Last weekend adidas and Baseline put together the raddest skate day. Check out the full story with photos »
REVOLUTION WAREHOUSE SALE THIS FRIDAY
Due to popular demand, the Revolution Warehouse sale has been extended and will run every Friday for the »
SENYOL | SALON 91 SOLO SHOW PHOTOS
The Man of Dust is a solo show by Senyol, currently running at Salon 91 in Cape Town. »
Tag Archives: tattoos
TATTOO TUESDAYS
Tattoo by Manuela Gray / Wildfire
Norman Collins – Story Behind the Man
It was clear from an early age that Norman was destined to leave his mark. Born on the west coast of America in 1911, Collins soon gained the moniker “Jerry” after his father noticed a similarity in disposition between the young troublemaker and the family’s cantankerous mule. By his teens, “Jerry” was hand-poking pelican ink tattoos as he ventured around the country hopping freight trains. At 19, he arrived in Chicago, cutting his tattoo chops in the infamous arcades of State Street. It was there that he enlisted in The Great Lakes Naval Academy. Skipping the globe on schooner ships, Jerry passed through the China Seas and other remote ports of call – beginning a life-long obsession with Asian culture, art, and imagery.
Tattoo by Little G / Cape Electric Tattoo
Finishing his Naval stint in the late ‘20s, Collins decided to settle in the then “remote” island of Oahu, Hawaii. In some ways, his timing could not have been better (or worse- depending on who you ask!) for this “last outpost” would soon become the stomping ground for over a million soldiers and sailors. All of which were ready to live life to the fullest – usually contained within a 48-hour Honolulu shore leave!
Tattoo by Tyler Murphy / Sins of Style
For the next 40 years, Sailor Jerry had a constant canvas of carousing military men to obsessively perfect his deftly crafted, boldly lined, balls-forward style that incorporated both American designs and traditions with Asiatic coloring and sensibilities. His one-of-a-kind tattoos and flash would eventually find their way into the highly secretive world of Japanese tattoo masters known as “Horis”. Thus, Jerry became one of the first American tattoo artists to correspond directly with these masters -trading colors, designs, and techniques.
You see, there aren’t many men like Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins around anymore. The father of old-school tattooing, Sailor Jerry was a true classic in every sense of the word. A tough old seadog with a shrewd intellect, Jerry stood up for himself and stood by his work; earning a legacy that is still felt today.
Tattoo by Tyler Murphy / Sins of Style
INTERVIEW WITH TATTOO ARTIST SHAUN NEL
So how many years have you been tattooing now?
It’s been about… last December was 9 years, so just a little bit over 9 years.
Did you start in South Africa or in the States?
I didn’t really have an opportunity to be able to start in Africa. I didn’t think I would be able to get a spot drawing things, you know, so… I mean I’d always had it kinda in the back of my mind to do it in high school, but yeah, it was never seriously like an option until I left England and went to the States. And then I managed to weave my way into a shop there by hanging around and scrubbing tubes and stuff, and just selling stuff. They all knew that I could draw and wanted to tattoo and everything, and finally I was lucky enough to get an apprenticeship. That was in 2001.
So then did you work in different shops or…
No no, I stayed at that shop pretty much until I started traveling a few years ago, but that was home base for a long time.
What made you want to travel?
I just figured there’s so much to see and do in the States, you know. It was a good opportunity at the time to hit the road and meet tons of people and make up new friends and connections and that kinda thing. There’s just so much cool stuff to do out there.
Another tattoo artist that I spoke to told me that it’s really important to travel as a tattoo artist, as your experiences travelling are part of what make you a good tattoo artist. What do you think?
Yeah for sure, I mean the more you travel, the more it helps to enhance your skills by seeing different ways of doing things, different styles and that kinda thing so yeah it’s good to travel and kinda get yourself out there, just so that you don’t get too stuck in your little rut, and you’ll become more varied as an artist.
A lot of tattoo artists have been saying how the Cape Town International Tattoo Convention has really helped to grow the tattoo community and make it stronger. How do you feel about it?
It’s awesome. Manuela (Gray/Wildfire) has done so much to make it happen in the last few years for the tattoo community. You get guys that, a few years ago, were pretty good at what they did, and now they’ve grown so much because of the conventions and being exposed to international plateaus, and then going overseas and meeting other people. So it’s great that things are happening for South Africa. It’s awesome cause South Africa’s kinda closed off from the rest of the world, and has been for a long time, including tattooing, so it’s good to get all the international exposure. Plus it’s awesome coming home for a convention, to great weather. It’s usually winter when we come out. Yeah, it’s a good excuse to come home and just enjoy it and travel, and work. We’re all really busy when we come here cause everybody wants to get tattooed.
