After a long hiatus, feature artists and interviews are back!

For those who are unfamiliar with you and what you do, can you tell us a bit about yourself and walk us through your typical day?

I’m Australian born, moved to Manchester when i was 10 then moved back here when i was 25. I started tattooing in Leeds in September 2001.

My typical day consists of working, drawing, cleaning, playing with my pets, watching brainless crap on tv, talking shit with people at work.

What initially got you involved in art, and how did that lead you in to becoming a tattooist?

I was never a high achiever in academic stuff at school and art was the only thing I felt comfortable with. I never thought I would be able to make a career out of my art so I did photography at uni, which I really enjoyed and didn’t do too badly at. I ended up going more towards editorial photography and started taking portraits of heavily tattooed people. I had some work published but in the mean time was spending a lot of time at a tattoo shop in Leeds and one thing led to another. I had to hassle the hell out of the owner though!

Favourite medium apart from tattooing and why?

I’m finding my way with liquid acrylics,  I have used water colours but it’s wasn’t getting me the look I was after when my style started to change a year or so ago. I’d like to venture into oils at some point to see how I go with it. I used to paint as I tattooed, outline, black shading, colour over that but now i’m going for a less graphic/line based feel. Maybe something a little softer?

Who taught you to tattoo, and how have they had any effect on your style today?

I was taught in part by Keven ‘Butch’ Johnson and Chris Lowe who now resides in Maryland at Naked Art Tattoo. I still remember little things they taught me over the years whilst tattooing but I’ve worked with so many different people now and each and everyone of them has had some impact on me. Tattooing is such a personal thing, there are no real right or wrong things to do… Kind of.

Who or what else has had an adverse affect on your style and the way you tattoo?Where do you look for inspiration?

I look everywhere for inspiration, the most random things get me thinking. Not just ‘art’ stuff but all kinds of stuff.

Your work is predominantly Neo Traditional, although the little bit of Japanese work i’ve seen you do is amazing and pretty out of the box, so to speak – What draws you to traditional style work?

I’m not too sure. It suited the way I drew when i first started, as I said I did a photography degree so I hadn’t drawn properly for year before I started my apprenticeship, it was/is a hard slog. I’m not naturally gifted as an artist so it takes some work, not that it’s harder for me then others. It’s so personal. This is all just a natural development process for me.

I guess you could say Tattoo’s have become accepted in today’s society, possibly even expected, obviously there being more people for you to tattoo is a good thing, but do you think there is a downside to it?

No, not really, people are people. They will always have an opinion on something or other, good or bad.

I was reading through your blog and came across your post about Referencing VS Ripping Off, and that it’s somewhat of an epidemic with in the tattoo community, care to share your thoughts on the matter?

Hmmm, well. I’m all about referencing. Any tattooer or artist that claims to not reference something is a bloody liar! Even people doing really out there, different tattoos will draw their inspiration from somewhere, have a little reference to help them nail the thing they are trying to achieve. It’s just the natural thing to do. What i don’t agree with is looking at someone else’s tattoos in a magazine or the internet or whatever and straight up drawing the same thing! You want to do old school? Look at sailor Jerry (I know he’s a tattooer but he and others of his time are the pioneers of ‘old school’ tattooing). You want to do sexy ladies? Look at old movie posters and head shots, basically i believe you should always try to go back to the source. Photos of roses, not other peoples tattoos of roses, old illustrations or photos of pocket watches not other peoples tattoos of pocket watches, etc etc.

What was your first tattoo, and who did it?

Eeeekkkk! It was a terrible little thing on my thigh with about a million different elements in it done in a kitchen on a council estate in Bury, Manchester. I think i was 16-17.

Who do you think is really pushing the envelope when it comes to tattooing? Both in Australia and abroad?

Too many people to mention and for too many different reasons.

On a similar note, what are your thoughts on the Tattoo scene here in Australia?

It’s amazing! I hope other tattooers aren’t taking it for granted. We’re much luckier than other countries hit hard by the GEC. the clientele seem to be much more open and educated about what’s going on in tattooing and making choices to travel to get the tattoos they want by the people they want.

We live in turbulent times, what are your views on the world and society today?

No one wants to hear my opinions about the world today, trust me.

Advice to up and coming artists?

Work harder

Where can people follow what you’re up to and view your work?

Facebook

My Blog

Westside Tattoo Facebook

Manners Says:

Opinions are like arseholes, everyone’s got one.

