interview with Gregory Juarez
Hello Gregory Juarez! Thanks for taking some time to do this interview. How long have you been tattooing? What inspired you to
start tattooing? It’s been 2 years and 7 months since I started.
It's been a great experience of development and
learning. Since I was a child I was always passionate about drawing
and painting because my father loves to paint. I had the opportunity
to see it at times and feel attracted to everything it entailed. It
was a hobby of mine to draw and paint all the time. I never took it
as a profession or very seriously, it was more an escape from
reality towards something I liked to do.
As a teenager I was into graffiti for a while, I learned a lot, along
with my cousin Jesus Alvarado and a friend Rohil Guerrero, they always told me, “You should start
tattooing I know you’d do it very well!” Over time I made the
decision to start this and it was something very special for me.
Q: Was it difficult getting into the business? What
was the main goal?
A: It was a bit difficult because at that time the situation in
Venezuela was complicated. My main goal was to be independent and
dedicate all my time to tattooing, after about 3 month or so I was
able to open a small studio, together with my friend Rohil.
I had only a machine and a friend lend me the rest of the
equipment to start. Then I made my first tattoo on my own
leg. I wanted to know how it feels to inject
the ink and feel what I was doing. After that, several friends offered to be
“guinea pigs” and I did small things on them to learn a little more.
Q: Did you have any mentor?
A:
My mentor was my cousin Jesus Alvarado, he was the one who taught me
how to inject,
fill and shade. I practiced with him many times making a sleeve with
only lettering (which I have not finished yet) because when I was
into graffiti, I was good at making letters. I scolded myself when I
did something I shouldn't and at the same time I encouraged myself to do
better since I work with skins and it is not something that you can
erase. I will always be grateful for all the knowledge he shared
that led me to do what I do now.
Q: So it is crucial to have help?
A: Discipline, perseverance and dedication are the fundaments
to grow as a person and as an artist, patience is also very important. It is a long journey we are taking on, we
will never stop learning, so we must be attentive to what we
do in order to learn from ourselves.
Q: Just black and gray tattoos do you prefer this
type of work or you plan to try color tattoing?
A: I try to perfect my technique every day to obtain the best result,
always learning. I plan to start with color after I master what I’m
doing, to start studying something different.
Q: I really love how you combine more than one photo in one
tattoo design, very creative.
A: Thank you very much. I take into account the
references that the client gives me, but for each design, I interpret
it my own way. Normally I don’t do more than 2 or 3 designs. I
try to create something different and sometimes that can take time,
I select a single image and the rest flows
while I tattoo, it’s something more authentic since the
interpretation of each artist is very important.
Q: Many beautiful portraits, do you have any "dream" piece
or a favorite person you wanna tattoo on someone's skin?
A: Lately I’ve been fascinated by portraits, it’s a great challenge
when you have to portray a family member and when you finish it, you
feel a great satisfaction for the person to whom you fulfilled their
dream. I’ve always wanted to tattoo celebrities whether they are
singers, actors or musicians, I think they have a lot of great
references with which you can create something very special.
Q: We all know that doing the final touch ups and the white
ink in the end is the most painful part of the whole session, I've
been there! How do you cheer up your clients in those moments?
A: It is very important to treat the client good, so they can trust
you and your ability to work calmly with the best mindset. When it
comes to tattooing the energy is very important as we should feel
the best, to perform our best. White’s always a bit painful but it
is a very important part of the process.
Q: Some artists give their clients some time for the skin to
heal and then finish the process in a few weeks. This is most common
when it comes to big tattoos. Do
you remember the longest session?
A: I usually make large pieces in two continuous days of
approximately 7 hours each session, the result is very good and
quite fast. Of course it also depends on the client's conditions but
usually, is it takes 7 to 10 days.
I would say that the longest session I’ve done is about 12 hours.
Q: What's the most rewarding aspect of being a professional
tattoo artist?
A: Without a doubt, the pride of my parents that’s my motivation. It
is also nice to know that I can be a reference and inspiration for
other artists who are starting, this is what I love
the most and what I dedicate all my time!