“I like to be quite free and experimental with my artwork” – interview with tattoo artist Meg Roberts

Tattoo artist Meg Roberts (@meg.the.cyclopz_) creates blackwork and dotwork tattoos at The Drawing Room in Coventry. We chatted to Meg about her style, her love of cats and the reason she fell in love with tattooing…

How long have you been tattooing?

I’ve been tattooing for four years now. Two of which were my tattoo apprenticeship. 

What made you want to become a tattoo artist?

I’ve wanted to become a tattoo artist since I was five years old. I always had a strong passion for art and was fascinated by people who were heavily tattooed – I thought they looked so much cooler than the average person… Also I only had one family member who had any tattoos and that was my grandad who was a massive influence in my younger life.

He sadly passed away when I was seven and since then I’ve wanted to make him proud doing something that I love.

Can you remember the first tattoo you ever did?

I’ll never forget the first tattoo because it’s on me! It’s a little trad-style flower on my ankle.

It’s definitely not the best but I’ll always keep it to remember where I came from – no matter where I go in my career. 

How would you define your style? How has this changed since you started? 

My style is very much a mixture of blackwork and dotwork. I like making things quite detailed and illustrative but I’m heavily influenced by traditional art work, too.  My style doesn’t fall into the traditional category at all though – it’s cute but also has gothic hints, which is very fitting with my personality.

I originally thought I would be a traditional artist, but the traditional style has too many rules to follow and I like to be quite free and experimental.

What do you love to draw and tattoo?

My favourite thing to draw has got to be animals – epecially cats. I’m a massive cat lover but I love drawing literally any animal because they have such amazing features. I also enjoy drawing eyes and faces because every one is so unique – which creates great artwork. 

What would you like to do more of?

One thing I definitely want to do more of is cathedral buildings. I did some recently and thoroughly enjoyed them. I think they’re very fitting with my gothic style, too – I can really bring out my creative side in those sorts of designs. 

Have you seen any trends in the themes you’re tattooing? 

I always get asked for completely different things all the time, which I love because it always keeps it interesting for me. But there are definitely popular trends in tattooing at the moment: angel numbers, cherubs, dragons and even tribal has made a massive comeback. 

What was your first tattoo?

My first tattoo was a classic rose on my forearm. I had it done on my 18th birthday because I just couldn’t wait any longer. It’s probably not something I would get done now but I still love the tattoo because of the memories attached to it. 

Do you have a favourite tattoo experience?

My favourite tattoo experience was probably getting my first one because of how long I’d waited and the build-up to it. I was so excited yet so nervous, but once it started and I realised it was nowhere near as painful as I thought I was completely fine and just wanted more. I ended up booking back in two weeks later.

Where can people find you and how can clients get in touch with you?

I’m based at The Drawing Room in Fargo Village in Coventry in the UK. It’s an absolute delight working there with some lovely talented artists who have helped me grow both as an artist and as a person. The best way to get in contact with me is through Instagram

Any future plans you’d like to tell us about? 

My future plans include doing some more guest spots around the country and maybe other countries when I’m brave enough. I’d also love to do a convention next year because I’ve never done one before and would love to see what it’s all about. 

Make sure you follow @meg.the.cyclopz_ for more blackwork tattoos.

We’re always talking to amazing tattoo artists, check out our latest interviews.

Interview with Indigo Forever

Beth Park creates beautifully delicate handpoke tattoos at Grace Neutral’s Femme Fatale studio in London. We chatted to Beth about how she makes each tattoo and what inspires her…

Photo by @el_woodphoto

What drew you to hand poking rather than tattooing with a machine? My husband uses a very noisy heavy machine so I was always found it quite intimidating and wasn’t really interested in learning. It was when I saw Jenna Bouma (@slowerblack) tattoo that I thought I wanted to learn. I thought it was such a calm and natural way to apply a tattoo. I’ve always loved to draw, paint and sew, so this felt like another medium I’d like to try that could suit my style of artwork. 

So I was very lucky that Jenna helped me and shared a few secrets she’d learnt over the many years she had been doing it.

What inspires and influences your tattoos?  So many things; artwork, jewellery, fabrics, anything ornamental. I love old book covers, and illustrators like Jessie M Kng, Aubrey Beardsley, Maurice Pillar Verneuil , Virginia Frances Sterrett and Harry Clarke. I love Japanese fabric patterns, Indian wood block prints, Egyptian jewellery and Skandanavian folk art.

