Hello Rich Pineda! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview. Please start by telling us something about yourself, are you a self taught artist? How it all started? I started in this Industry 3 years ago. I have been an artist my whole life, always drawing from a young age, as a teenager I really got into work on canvas and other mediums and then continuing to do art as an adult by getting into custom automotive and faux painting as a career. Tattooing came into my life at the perfect time. To me it was just a different canvas, it took some learning but once I got the hang of it I was hooked.

Q: I love the portrait tattoos, what ink brands do you use? What is the secret?
A: I only use all Eternal Inks, they have a large palette and every color is usable. It's a very high quality ink. The ink is all I give the client, so I want to make sure I'm giving them the best I can. It was also the first set I ever purchased so it's been an honor to be sponsored by them as well. No secrets here, I think it's really just knowledge and understanding of value and color theory when picking your palette.

Q: Do you remember when you got interested in tattoo realism?
A: The first time I saw work from Mike DeVries, Franco Vescovi, Nikko Hurtado and Mike Demasi, I was blown away that this kind of work was being done on skin. I've been doing art from a very young age and I was always into that style as an art form but seeing it on skin, it was unreal.

Q: Are you always "the main" designer or you have very creative clients?
A: Usually the client will come to me with an idea, we can go back and forth a couple times with photos. I try to be selective with what I tattoo so that I can get the best for my client. I like my pieces to be heavy in value, the darker the dark is, the lighter the light will appear. It doesn't necessarily have to have a lot of black, just dark values.

Q: The weirdest tattoo request ever?
A: When I had been tattooing for a couple months I had a girl come in and requested a unicorn puking out stars and shitting out a rainbow, I thought she was joking but she was serious, that was definitely the weirdest tattoo I have ever done.

Q: What do you like the most about your job?
A: I have had a lot of people who will fly out here just to come and get tattooed by me, that's pretty awesome and it means a lot to me. I've had people fly from Canada, New York, Australia, New Zealand, that's a serious form of flattery to me.

 

  

Q: Are there any famous people that you've met and suddenly became your idols, people you look up to? Let's say meeting (the brilliant) Tim Burton?
A: Growing up with my family in the film industry I have had the pleasure of meeting people such as Tim Burton and musicians that I admire such as Danny Elfman. To be honest though, I feel a little more starstruck when I meet some of my favorite tattoo artists that I look up to. I used to think a lot of the people in this industry were very unapproachable, but I have come to find out that they are very cool, super down to earth people. Freddy Negrete has been such an amazing person to get to know. I have the utmost respect for him, he's been doing this for awhile now and he is still a relevant artist today, watching him continue to progress and continue in this industry gives me hope that I can stay relevant and continue to grow as an artist as well.

Q: Any tattoo artists you want to work with?
A: The list is pretty endless but if I had to pick my top two, I would definitely have to say Nikko or Paul Acker.

Q: What keeps you motivated?
A: Seeing the endless amount of amazing artists out there definitely makes me want to continue to push myself. I know I can always grow and always continue to learn, you can never stop learning. Every morning when I come to work I'm always thinking damn I'm late, because seriously I'm always running late, it may only be 5-10 minutes but you can always count on me to be late haha. I really believe that in this age social media is one of the best tools for your business, posting your work is the way to get your name out there. I can honestly say without it I don't know if I would have the reach to other countries that I have had.

Q: A lot of tattoo awards, magazine covers... Would you say that those things give you the motivation to become even better?
A: Don't get me wrong all that stuff is great but the best part of my life is doing what I love everyday. I get to wake up and draw on people everyday, that's pretty cool and I get to meet some awesome people while I do it.

Q: So far, what was the best moment in your career?
A: Well it hasn't been that long, but it's been an amazing journey so far. I have had so many opportunities in this business that I would never have had the chance to experience otherwise. I have been accepted into this industry with open arms by some of my heroes. I just hope I will be able to continue in this industry until I can't pick up a machine anymore.

Q: Any advice for the new artists?
A: Just be patient and make sure you are going through the process the correct way and have the ultimate respect for those who paved the way.