Firstly, thank you for your time, what’s been happening?

For those who are unfamiliar with you and what you do, can you tell us a bit about yourself and walk us through your typical day?

What initially got you involved in art, and how did that lead you in to becoming a tattooist?

Tattooing esculated and quickly became out of control to tattoo at home.Too many drunk mates down the pub wanted to donate their bodies and I quickly became the guy to see for cheap tattoos, hahaha. I decided to get a job in a real shop and better myself.

Favourite medium to work with apart from tattooing and why?

And in saying that, you have an amazingly clean and flowing style.How did you find your niche, and do you ever like to stray from it?Has your tattooing style evolved from when you began?

I guess you could say Tattoo’s have become accepted in today’s society, possibly even expected,  obviously there being more people for you to tattoo is a good thing, but do you think there is a downside to it?

People make bad choices when following trends. It usually occurs when the mass latches on to somthing. They’ll realize how gay they look when a new trend comes along they kick tattoos to the curb and procced to look outta place with their Playboy Bunny tattoo and Southern Cross backjobs.

How do you think certain “reality” tattoo shows on TV have affected tattooing on a broad scale?

I hear you’ve designed some decks for Globe, how’d that come about?

They Donated some decks to Paint thru a contact, so we had fun with those.

What other tattooers do you think are really out there pushing the boundaries of tattooing?

There are some pretty good Tattooists pushing different areas of tattooing like Lars Uwe , Shige, Boris, Eckle…. dozens actually.

No doubt you have seen some pretty fucked tattoo’s in your time, what is the worst tattoo you’ve ever seen?

What are you thoughts on the resurgence of Traditional Tattooing?

I like the neo classical look I think. Portrait style tattoos ,greywash with color adorned objects like flowers etc around, looks great. Traditional is actually hard to do, and make it look perfect in its own kinda way. Not really a tattoo genre I’d do on skin, I like to get carried away, not be too limited with where i can go in a picture. I’m more into the illustration approach.

What was your first tattoo, and who did it?

Me and it wasnt good, haha. Covered up now is that black ornamental piece of crap.

What inspires you to create?

Freedom, epression, going to my happy place. I’m obsessive so I have to do somthing like draw/tattoo or play music.

Australia is home to a whole lot of amazing tattooers, almost daily i come across someone that makes me think, “Holy Shit!” What are your thoughts on the tattoo scene here in Australia?

There’s a whole new generation of people coming through the tattoo industry here. I think the talent out there is growing strong and up there with other parts of the world.

The competition is strong but I think healthy also.It’s very alive and motivating to see the broad spectrum of artists on offer here In Melbourne.

What’s in your pockets right now?

My earplugs, they get annoying to wear.

What have you been reading, listening to and watching lately?

What are five things that you always pack with you on your travels?

We live in turbulent times, what are your views on the world and society today?

Advice to up and coming artists?

Anything coming up that we should know about?

Word association, you know the deal, say whatever comes to your mind when you read the word.

I first came across Nate’s work when i was lurking the back streets of Collingwood, he was in the middle of doing a big flower mural, i was stoked on how tight it looked, grab a shot then walked off. It wasn’t until sometime later that i was cruising the Rad Store blog and saw that he did a wall for them and had a blog himself, it was only then i realised how talented this mother fucker actually is. Aerosol art, Tattoo, Illustration, he’s got it all on lock.

Firstly, thank you for your time, what’s been happening?

I have been doing a whole lot of work on these 3D layered pieces for a new show
at Brunswick St Gallery. That opens on the 13th of October as part of the Sweet
Streets Street Art Festival that’s going on in Melbourne at the moment. Apart
from that been skateboarding with my mates a bunch again now the weather has
been good again and daylight savings has just kicked in again…

For those who are unfamiliar with you and what you do, can you tell us a bit about yourself and walk us through your typical day?

Hmmm. I draw illustrations on paper, paint walls with spray cans, make artsy
crap for galleries and put pictures in people’s skin via a rapidly moving needles.
I just do things the same as anyone else. Except I was determined not be a 9
to 5 drone “why do I even exist” work jerk guy and motivated myself to get to a
level where I have some form of freedom to decide what I do with my days… My
typical day normally is getting up when I want, stretching and doing yoga for a bit,
get all the business stuff done, emails, errands etc. do as much work as I can get
done before I fry out about some time around 4-5pm and then go skating!

How did you initially get involved in art? How did you get in to graffiti and
tattooing from there?