I do look at indigenous tribal artwork and tattoo designs like Indian, Berber, Native American which definitely has had influence on my work. However I try not to reference something cultural too directly unless there is a personal connection for the person I’m tattooing. 

Do you think working in an predominately female tattoo shop influences your work? FF is not exclusively female, however the fact that we are mainly female, non-binary and very inclusive means I can work in a relaxed friendly unintimidating atmosphere. The fact everyone is supportive and shares advise and knowledge, means I’ve been able to progress and grow as an artist.

What do you love to tattoo and draw and what would you like to do more of? What kind of designs get you excited? I love to draw for the body, like jewellery. To decorate a wrist or neckline or ankle etc. Usually starting with focal point like a talisman or symbol like a moon, lotus or eye, which have strong symbolism such as protection, strength or luck.

Then decorate with beading from there. Which is why I use a lot of dots, to represent beading, also to soften a solid line and also the practicality of it being hand poked. It also reminds me of tin punching, almost like you’re punching the skin. The sun and moon feature heavily as they are such strong meaningful symbols. I love tattooing hands, I think because it’s the perfect size to fill the space and our hands are always on show. However  I’d love to do much larger pieces, like a leg piece I did recently.

Can you tell us about the process behind your tattoos? I try to never tattoo the same thing twice which means I am constantly drawing and producing new designs. Clients have the option to chose from flash (pre-drawn designs) however usually the flash is a starting point to which I then adapt to suit the chosen placement on the body. I then work together with the client, to finalise the design. 

I don’t tend to take commissions unless the idea is inspiring, something that will suit the aesthetic of my work and translate into a nice tattoo.

How long have you been tattooing? How did you get into the industry? I’ve only been tattooing professionally for four years. I came into it relatively late in my artistic career. I used to manage an art gallery in east London, which I did for over 10 years. It was when I left to have our daughter, that I started tattooing. I didn’t take the traditional apprenticeship route, I was very lucky to have my husband and very good friends like Jenna and Grace Neutral guide and advise me.

If you could do anything differently in your career what would it be and why? Nothing. Everything I have done previously has brought me to where I am now, and has influenced my work. I have a huge appreciation and respect for the industry and I feel incredibly lucky to be part of such if it.

If you weren’t a tattooer what would you be? I would definitely have looked into jewellery design. Whether I’d have been any good at it I have no idea! From recently working on a collaboration with jeweller Sarah Boodi (@boodi_jewellery)  I’ve had an insight into how hard it can be!

Can you tell us about your own tattoo collection, does this reflect the tattoos you create? A lot of my tattoos are hand poked and by women which wasn’t a conscious decision. But yes, most reflect my taste in tattoos and therefore a similar style to mine. 

How does tattooing and tattoos make you feel? I find it really therapeutic and feel very lucky to be able to make a living from something I love so much. I’m so grateful to all the people that support me creatively and it still blows my mind that people want me to tattoo them! 

If you’re not already make sure to follow Beth on Instagram for more beautiful tattoos.

Interview with Tattooist Çağdaş Mutlu

Çağdaş Mutlu is a tattoo artist from Izmir, Turkey who creates black work tattoos, we caught up with Çağdaş to find out more about his work…

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Having graduated from Dokuz Eylül University Fine Arts Faculty in  2005 with a fine arts pattern design degree, Çağdaş has been designing and drawing for the last 15 years. While he has been tattooing for the last five years, focusing on dot work, lines and a black style.

Since he had been designing patterns for year, it was time for him to permanently mark those designs onto skin. His inspiration is providing a result that everyone is happy with and seeing the desired artwork come alive on the skin. There hasn’t been a favourite piece for Çağdaş, but instead seeing how his different designs emerge and develop everyday, watching the process that has been his favourite part.

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Describing his style, Çağdaş says:

HUMANART is a tattoo way and a brand that combines the art of tattoo with illustration and graphic design with narrative expression. We do not address this art that we perform on the human body as tattoo.  What we create is an art of people. We do not define this as tattoo, but as HUMANART.  This is how we represent our brand and this is the way we initiate a new movement by painting people’s lifes, philosophies and secrets on their own bodies.

