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!