I always drew from a young age. I guess it’s just something that has always held
my interest. Then in my teens I found graffiti through friends at school, fellow
skateboarders, neighbourhood kids and became fascinated. To be honest, it was
the thrill of the chase. The art itself was secondary to the fact that it was illegal
and I knew I was getting away with something. Then I guess years of that grew
into a deeper interest of line, shape, colour, illustration and starting to exhibit
works in professional shows where I guess you can claim a little glory instead
of having a name on a wall in an alley that someone saw at some time that I
will never know about. Which is nice. The anonymity, secrecy, fighting and
beef grow old. I am a simple man, I like to simplify things not complicate them.
And now, I guess I am leaning towards tattooing as the next step. I am looking
forward to getting some solid tattoos happening!

Who or what else has had an adverse affect on your style and the way you
create?

Old traditional style tattoo work has had a heavy impact on my style of artwork
over the last 5-6 years. Perhaps due to it’s recent resurgence in popularity?.. I
do know I am down for solid clean lines. Nice solid black outlines. Just like if
you have a few crazy colours in a piece on a wall and bang a black outline over
it. All of a sudden it just pops.

Have you had any formal training for any of your chosen mediums, or are you just ridiculously talented?

Anything I have gathered some form of proficiency at I have taught myself, with
the help from friends around me. I have always liked that do-it-yourself, fuck
everybody else punk ethos of doing things. In a way, the things that interest me
cannot be taught to you. You have to learn yourself. Years of breaking bones,
dislocating joints, rolling ankles and losing skin on concrete got me able to ride
a skateboard. Years of running about at night, on train lines, hanging out with
bad eggs, stealing, confrontations with police got me to a point where I could
confidently say I know how to do graffiti. Years of sitting at my desk drawing
pictures on paper got me to be able to accurately reproduce my thought onto
paper. Now tattooing, I luckily got a lot of equipment, and advice, from my friend
Danny (www.inkship.com) and just started tattooing friends at my house. How
else do you learn other than actually doing it?..

There is a major difference between the people that actually do things and
the people that think they do things because they just know all about it, typically
they are the jerks when you talk to them. They find themselves tossing off
about something because they have no self-confidence in what they have done
themselves. Nothing talks better than first hand experience I suppose…

What are your thoughts on both Tattooing and Graffiti saturating pop culture these days?

Do you think it’s a good or bad thing for the longevity and legitimacy of the
art forms and in turn dollars in the artists pockets, or do you think it will
lead to them fading out and a lot less people getting paid?

It may be a fad now for the commercial mainstream identities to have a tattoo
and show it off but when that fad dies out. There are still going to be the legit
crew that were doing it before anyone told them it’s the next big scene. Look
back to NYC in the 80’s when graffiti first started hitting high end galleries and
made some artists some serious money and credibility within the upper art
circles. And where is graffiti now, kids are still out there scribbling messy tags,
painting trains and running amok as much as when the original guys from New
York did. There will always be that core element to these sub cultures that will
keep that underground flame burning no matter who or how many people are
involved.

Do you put any thought in to trying to achieve a particular reaction from
people when they view your work?

Some illustrations I do, I think some may get a bit weird and evoke a natural
reaction of initial curiosity and wonder. But most people have access to anything
and everything on the internet so I am not surprised if people are not bowled over
by anything in my work. I just basically draw what interests me at the time or
perhaps a good idea I had thought of previously that I would really like to see on
paper. It’s kind of like the thing of ‘actually doing things’ like I said in a previous
question. I have this thing where I have an idea, but it is incomplete until the
finished illustration is sitting in front of me. Until then it’s purely just an idea.
When that illustration is complete I embrace that small moment of the satisfaction
of completion and then just put it aside and move on to the next piece..

Craziest place that you’ve got up?

I remember one night we went to paint this trackside spot right in the ghetto
area of East Glasgow, Scotland. The neds (chavs, hooligans, tracksuit wearing
crazy project kids) around there are super gnarly carrying machetes, chains and
spiked bats and we were creeping around right through the backs of some of
theirs houses to get to this spot! It’s funny, it’s one of those spots where you are
not thinking about the cops you just hoping you don’t run into any local heads
at 3am. My pal got all his front 4 teeth smashed out just a few weeks previous
when a young kid threw a half brick at him and it collected him straight in the
mouth. Quite a hairy area. But we painted and got out unscathed. Psyched.
We also painted the top of this abandoned silo once and creeping up the thin
metal stairs to the top in the pitch black trying to use my phone as some sort of
light so that I didn’t fall straight through a hole in the floor to my death. That was
scary. I continually had a bad feeling of possible death right until we got out of
there…

How close is the relationship between Aerosol art and tattooing with you? I noticed some of the walls you’ve done have a bit of a tattoo vibe to them, do the two overlap and compliment each other?

