Interview with Carolina Caos | Unique Tattoo Style | Italy 03/03/2021
Hello Carolina Caos! Thank you so much for taking the
time to answer some questions for our readers. Please start by
telling us something about yourself and your background. What
inspired you to start tattooing? Was it hard?
I am Italian and I live in Voghera, near Milan and I am 31 years
old. I studied psychology in high school and later attended the
European Institute of Design (IED) in Milan.
Q: Did you have any help from someone or you're a self
taught artist? How much time took you to gain confidence in your
work?
I worked as a book illustrator and for some cartoon design studios
for a short time. Eight years ago I met my partner Stefano Galati
with whom I have been managing a tattoo studio for about seven
years. We started this journey together, he was already passionate
about this world and he influenced me. At the beginning and for the
first few years, we concentrated (more than anything else) to
drawing and graphics. We followed the conventions, we "stole" with
our eyes the other tattoo artists work at the conventions and we
started as self-taught. We tried on synthetic leather and then many
friends. Starting as self-taught was not easy at all and it was a
long journey. We were always careful and tried to inform ourselves a
lot but when we started it was not like now, videos were not found
and this world was still very closed. It takes a lot of
determination and passion and a lot of humility. We still have a lot
to learn and it never stops.
Q: I bet you remember your first tattoos! Would you correct
them if given chance? Hah What type of tattoos you use to do as a
beginner?
A: For the first few years I tried to deepen, learn many different
styles, draw a lot and study the various tattoo styles from Japanese
to cartoon, from realistic to old school at times. From color to
black and white, trying to learn as much as possible from the
various styles and techniques. I started with small tattoos, simple
things, very low voltage of the machine and a lot of patience, it
took me 3-4 hours to make a very small tattoo. The first tattoo I
did on my partner Stefano Galati, an anchor with two hands that
tighten and a parchment with the words "carol" inside. Evidently,
thanks to the low voltage and the delicacy in doing it for fear,
today it is still well defined, it has not widened and it has
satisfying lines to be my first tattoo.
- What's your opinion on getting an apprenticeship? Do you
think is a necessarily part of becoming a pro artist?
Not having done an apprenticeship, I don't know what to answer.
Surely, if I could have done an apprenticeship I would have learned
much faster, but maybe I would have been influenced by the person
who would teach me. I am happy with the path I took and if I went
back I would not change it because it allowed me to create MY path,
personal, free, and without influences.
Q: Today your work looks awesome! The color tattoos are just
unbelievable! Seriously I couldn't stop looking at them and pick a
favorite! Then the paintings caught my eye, but later on that. How
much tattoo realism as a style is a challenge to master even if the
artist has good * drawing skills? How much this style is difficult
but also freeing when it comes to creative expression?
A: Thank you so much!!!! In my opinion, in order to create a good
realistic tattoo it is essential to know how to draw, know the
anatomy, the use of lights and shadows, know the colors and know how
to mix colors, and this is possible through study and practice and
have drawn a lot in the past. I have been drawing since I was very
young, but above all I had the obsession to copy anything, I opened
a newspaper and I copied the model, I copied the comics and then I
tried to do it without looking, I invented stories and I tried to
learn how to use all the tools, pencils, brushes, markers,
watercolors, paint etc. I have been doing this throughout my
childhood. My current style is a collection of everything I have
learned, and I am trying to continually improve, sometimes it takes
me a few hours or 12, 15 hours to create the project. Today I call
my style REALISME AVANTGARDE and it is the result of my studies and
my approach to the different techniques. I mix illustration,
realism, graphics and painting trying to unite everything in a
harmonious way.
Q: Again, I'm having hard time to pick a favorite... Let's
just say, I like (the most) your ability to bring some imagination
into reality. The details! It's like every tattoo has its own
special detail that is unique from the other ones and yet it's still
has that "signature" style... *your* style! Ah you're wonderful! I
also like the comics/cartoonish vibe in them all. Tell me more about
these combinations. Please.
A: I love children's illustration. This love was transmitted to me
by my mother who, when my brothers and I were children, told us many
fairy tales and often drew for us. Usually, to design my work, I ask
the client to tell his story, to explain to me what he would like to
express with his tattoo, a particular moment of his life, of his
experiences, his passions and his moods. With all this information I
create the project. Sometimes it takes a few hours, sometimes much
longer. When I meet the client we analyze the project, my
interpretation of his story creates a very deep empathic
connection... they trust me, they open up and I become a narrator
and illustrator of their life, on their skin. Sometimes getting a
tattoo is almost therapeutic, because people have the opportunity to
tell someone outside of their daily lives about a difficult or
painful moments that have marked them in a particular way but that
are part of who they are.
