European buildings, medieval art, folk art, and textile art since he began tattooing in 2007. His mandalas tattoos are more symbolic and intricate, emulating specific examples […]
Delphin Musquet: On a Mission to Produce Timeless Tattoos
The first time I met Delphin Musquet, he was lying on a portable table in agony as Giorgio de Duesanti inked his body at a Californian event in 2019. Both he and Duesanti are part of the resident team at Sang Bleu—a well-known brand and studio based in London, Zurich, and Los Angeles. Musquet established in the […]
Jio’s Tattoos Express the Joy and Pain of Life
Jio was born in Dzerzhinsk, Russia, and emigrated with her family to the South of Portugal, where she spent part of adolescence and eventually studied in Lisbon’s prestigious university (Faculdade de Bela-Artes da ULisboa). Even though she still has a strong connection to Portugal, that country did not give the opportunity she deserved to become […]