I started bringing my tattoo style work onto walls to see if I could cross over that
style of art to a new medium with the larger scale and technical differences with
using a spray can. Also it brought a passion for painting walls again. I guess
I had grown a little tired of lettering, basic fills, outlines, backgrounds and just
needed something else to work with. I like doing basic graffiti and didn’t really
want to get too tech with lettering so I decided to work on the more illustrative
side. Plus another reason is that it disconnects me from the graffiti world a little.
There is no alias or street rep or any of that. It’s just me painting some pictures
that I like on walls.. Simple. No beef. No hassle. When people ask me what I
write I just say “I don’t write, I just paint pictures!”

What difference to you between someone who is known as a street artist, opposed to someone else who is known as to be a writer?

Well one key difference is that a prolific street artist will probably get a
government grant to pursue his exploration of his art and claim praise where as a
prolific writer will just get jail time and possible street cred.
I guess on most occasions there is some form of political or social comment to
go along with the piece of street art. Be it satirical or serious. But a writer is just
basically out to destroy shit. I’m getting my name up where I can, as much as I
can, as big as I can, as sick as I can.

Oh.. and usually a young writer will be wearing Nike Air Max!..

And in saying that, what do you think about the state of graffiti today,
particularly here in Aus?

The state of graffiti in Australia from what I can see is going along nicely. The
older guys are naturally slowing up a bit, some guys are at the peak of their
game whilst the new breed are coming through hungry as ever to make a name
for themselves. There is always going to be someone trying to impress someone
else and continually raising the bar. We have better relations than ever with
international writers via the internet and the cross over of styles and technical
improvements with paint and cans will keep it evolving.

I guess the aim of the game when it comes to graffiti is to get up and be the
biggest, in turn crushing other writers, and battling it out with the can, did
it ever go past fighting with paint for you?

One dude I ran about with for a while when I was an open eyed teenager was
a total scumbag. We got tackled doing the insides of a train by undercovers
and then after it all went down I ended up doing some community service and
found out that he got nothing. Then I saw him once after and just totally flipped
my lid and took it out on him in the middle of the day in the middle of a carpark
in Frankston. It’s quite scary when your anger boils over and can take over like
that. But that wasn’t really your usual graffiti beef I suppose… Or I guess it is.
Haha.

Alright, lets talk about the net, I know a lot of the older crew of writers/
artists hate on the net a bit, and it’s always a bit of “In my day man, we had none of that shit” – What do you think about it? Positive or negative effect on graffiti as a whole?

I mean… What?. Are you going to stop the internet or something! You basically
have to adapt to your surroundings or just be happy with where you are at. The crew that are all about “back in my day” are just making excuses for being lazy and not being willing to learn anymore. I respect that fact of being present when
certain influential cultures were initiating and forming, or you feel you may have
helped shape certain aspects. That’s dope and I respect that. But if you don’t
mix that experience in with your present situation, you are just living in the past,
right?..
I guess the older writers grew up with more of an element of exclusivity
too. Back in the day only certain people were told that panels would be
running and only certain people had the photos of them and it was all a
little more sacred. I was talking to a friend today who said he painted a wall
in Frankston and by the time he had got back to the city there were photos
of it up on the internet and everyone on that site has seen it already..
You know? The paint probably wasn’t even dry properly. But that’s just
the speed in which things operate now. The effect of the internet and
instantaneous access to so many people.,.

What’s in your pockets right now?

A keyring. With 3 keys on it. House front door, old bike lock which got tossed 12
months ago and… something else?.. Haha.

Oh… and twenty cents.

Graffiti and crazy situations go hand in hand, you must have a few stories to tell, what has been a stand out moment for you?

