Interview with tattoo artist BREAK

  Hello BREAK! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview. Please start by telling us something about yourself and your background. Hi! I'm Break, that's not my real name, but all people call me like this. I'm from Colombia, from a small city called Manizales. Nowadays I live in Envigado that is so close to Medellin, the capital of Antioquia deparment. Eight years ago I started to study architecture in the national university of Colombia, it was an excellent experience. I learned to much about design. Unfortunately I had to leave my carreer in the eighth semester.

Q: How you got into tattooing?
A: Tattooing came into my life as a hobby, over time it became my lifestyle. I started tattooing 5 years ago, professionally 3 years ago.

Q: To succeed in this job it takes a lot more than just talent and good equipment. Did you have any help from another artist?
A: After a while, a friend of mine opened a tattoo studio, his name is Juan David Redon, who today is one of the best neo-traditional tattooists in the world. Thanks to him I was able to have a decent space to tattoo, I also learned a lot from him.

Q: How was the feeling to tattoo someone for the first time? Would you correct the tattoo today if given chance?
A: Really, the first person I tattooed was myself haha. I do not regret it. Then I tattooed my friend Daniel.

Q: Some say, that it is ok to start small, like with all kinds of styles with bold lines, old school etc then try to find yourself in one style and master it. What type of tattoos you used to do as a beginner?
A: I did a lot of trash polka and realistic tattoos in black and grey.

Q: I really love your style. It's a nice mix of the neotraditional and cartoonish style. It's unique and vibrant! How would you call it?
A: Thank you! I don't know how to call it. Sometimes I do as a combination between neotraditional and sketch style. In some designs I also implement the Japanese theme. So, NeoJapo-Sketch? Haha

Q: I like the complexity as well. It's not that boring 2008 cross with a rose type stuff. Haha! Thank Goodness! I bet you draw a bunch of sketches for each client before the session, right?
A: It is very relative, it depends on the design that I have to do. Normally if it is a large tattoo with enough details, I dedicate 6 to 8 hours of design. When I do a freehand tattoo, I let the idea flow during the session.

Q: Probably my favorite are the horror/dark fantasy themed neotrad designs. Do you feel inspired by some movie, comic books characters etc? Oh, it will be so nice if you publish a book with interesting characters and crazy storylines.
A: I pay attention to how manga are illustrated. I like the contrast it has. Lots of black color. Black is everything. So it is a technique that works very well in tattooing. And thank you very much for the idea, I will consider it. :D

Q: Precise work!! No edit button! You have only your free mind and busy hands. How much tattooing as a job can be stressful? Even as a pro... a busy schedule can create sometimes a creative block. How do you handle it?
A: Some time ago I was stressed out because of the number of appointments that I had scheduled. For this reason, I made the decision to only tattoo 3 times a week, so I do not have creative blocks and work without stress.

Q: Any creative hobbies like digital art, painting etc?
A: I like to decorate spaces, it is also an art, architecture instilled this in me.

Q: If you were starting today what would you do?
A: I would focus first on learning to design well and then tattoo. One piece of advice I would give to young people who want to start tattooing is to take it seriously. This is not a game, not a hobby, it is a lifestyle.

Thanks for choose me, is so important to me!