What inspired you to be a Tattoo artist? Guy>My sister asked me one day if I wanted to go with her to get a tattoo. I was 16 at the time and had never thought about it before, but was always artistically active and found the idea interesting. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and had all sorts of crazy dreams the night before we went. I brought my own drawing and was fascinated by the whole process. Watching the artist work, I couldn’t help but think; “I could do that. I bet I could really get into doing that”. I collected a lot of work in my teens and always intended to get into tattooing, once I could find myself some proper guidance. My apprenticeship with Bob Oslon started in October 1988 and I haven’t looked back since.
What is one thing you think all tattooist should know? Guy>If you create each and every tattoo as if you’re wearing it yourself, you’ll always turn out your best work, and every day’s work will look a little bit better.
What’s your “pet-peve”? Guy>I’m really put off by the notion some tattooists have that they somehow own their clients’ skin, and start feeling like they can tell their clients what they can and can’t do on their bodies. I have actually known of some tattooists who have been downright abusive with their clients when they decided to collect from someone else. We have to always remember to respect our clients and to wish them the utmost happiness with their collections, even if it means collecting from many artists, or having something we did fixed or enhanced. Their happiness as collectors always should come before our pride as artists, even if that’s hard for us to swallow sometimes. I believe that if we respect our clients, we will do much better in this business than if we are possessive of them and try to control them.
What is one thing you would like to change about the industry of tattooing? Guy>It would be nice to see more education all around, both with tattooists and clients. This is happening in a slow but sure way, so we know it can happen. Improvements in education and distribution of knowledge are the reason tattooing is enjoying the renaissance it is right now, so more couldn’t possibly be a bad thing.
What is your “fantasy” tattoo?The one you dream of doing? Guy> One day it would be nice to do a whole body as one abstract organic design, using everything I know about texture, luminosity, flow, depth and placement to create a maximalized visual statement in a unified bodysuit. This is a tough request, though, since most folks, by the time they realize they want a bodysuit, already have quite a bit of work on them.
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