I was just thinking of this time the other day when I went to this outer suburb
place to meet a guy I had met once before to go and paint some freight trains
in his local yard. I didn’t really know him so I took another friend along with me.
We went out to the local pub to banter with the locals and pass some hours into
the night. By the time we left to go get our paint we were wasted. We got to the
yard with more beers and started doing a whole car top to bottom. It seemed
so chill that we were taking our time and rolling joints. I mean, fucked if I knew
where any sort of security was?.. Then these local lads scoped us out and came
in and asked us if they could paint something with us. So being all wasted we
were like “ Yeah, fuck yeah! Show us what you got!” So they nicked off, got
some tins from home and started busting. One guy did this ‘this is my second
piece but it’s coming along nicely’ type lettering piece. But the other guy started
this random face portrait thing top to bottom! We were just hanging off to the
side still drinking beers, keeping an eye out whilst this dude just got all artsy on
the side of a train. It was fucking sick. Seemed so normal and chill whilst we
were doing it. But looking back on it, it was kind of crazy how laid back the whole
scenario just played out. A good night to remember.

What have you been reading, listening to and watching lately?

I am currently reading Oscar Wide’s The Picture of Dorian Gray . His excessive
olde english grammar makes it a task to read some parts but otherwise it’s
good! Also just started reading the The Political Theory of Anarchism by April
Carter. Only read a few random sections but it seems interesting. It’s good to
be informed by reading but you can tell the people that are only book-smart,
you know? Been listening to a lot of 90’s Hip Hop again. Nas, Kool Keith,
Redman. Shit is still so good. I do not really watch TV at all. Did watch O
Brother Where Art Thou the other night though. I love the Coen Brothers movies,
great characters and dialogue.

To the general public and authorities, there is a very fine line between what is considered art and what is considered vandalism and/or crime, Victoria recently introduced some straight Nazi style Anti-Graffiti laws, what are your thoughts on that?

It’s pretty crazy to think that you are instantly deemed guilty of certain charges
and then you have to prove your innocence. ‘Innocent until proven guilty’ has
definitely been thrown away with. Let’s suspect the worst of everyone and
promote fear amongst society so that everyone stays in at night with their
windows and doors locked.

What are five things that you always pack with you on your travels?

Sketch Book, Pens, Toothbrush, Skateboard and Bulk Scrilla!

We live in turbulent times, what are your views on the world and society
today?

On a grand scale I feel we are fucking up as the human race. Too much greed,
to much hunger to continually keep changing and evolving whilst not being
conscious of the present state of things. You watch people continually trying to
tell us that they know the best for people on a mass scale but you can see that
they don’t even believe it themselves, just doing what is needed to get there pay
cheque and look after themselves. Just watch politicians in action and you feel
like they have regressed to primary school yard tactics of slander and cunning
manipulation to win friends. Too much unnecessary bull shit. But what are you
going to do right?.. I am not about to go out on the boat and ram the Japanese
whaling ships whilst getting shot at! I am not about to go and save refugees from
detention centres either! I just go about my day, trying to maintain what I feel
is a good balance for myself and pretty much put hope in the majority looking
at themselves properly and not listening to the broader voices coming from the
greed of money.

Advice to up and coming artists?

Do want what ever you want you to do! That’s what being an “artist” is! Basically
creating something that you feel you need to. With no rules attached. Whatever
form it comes in.. Music, Graffiti, Emotional Improv Dance sequences! Do you
whatever you like. And do the shit out of it, disregard negative comment and
do what you want to do so that you acquire a level of proficiency that you feel
comfortable within yourself about..

Anything coming up that we should know about?

Yes!.. I am part of a group show at the Bruswick Street Gallery
(www.bsgart.com.au) opening on the 13th of October. With a group of street
artists and the likes. Should be a good one. I got all artsy fartsy and made 7
different 3D handcut foamboard pieces instead of my usual illustrations. So I
am kind of excited to show those! Come down if you in Melbs around that time.
And I also started working in a new tattoo studio that just opened it’s doors today
down at Smith St, Collingwood. True Hate Tattoo (http://truehatetattoo.com)
Pretty brutal name, but I kind of like it! So that is super exciting for me right now!
Come in and have a chat if you are around there too!

Word association, you know the deal, say whatever comes to your mind
when you read the word.

Julia Gillard -  Hmmmm

America – Excess

Obama – Good Luck

England – Rain

The Queen – Not dead yet! Who cares.

Legal – Constraint

Illegal – Minor Freedoms

Religion – Amazing display of mass mental control

Time – Wish I didn’t have to abide by it.

Greed – Surrounds me

Humanity – On a slippery slope

Peace – Rarity

Freedom – Within you

Art – Fun

Graffiti – More fun

Life – is always passing by

Happiness – Stoked when I truly obtain it.