- Which parts of humans face are "nerve wracking" to work
on?
The most complex part is definitely the realistic part, the faces
are always complex, every face has its complexities, sometimes the
nose, sometimes the lips, sometimes the eyes, sometimes the shades
of the cheek, everyone is different and complex in its own way.
Q: I bet you put your heart in every tattoo you do. You're
dedicated and hard working person with enthusiasm. I see that! It's
so nice. Honestly that's what makes one artist a pro not just the
skills! Even though it's difficult to produce every day... How you
handle a busy *creative* schedule? Is it possible?
A: I am really happy that this transpires from my work. It is a
great satisfaction for me. Yes, I love this job and I dedicate
myself body and soul to every project. I have a lot of respect for
those who come to get a tattoo from me and I always try to give my
best. This is a job that occupies you all day every day both
mentally and physically. I tattoo during the day and I create
projects in the evening. Luckily my partner does the same job as me
(even if he has a very different method from mine) because I think
not everyone would accept this lifestyle and my devotion to this
job.
Q: What happens if you have some creative blockages? What do
you do?
A: I try to interpret the customer's story in the best possible way
and it is not always easy and I am very self-critical. Often after
hours of work on the project I start all over again because I know I
have not done well enough. I am a very tormented person ahaha
Sometimes it takes days to finish just one project. But then I show
it to the customer my heart fills with joy, I have seen customers
start crying with joy seeing it, and feeling perfectly represented
in it.
Q: The paintings... I'm impressed! I don't have favorite,
sorry I love them all! ;) You're blessed with a true talent! I'm
glad that you're not lazy so you make a living from it! The clients
send you reference images or? Tell me more about the paintings!
A: The last 7 years were really busy, I have always and only thought
about tattooing. In 2020 when there was the first lockdown in March
it was the first time I really stopped. But I can't, I took out my
brushes and painted after so many years, it had become my new
obsession, day, night, sometimes for 10-12 consecutive hours.
It was a great satisfaction to receive a lot of requests from people
who wanted to buy them. When this pandemic ends and everything goes
back to normal I would like to do an exhibition.
Q: Painting might feel lonely as you sit with yourself and
do what you do - the best! ;) Tattooing gives you lots more
excitement and maybe even uncertainty because you deal with people
and it's more like a "service" job. What do you like more?
A: Most of my buyers are from United States, selling my paintings is
always like letting go of a piece of me. This gives me a melancholy
feeling on the one hand and a deep sense of contentment, knowing
that somewhere in the world there is a part of me. So for my
paintings and so for my tattoos.
- Do you have any favourite painting you done lately?
-“The Queen’s Gambit” is the last one i made, sold to a boy from
Seattle. I will miss it ahaha
Q: We live in uncertain times... how do you handle this
whole covid situation? How are you? Are you available for bookings?
A: This situation is very disheartening, I think for everyone, just
over a year has passed and there is no turning point. It has been a
difficult year in various ways, we have lost loved ones, we have
experienced loneliness and distance, lack of affection, luckily I
have a partner for 10 years and we always try to support each other,
working and living together we are used to being together all day so
it was not a big problem, since I was a child I have never been a
very sociable person, and I have always sought my solitude and I am
fine with it. So locking myself in for the lockdown was not as
difficult a thing as for others. One of my greatest passions is
traveling, for me it is a physical and mental need every now and
then to switch off and embark on a new journey, it makes me live
better and it makes me feel good, also for my life with my partner.
I am putting a lot of effort and I do not deny that there are days
that I feel really demoralized, I always try to remember that I am a
very lucky person, and out of respect for those who are worse off, I
cannot and must not get down. I try to keep in touch with my foreign
clients and I hope that soon I will be able to reach them again and
they will reach me.
Q: If you can change something about the tattoo industry as
it is now, what would that be?
A: The best thing about this work is the possibility it gives us to
make art on people's bodies, to leave an indelible mark of our
passage on this world to someone else. To tell the story of people
on their skin. The worst thing about this work is often the
falseness and arrogance of many who are part of it, of their need to
achieve their goals, often trampling on others. For some people it
is more important how to appear on social media than the work they
do, they have no respect for people's skin and for this wonderful
work.
Q: What do you recommend to those who want to try getting
into this business?
A: To have respect, humility, to draw to the point of exhaustion and
to put all the passion they can into it.
Q: Any plans for the feature?
A: Right now I just hope this covid situation ends. And when that
happens, I plan to travel and work as much as possible.
Ms.Carolina Caos Thank You for the interview,
Kind Regards
The Team