How have people found out about you here? Because you haven’t been in the country for a while. Was last year’s convention your first time?
No, I’ve been coming every year… this is my third one. I mean, obviously I’ve known some of the guys that tattoo here in Cape Town, like Tyler (Murphy/Sins of Style) and Derek (Baker/Metal Machine) and those guys for a long time. I’m friends with those guys. Obviously Manuela is very good at putting everybody’s name out there with the website and with promotion and that kinda thing. We get tons of people e-mailing us just off the website, so it’s pretty awesome. She’s done a really good job.
With all your travels and your years on the road, is there any one experience that stands out? You must have had some pretty crazy experiences, and met weird people and that kind of thing.
No matter where you go, you’re gonna run into some weird people. It seems like every city has their weird people. I try stay out of trouble as much as I can, though. I don’t look for trouble, so I try to avoid the wierdo’s and crazy people. But there’s nothing really that sticks out you know. Stuff happens on the road, just driving you know… everyday, someone’s gonna cut you off or something. There’s always stuff going on, but I just try and stay out of trouble as much as possible.
Talking about your tattooing, do you draw inspiration from anything speicifically?
Um… yeah, I try to stick with being based in traditional American tattooing, and I take some inspiration from Japanese tattooing, using lots of black, heavy outlines, strong contrast, bold colour, keeping it really simple… Also, when you’re trying to draw something, you don’t draw from somebody else’s drawing. Like, when I try and draw a rose, I don’t look at somebody else’s tattoo of a rose and draw from that. I’ll try and draw it from a picture of an actual rose, and translate that into my version of a traditional tattoo. I’m not copying. Also, I’m constantly learning how to draw new things, as I try and draw from reality every time, and then just translate it into tattooing.
Is that how’s you’ve worked from the beginning?
Yeah, for the most part. At least for the last 7 years or so, that’s how I’ve been working. I got critiqued really hard really early on by a really well-known tattooist, and he told me that’s what to do. You don’t look at other people’s tattoos and draw them, you look at reality.
Because that’s the easy way…
Yeah…
Do you have a website or something we can check out?
Yeah, I have shaunnel.com. It has my portfolio, but it’s more of a blog actually. I post on it pretty regularly, usually at least one a month, if not more. It’s all the stuff I’ve been doing and places I’ve been.
Will you be back again soon?
Definitely. I mean, as long as there’s a convention on I’ll be here, you know. I almost didn’t make it this year, but I definitely want to try and make it out here as much as possible.
ANDREW POMMIER INTERVIEW
Andrew Pommier is an artist from Toronto, Canada, and has been producing amazing work for a while now. He has done countless skateboard deck and wheel graphics, t-shirt graphics, and many other awesome things. Just check out some of the art is this interview to get an idea. He recently exhibited at the Public Domaine exhibition in Paris, and is an international RVCA artist.
When did you first know that you were going to be a professional artist? How did all this begin?
I started working as a full time artist about 7 years ago. At that time I had had enough exposure in skateboarding and the internet to have a presence where people began approaching me for a few larger projects, which came at a time when I was moving west with my (then) girlfriend. Moving to Vancouver from Toronto removed all my previous income streams. In Toronto, I had been working freelance as a set decorator on commercial shoots, which was easy money and didn’t take up too much of my time in a month so I managed to have a lot of time to paint. Moving was the push I needed to turn to art as a full time profession. After the move I had enough in the bank to sustain me for a about a year and if no other work or sales came my way then I would have to start looking for employment and that has yet to happen. I feel pretty lucky so far.
What do you say when people ask you what you do?
I usually tell them I’m an artist/graphic designer. Both terms are really ambiguous, but seem to work well together. In answering with both terms I, in vain, mitigate the inevitable question of what type of art do you do, which is always, always an impossible question to answer, as even when using the correct descriptive terms for my artistic practice, people will make up their own pictures in their heads and come to their own conclusions, which don’t likely meet up with my description.
You studied at the Ontario College of Art and Design, in Italy, and in Canada. How much of an impact do you think your formal art education has on your work?
It was very formative for me. It opened up a lot of doors creatively and exposed me to a lot of ways to make an artistic statement. Before entering art school I had no concept of what a modern art making practice entailed. I entered art school thinking I would be a commercial artist and I came out leaning towards fine art. Of course I still do commercial work, as I have always been drawn to it, but I truly enjoy wrestling with oils and traditional mediums in a modern context. The year in Italy helped me understand what a studio practice entailed as the program was an independent studio course so my time was my own with only two required classes weekly. Most of my fellow students used that freedom to spend more time traveling and being tourists than working. I was the opposite. I did travel (of course) but most days were spent going to the studio, if for nothing else just to be there and inevitably work would get done just by the mere fact of being there. I continue those habits that I formed in Italy with my studio today. I wake up these days planning on getting to the studio. Usually I’ll get there, other days something else will demand my time.