Where can people follow what you’re up to and view your work?

They can have a squiz at www.nategamble.com…

Firstly, thank you for your time, what’s been happening?

I’m facing some busy times right now since I’m having a son in November
this year. Exiting!

For those who are unfamiliar with who you are and what you do, can you tell us a bit about yourself and walk us through a day in your life?

Well, I grew up in a town called Linköping in the middle of Sweden. Moved to Malmö about 5 years ago were I live now with my girlfriend Maria and our dog Franke. A normal day in my life would probably start with getting up at eight doing my morning routine (showering for 40 min. I need it to wake up!) Then me and Frank go on a half hour walk to work, he`s with me at work every day…
I’m usually the last to get to the shop, all the other guys likes to draw in the morning. Im more of a night person. Then I have lunch and get ready for tattooing. I’m pretty structured when it comes to tattooing so when I get started i just go until we’re done. We try to take a small break in the middle of the day but thats pretty much it. Then me and Frank head back home. At nights I usually just hang with my girl and friends or I paint or draw for some prints or flash or something.I’d like to say that I would often go see a concert or show or something special but I’m usually pretty tired after work so were mostly at home these days. Especially with my girlfriend being pregnant and all.

Do you recall your first encounter with tattooing or at least a tattoo?Was tattooing something you were always going to end up doing?

The first encounter with tattoos must have been an old friend of mine´s older brother which had a bunch of pretty shitty tattoos. He was a lot older then us and played in a band which was of course very cool! He had really ugly skull on his arm and an Indian chief on his back and we thought it was awesome! So i guess I was pretty inspired by that… I was always drawing and painting and stuff, and when i finished 9th grade i had to those school orientation for the Gymnasium.(Thats what high school is called in Sweden) I knew I wanted to work with something that had to do with drawing but i guess I realized that making a living out of being just an artist would be pretty hard.. I was pretty good at making money even at that age, I drew naked pictures of girls and stuff and sold them to kids in school, hahaha! Me and my buddys would always go around town stealing stuff and shoplifting in stores so i can´t say I wasn’t interested in money. Anyway my sister thought she knew a guy that worked at a tattoo shop in town (she didn´t it tured out later) but she told me to go see the guy and show him my drawings. So thats what i did you know and he was like “Yeah thats nice but your to young to start tattooing.” But he told me to come back now and then and show him some more stuff. I guess I was kind of stupid and didn´t realize he brushed me of, so I just kept coming back with more drawings!
So after a while he was like you could work here over the summer and we´ll see how it turns out… So then i started apprenticing at the same time I was in school. Everyday after school i went to the shop and worked there until late at night, drawing designs for for customers cleaning and just trying to absorb the vibe of the whole tattoo thing. I thought it was just awsome! I mean here I was 15 years old and drawing designs for grown biker dudes! And i was making money witch kept me out of alot of
other trouble.

Who taught you to tattoo, and have they had any effect on your style today?

The shop I just mentioned was run by a guy called Nyp,a who I apprenticed for and he taught me all the basics of tattooing, like building needles, learning about machines and just how to draw for tattooing. I think he more effected my work ethics then my actual tattoo style today. But we had a lot of guest artists at the shop at that time like Dan Troccio, Johan Losand, Max Stålhammar Spike among others, and i guess all those guys have had some part in the path i took in tattooing.

You do some amazing large scale Japanese and Neo-Traditional work, your faces almost have a cartoonish aspect to them. How would you describe your style?What draws you to tattoo the imagery that you do?

I’ve always had a hard time to pigeon-hole myself to just one style. Especially since I started to work in a real street shop. I guess its a mix between European Traditional Tattooing and Japanese. I try not to get a to cartoonish look to it, but i think you have to draw the main shapes of a tattoo motive pretty bold to make it hold up well and maybe that’s what gives it that cartoon vibe sometimes.now I’m more into doing kind of eerie, spooky, raw looking tattoos likes knights, spiders, skulls and stuff! I’m always going to have one foot in Japanese tattooing but i like to do something more with it or at least do some of the more unusual motives or characters. Other then that I’m very inspired by like old medieval European prints and 19th century ink illustrations. I hope that answers it… Haha, its hard to put your finger on it you know, It just turns out like that for the most part!

What’s been going through your speakers lately? Do you think the music you listen to influences your art and tattooing?What or who are your biggest artistic influences away from music?

