Hello Timothy B Boor! To be honest, It's a real honor to talk with you.  Magazine covers, working with many great artists, including Paul Booth at "Last Rites Tattoo Shop", tattoo awards etc etc. So much to be told and to be remembered. I'm pretty sure that your just another role model to many artists out there...

Let's start with the beginnings...

Q: What made you to become a tattoo artist?
A: I was always into drawing and painting. I thought tattooing would be a great way to make a living by pressuring my own art. Tattooing has been good to me.

Q: How long have you been tattooing?
A: About 6 years.

Q: How did you start your career?
A: I started drawing at a young age and took oil painting lessons when I was 10 at a local gallery for a couple years. I started tattooing when a friend of mine opened a shop and gave me an opportunity to learn.

Q: Do you have any influences?
A: I'm inspired by too many artists to name. There are so many great artists out there to look up to and push you to be better. I see a new artist everyday that inspires me.

 

               

Q: Some people say that it is possible to be self though artist. What are your thoughts about this? How did you learn the tattoo skills?
A: I cannot say it is impossible to be a self taught artist because I know many who have become great tattooist. I went through a basic apprenticeship but I also learned a lot by getting tattooed by people who specialized in the area I wanted to learn more about.

Q: Looking at your portfolio is a great way to get inspired. There are lots of tattoo styles that you do. What is your favorite tattoo style?
A: I love to do realism/surrealism. I like when people give me themes or ideas to work with and let me come up my own visual interpretation.

           

            

Q: Portraits are maybe the most remarkable designs in your portfolio. Do you remember when the impression for this kind of work first began?
A: I have always loved to draw faces and copy photos. Even when I was young my favorite artists were the masters like Da Vinci, Caravaggio, and Michelangelo. I liked the way they were able to capture expressions. It impressed me and I try to do that in my work.

            

Q: What is most challenging in doing some photo-realistic piece?
A: The simple fact that minor judgment mistakes can throw of an expression or likeness of a person. You never want to make someone's child look crossed eyed or have crooked teeth.

             

Q: Nowadays, people are coming up with many creative ideas for a tattoo. What was the most bizarre request ever?
A: There was a guy that approached me to do a tattoo about bestiality. He wanted it to be somehow classy and passionate. Needless to say I passed on that piece.

     

Q: Is there any "dream piece" undone yet?
A: Yes and no, not one thing in particular but being able to do tattoos that lean toward my style and allow my interpretation are what I would love to do more of.

                  

Q: Your paintings are awesome. What kind of supplies you use the most?
A: I use Grumbacher and Windsor & Newton oil paints. I use brushed from many different companies and surface wise I use linen canvas and boards.

Q: "Sea of Irony" oh Gosh, that one is really impressive... What is the significance?
A: That's when I did a series of different sea traveling vessels. Its about having what you want be so close but so far away at the same time.

  

Q: Can you make a comparison between your painting style and your personality?
A: Yes because all my art work one way or another has a meaning or idea I'm trying to portray. I defiantly put a lot of me into my work.

                          

Q: What is the most captivating thing that viewers should see?
A: I like the meanings to be discoverable but not spoon feed. I hide things in the image to give the viewer something to figure out. Maybe even get their own meaning from it.

Q: So many customers, drawings in your life, what keeps you permanently creative?
A: Actual the customers do. They come up with ideas that wouldn't have come naturally from my mind. It's challenging to merge there ideas with your own and come up with something that suits you both.

  

Q: What is the best lesson that you've learned from you art journey?
A: Stay humble and always realize someone out there is better than you and is someone you can learn from. The day you stop learning is the day you stop growing and start become stagnant as an artist.

Q: They said "The real artist is never fully satisfied" There is always something new to accomplish, discover, something new to try... What are your goals, or things that you might want to accomplish in the next few years? And please feel free to share your contact info/mail, website etc.
A: I'm definitely not satisfied. I critique my own work harshly. My goal is always the same, to grow as an artist and keep pushing myself forward. You can check out my portfolio at Paul Booth's Darkimages.com and timothybboor.com