You have a couple tattoo posts on your blog. Do you have any tattoos?
Yes, I do have tattoos. I got my first one when I was 21 and had a bunch of work done over those first few years, for better or for worse. I’ve recently started getting tattoos again after a few years away from it, which has been interesting because I have matured and now have a better idea of what I want to have on my body for the rest of my life and I’m also happy not to have gotten fully sleeved during one era. I like where tattooing is now, there is return to more traditional imagery. It’s timeless and classic, but also open to a personal take on the imagery.
Is there a meaning behind the general themes that you apply to a lot of your characters? For example, smoking and wearing masks?
There isn’t much meaning in my work at the origin of it. I like to mix symbols and iconography into my pieces and see how they bounce off of each other. The masks started off being playful and comic but recently evolved into a more considered element to my work. The mask is a multifaceted element that is both a symbol of fear, when used by thieves and terrorists for example, or for protection when talking about the practical warmth it offers but also as I way to preserve ones identity and control how people perceive you. Smoking is an element I have used regularly for a while now. I like it as a way to corrupt characters and it plays off the cuteness that is a characteristic of my work that I can’t seem to shake, but also smoking brings the figure closer to the viewer by engaging in a daily ritual activity.
What do you do in your free time?
Procrastinate mostly, ride bicycles, read, draw, travel, go to the beach, hang out with friends – pretty regular stuff for the most part. I don’t have any strange hobbies or interests.
What music have you been listening to lately?
Lately I have been listing to The New Pornographers, Sebadoh, NoMeansNo, The Rural Alberta Advantage, a smattering of southern rap like UGK and Paul Wall, Wu-Tang of course. I really got into Jessica Lea Mayfield’s first album. That thing was on repeat for a few months.
Skateboard art is obviously something that you enjoy doing. How did you get into doing art for the skateboard industry?
I got into it with a little help from my brother Scott, who was a really excellent skateboarder in his day. After getting hurt a few times he turned to photography and climbed the ranks pretty quickly. I was able to use some of the doors he opened. The other important thing I did was travel to California and meet a few key people. A lot of what’ve I’ve done in skateboarding has been because I was there at hand when someone needed a graphic or someone thought I would be a good fit for a company that they also worked for. That’s how I started doing graphics for RVCA. I roomed with Yogi Proctor in Munich when we where both there for a group art show connected to the ISPO trade show.
Best and worst trends in skateboarding?
It’s funny how everybody used to hate on Chris Cole because he was perceived as a pawn of Jamie’s but now he’s cool cause he rips, which he always has. Same kind of thing applies to Sheckler. So I guess hating is the worst if that can be considered a trend. The best is just fucking skating. I’m a big fan of just straight up ripping. The way the Anti Hero crew rolls. No nonsense. Just going for it. Busenitz is the best example of that type of skating.
What do you think of the internet?
I’m all for it. I think most, if not every creative professional, whether in fine art or commercial art, can talk about how the internet has helped to advance their careers or at the very least increased their profile. I can’t say anything original about it. Communication is now pretty seamless. The internet allows me to promote my art to a large and vast audience. I can work from anywhere that has a half way decent internet connection. It’s a game changer for sure.
Andrew Pommier – FUEL TV Signature Series ID from FUEL TV on Vimeo.
Any links we should check out?
andrewpommier.com
scratching.tumblr.com
momentumskate.com
scottpommier.com
artobserved.com/
contemporaryartdaily.com/
CAPE TOWN TATTOO CONVENTION PHOTOS
The Cape Town Tattoo Convention went down this weekend at the Pavilion Conference Centre, V&A Waterfront. The atmosphere of the new venue, filled with tons of tattoo enthusiasts and the collective buzz of tattoo machines from all over the world, was amazing. Topped with the after show parties throughout Cape Town over the weekend, made this years convention an epicly good time. Check out some photos from the convention, more tattoo interviews to come and if you didn’t make, get down there next year! More info on the convention HERE.
LIVE FAST DIE LAST
The final Cape Town Tattoo Convention party is happening tonight at the Zula Bar with The Revelators, Wolf Town and more. Free entry with a Convention weekend pass.
TYLER B MURPHY INTERVIEW PART 2
This is the second in the two-part interview with Sins of Style tattoo artist, Tyler B Murphy.
THE NINJA GETS A TATTOO AT SINS OF STYLE
Tyler B Murphy of Sins of Style spent 11 hours hand-poking The Ninja the other day. Crazy good work.