When I was younger I always used to listen to hardcore or punk but these days I’m just not that angry any more you know, so it mostly slower music. I´ve listened to David Allan Coe a lot lately but i don’t really know if it effects my drawing or tattooing. It’s just what i feel like at the time. I guess my biggest  has always been looking at old book illustrations and prints and stuff.

For us here in Australia, unless we go looking we don’t hear much about Sweden, let alone Swedish tattooers. What is the tattoo scene like in Sweden? Who’s pushing the envelope so to speak when it comes to tattooing?

I don’t want to go in to who´s more creative or pushing it the most, I try to just do my best and always think, how can i make this tattoo cool or fun to look at. Just try something I haven´t done 20 times before you know. I think the tattoo scene is getting a bit crowded now. When i started out there were like 30 shops in the entire country so everybody knew each other. But now there is like 30 shops in every town and a lot of the mystic within tattooing is gone i guess…

Who do you think is really pushing things on a worldwide scale?

Wow that’s so hard. There are so many good artists out there and so many different styles too, you know. I guess Thomas Hooper and Daniel Albrigo is doing a lot in New York. And I just spent some time with Matt Shamah and Jim Miner from Analog tattoo in San Jose, they’re all hard working guys. I don’t know, there is so many pushing in different directions!

What other mediums do you dabble in, apart from tattooing?

Mainly Water color painting but I’ve just started to do a couple of prints with markers…

On that note, what other non tattoo artists are you into?

Again there are so many but to mention some i’ve been inspires by lately i’d say Alphonse Mucha, Yoshitoshi and Posada.

I guess you could say Tattoo’s have become accepted in today’s society,
possibly even expected, obviously there being more people for you to tattoo is a good thing, but do you think there is a downside to it?

Of course its good to have a lot of clients and that people are more educated so to speak about tattoos these days, but at the same time the magic has gotten a bit diluted, you know?

How do you think certain “reality” tattoo shows on TV have affected tattooing on a broad scale?

Same thing there, I guess theres a lot of good with it but for me it seems like to many people have access to the knowledge these days… And in general its just like, if you don´t have to go out of your way to learn something, your not going to respect it as much as the ones who had to really strive fore it you know! Back in the day you really had to earn that knowledge and it wasn´t just handed out to anyone.. These days you can get a “how to tattoo dvd” of the internet! And it kind of kills the magic
a little bit wouldn´t you say? But on the other hand the demand for the artistic skills are a lot higher these days then it used to be.

No doubt you have seen some pretty fucked tattoo’s in your time, what is the  worst tattoo you’ve ever seen?

Back at the shop were i started out there was this social worker who came by the shop with a 14 year old retarded girl who´d gotten a bunch of really big black sperms tattooed on here stomach by some local scratcher, that one was really bad and she wanted our help to nail this guy!

What was your first tattoo, and who did it?

My first real tattoo was a vampire girls face on my leg. It was done by Nypa.

What inspires you to create?

Having creative people around me!

It’s your day off, what are we going to find you doing?

Probably drawing! haha I know its sad! Or doing something with my girl and the dog maybe.

What’s in your pockets right now?

To do list, Iphone and money.

What have you been reading, listening to and watching lately?

I read The damage done 12 years of hell in Bangkok prison a while ago…It’s good but terrible. I don´t really watch that much TV…

Name five things that you always pack with you on your travels?

I try to travel light. Hopefully just some tattoo machines, tubes, passport and some clean shorts and t-shirts.

We live in turbulent times, what are your views on the world and society today?

I think people worry to much these days anyway. We have a tendency to take our selfs way to serious. I try not to be one of those people who worry about everything. Media has a big part in all this bullshit. People are and have always been assholes you know, nothings changes. (I just listened to George Carlin= brilliant) I mean all we can do is to take care of the people around us anyway…

Any words of advice to all the would be tattooers out there?

Work hard ,respect the trade, and try to contribute something to the scene…

Word association, you know the deal, say whatever comes to your mind when you read the word.

Australia – Weird animals
Julia Gillard – Who?
America – California
Obama – Better i hope?
Sweden – Home
Fredrik Reinfeldt – Bald guy
Tattoo – My life
Religion – Interesting but for morons
Time – Need more of it
Greed – Sometimes a carrot but mostly bad…
Humanity – Over rated haha
Peace – Not likely
Freedom – Not having to much stuff
Art – Expressions
Life – Good
Happiness – Goal

Where can people follow what you’re up to and view your work?

