Hello Jordan Croke! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview. Please start by telling us something about yourself and your beginnings. My name is Jordan Croke, I tattoo at Second Skin Tattoo Derby in United Kingdom. I've been tattooing for around six years now, I'm a second generation tattoo artist so I guess it was my dad that inspired my career choice.

Q: Was it hard to learn the basics? Did anyone help you?
A: Yes, tattooing is a very difficult medium to learn, at least it was for me. Of course the pressure is much higher on skin than on paper or canvas, any mistake is permanent. You can never stop learning with tattooing which I find the most interesting thing about this art. My dad has been tattooing around 15 years and he helped teach how to tattoo but he was also very keen for me to find my own way in my artistic style.

Q: How would you call your style?
A: My style, I would say is based on color realism primarily, however like to design my own custom pieces also. I like to use a lot of light sources either space, fire or lightning for example but the application, is very much based on color realism techniques.

Q: Any favorite tattoo ink brands?
A: Yes I'm sponsored by Eternal Ink. I feel they have great palette choice and they heal super bright!

Q: Big tattoos can take a lot more work, time and patience. The longest session you've had with a client?
A: The longest single session I have had with a client is 12 hours and I have also worked on a couple 3 days back to back pieces. I usually work around the 7 hours mark, after this the tattooing process itself becomes way more painful and also the healing process becomes much more difficult.

Q: After the tattoo session, people are glad that the pain is finally over... :)
A: It is an amazing feeling seeing my clients happy with the work I have done, most of my clients put a huge amount of trust in me and it's a massive honor for me. Especially on large scale projects like full sleeves or legs, you spend a lot of time together and it's exciting seeing the pieces come together it's the best feeling in the world seeing it all complete.

 

Q: Gaining respect from clients is cool, but gaining respect from other artists is also important. Fortunately, we have the internet so we can connect and share our art, ideas, experiences with many people out there. What's your opinion?
A: Definitely Instagram has changed the landscape of tattooing forever, whether you like social media or not it has become a huge part of our business. For me one huge benefit is to talk to other artists from around the world and now we can do this so easily from a device in the palm of our hands. I have huge respect for many tattoo artists around the world so it's always a great thing when an artist who you admire drops a comment on your work online or comes by your booth at a convention to say hey.

Q: Tattoo conventions are a great place to meet a lot of creative people. How often do you go?
A: Yes I love tattoo conventions, I try do as many as I can but it is hard with such a busy schedule at home. Conventions are an invaluable experience to learn from amazing artists from all over the world and I feel have played a huge part in my own development. It's a great place to meet and see artists in real life rather than instagram. For me, the London Convention was always my biggest goal. I used to visit the convention every year before I even started to apprentice and now to work at such a prestigious event is great.

 

Q: Would you change something, or try a different style?
A: Yes, that is why I love this art from so much, I'm the happiest I have ever been with my work at the moment but I still feel I have a long way to go and so much more to learn. I wouldn’t like to try other style yet but I would definitely like to concentrate more on my own concepts in the future still very much based in realism though. I like to work on large scale projects that tell a story so hopefully in the coming years I can work on some of the ideas I've had in my mind for a long time and see them come to life.

Q: What is the biggest mistake when it comes to progress? What the new artists should know?
A: I think the biggest mistake is rushing into things. Tattooing is moving incredibly fast so I understand why artists want to jump in and start as fast as possible but I think taking your time and working on your artwork is the most important thing.