If you really want to go the tattoo app route, then yes, there is an app for all that stuff.
I like what the artists I work with are doing in the New Yorker. The magazine is all about the tattoo game – it’s like an interactive magazine for tattoos. I’m a big fan of the magazine (and) a lot of the art that I work with and produce. It’s really really cool.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Illustrations for the New Yorker’s ‘The Tattooed’ print series Photograph: The New Yorker
Do you find doing the job a little repetitive?
You’re at work from 8am to 8pm, sometimes, if you want to be sure that you don’t overwork yourself in the time your body is capable of. You do a tattoo, and then another one at eight, or a second one at nine, and you have to go back to work. So there are times when my legs hurt just because I’m so exhausted at work.
Do you have a tattoo tattoo? If so, do you usually get one from a friend or family member?
I do. It’s a pain in the butt to look for them to have.
When someone comes to you for help, do you find it easier to work with someone who has already had something done?
I don’t know that a lot of tattoo companies will let you know whether you’re in the right hands. If you look through the online listings for a place to get a tattoo, you can see when people have already had someone done, and that kind of helps. But if you can’t trust that one owner, then it’s okay to look elsewhere. I’m really into being around a lot of tattooers.
I’ve been in tattoo shops that have lots of tattooers. There’s an art aesthetic to a lot of these people with tattoos, and they are all nice people. They put their heart and soul into a tattoo. That’s cool. I don’t have a problem being around people who have already been tattooed. It’s just the fact that my personal preferences may not match theirs.
How do you decide which customers to send your models?
Honestly, it’s not like I’m judging – I’m just trying to find which people I’d like to see and who aren’t getting into trouble. And if we don’t have any clients that fit in, then there can be issues there. I have had a