I have a blog which i update pretty often. peterlagergren.se check it out!

Peter Says:

Thank to everybody thats been a great inspiration these last 12 years Maria, Nypa, Charlie Nilsson, everybody at Oldbones tattoo, Thad Ritchey,Marius Meyer, Chad Koeplinger Kalle Södergren, Max Stålhammar,Johan Losand, Judd Rippley,Uncle Allan,Filip Henningsson and everybody else ive not forgotten but couldent fit in this article.

Upon reading this interview you may notice some spelling mistakes and strange sentence structure, keep in mind that as Horitoshi is from Japan, while his English is excellent, some of our words don’t translate to Japanese and vice versa. With me being the ignorant Westerner that I am, my Japanese is limited to, “Hello”, “Good Bye”, “Thank You” and all the words to the children’s song, “London Bridge is Falling Down” – So with out his excellent multi-linguistic skills this interview would never have happened!

On that note, I decided that I would leave the interview exactly as he sent it to me with out changing any thing to make it easier to read in English.
I would again like to extend my gratitude and thanks to Horitoshi for taking the time to be a part of this, you truly are one of the modern day masters!

What initially got you involved in art, and how did that lead you in to becoming a tattooist ?

My mother took me art classes when i was kid and father gave me a lot of art stuff. I had a lot of friends who has tattoo . I was interesting about tattoo then .My friends had tattoo by Filip Lu, Luke Atkinson etc..So I was in good peoples for knowing tattooing.

Favourite medium to work with apart from tattooing and why?

I’m using orange pencil ,blue pencil and black pen for drawing. I have used marker for loose drawing.
Who taught you to tattoo, and how have they had any effect on your style today?

My teacher had taught me tebori style which i have continued up to this day.

And in saying that, how have your styles evolved since you began tattooing?

I began using machine for outlining.I still continued to do shading by Tebori.

What are your thoughts on Japanese tattooing and imagery widely used through out the Western world?

I appreciate peoples interest in Japanese culture.but it has became Westernized.

Japan has a different history of tattooing . Although it used to have a negative image .I think that is changing.

How do you think certain “reality” tattoo shows on TV have effected tattooing on a broad scale?

I enjoy watching them for fun.But I don’t think it shows the real tattooing process.

You use the Tebori method to tattoo, what are the advantages of hand poking opposed to using a machine? Do you use machines at all?

I was doing all by hand until 4 years ago (outlining, shading ,and color)Recently I have been using machine for outlining .I think colors stay longer with tebori .And healing is quicker.But it takes longer than machine.

How many of your customer actually finish their hand poked tattoos due to the pain?

Most of my customer are still in the process of completely their tattoos.

Greatest accomplishment as an artist/ tattooist?

I can’t choose.

No doubt you have seen some pretty fucked tattoo’s in your time, what is the worst tattoo you’ve ever seen?

I wont say the question, I wouldn’t want to hear someone else comment on my works for bad things.

Favourite place to relax and chill out?

Probably my home.

What was your first tattoo, and who did it?

A tiger on my arm from an elder tattooer.

Describe the latest piece you’ve been working on.

A snake on whole head. im using mostly black and grey with some limited colors. bold line and solid colors, smooth shading.

What’s in your pockets right now?

Nothing.

What are your views/opinions on the World and Society today?

Economies suck everywhere.

Name 5 things you always take with you on your travels.

Cellphone,underwear,back pack,ID,japanese YEN.

How much has tattooing changed since you began, and where do you see it going in the future?

Peoples wanna be tattooer a lot than before. It’s going to survival.

Advice to aspiring artists/tattooists?

Just enjoy your life.

Anything in the mix or coming up that we should know about?

I want to try moving somewhere besides Japan for getting new experience .I will know more Japan after that.

Bunshin Says:

Thanks for taking your time to read this. Enjoy Japanese tattooing!! Cheers!

Word association, you know the deal, say whatever comes to your mind when you read the word.

Australia – Great Barrier Reef, beef, koala, kangaroo, Ayers Rock.

Kevin Rudd – Sorry I have no ideas…

Japan – Zipangu

Yukio Hatoyama – Done…

America – Freedom

Obama – President, pioneer.

Religion – Buddhism.

Time – is money

Greed -Double edged sword

Humanity – Human

Peace- – Peace

Freedom – I needed!

Tattooing – Irezumi.

Art – Huge.

Life – Story.

Happiness – Keep finger crossed!!