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Interview with Tattooist Laura Gascoyne

21-year-old Laura Gascoyne works out of Never Say Die in Croydon London where she creates black dot work and pattern tattoos. We chatted to Laura about what inspires her, how she started in the industry her own tattoo collection…

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Photo taken by Nick Evans

How long have you been tattooing? How did you start? In September 2014 I popped into Never Say Die on a friend’s recommendation. Originally I thought they may just offer me a receptionist position but after seeing my portfolio Kali (the shop owner) offered me an apprenticeship. I was over the moon! I did my first tattoo about six months later and have steadily progressed since then. I’m obviously still learning, as with art and tattooing I believe you never stop learning, but I have recently become more confident with my skills and am building up a decent client basis.

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What did you do before? Do you have a background in art? I’ve always been passionate about art since I was a little kid and always knew I wanted a career in art. After completing my GCSEs, I went on to study art at a college but dropped out after a term, as I felt like the things they were teaching me in college weren’t helping me to progress.

How would you describe your style? How has it developed? Where do you see it going? That’s a really hard one to answer! Before I started tattooing I specialised in drawing realistic portraits and then went on to start drawing lots of mandalas. However once I started my apprenticeship I began with tattooing quite simple mandalas which progressed to more pattern styled work. However as a custom artist I get asked to design and tattoo all sorts of things, which I love because it really helps expand my drawing skills and pushes me out of my comfort zone.  Generally everything I draw is quite pretty and lots of patterns and dot work.

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What inspires you? Everything! Whether it be a pattern on an old tile in a bathroom, or a tattoo made my someone else, we are constantly surrounded by art work and patterns and I really see the beauty in everything, especially nature. I’m very much inspired by Tibetan and oriental style patterns and I love tattooing Thai ornamental patterns. Although I haven’t tattooed that many, I do love tattooing beautiful woman, and a lot of my large scale drawings have a woman’s face as the main feauture.

Do you admire any artists? Do they influence your work? Even before I started my apprenticeship, rather than being inspired by painters and fine artists I was always just looking at tattoos for inspiration. On Instagram 90% of the pages I follow are tattoo artists, I won’t pick out any names in particular because there’s just so many who I admire so much! Of course everything I see has the ability to influence my work in some way, as my work is a combination of everything I’ve ever seen and felt, and everything that has inspired me.

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What kinds of things do you like to tattoo and draw? If I’m just let loose in my sketch book I find myself drawing very detailed and patterned orientated large scale pieces, with a very spiritual and symbolic feel about them. I am a very spiritual and positive person myself so that’s the sort of thing I would like to predominately tattoo on people, as for me tattooing is all about sharing my art work and spreading messages though art.

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Can you tell us about your own tattoos?  So my right leg is basically a sticker book of random tattoos given as gifts and just spontaneous ones, and a fair amount of tattoos I’ve done on my self. My left arm is for tattoos I’ve put more thought into, all just black ink and quite dark, but all revolved around the beauty in nature and positivity. I have a few small random tattoos dotted about, included a handpocked unalome on my ear, a smiley face on one of my finger tips, and the seed of of life on the back of my neck. I have a full back piece in progress which so far has just been four sessions of solid black work.

Interview with Melodie Perrault

26-year-old Melodie Perrault tattoos out of Tattoo Lounge MTL in Montreal, Canada and creates detailed line work tattoos inspired by the funny things that happen in her life. We chat to Melodie about her style and what drew her to the tattoo world…

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 Photo taken by Monsiieur

How did you start? What did you do before? I have been tattooing for four or five years professionally. I’ve always been in love with tattoos, I used to draw all over my body. I just bought a shitty machine on the internet and tried to learn by myself when I was 18. I was in art school back then, studying art and graphic design, and I worked in a sex shop, before that a Boardshop.

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What drew you to the tattoo world? I just love it. I love the fact that people get an illustration they love so much they want to see it forever. It’s wild but it’s such a big commitment.

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How would you describe your style, has it changed in any way? I only use black ink, so dot work and line work with lots of details. I always drew the same way, kind of –the only thing that has changed is that I used to do a little bit of colour and I don’t anymore. I love tattooing the things I do, I only do tattoos that I want to do in my own style.

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What inspires your drawings and tattoos? I love to draw and tattoo animal, devils and naked ladies. With my illustrations I try to be a little bit funny, so I’ll think of funny things in life and draw that. My own body is covered in the things I love.

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