Girls, skeletons, books and tattoos.

Get your tat outGet your tat out Renee Ruin.

Renee Ruin
Feature girl: Renee Ruin, Melbourne, Australia.
Renee Ruin – beautifully tattooed – publisher by day, blogger by night

Renee Ruin
Renee Ruin
Ruin heart tattoo
Ruin by Dean Petty


Girl with skeleton by Jessica Swaffer - Third Eye Tattoo, Melbourne Australia
Girl with skeleton by Jessica Swaffer - Third Eye Tattoo, Melbourne Australia

So Renee, what do you do?
I work in book publishing, dealing with international co-editions. So put basically, I get popular children’s books published in other languages for foreign countries like Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia and Japan. After work I spend my time blogging on my site and also other sites I contribute to and catching up on pop culture and playing with my spoilt brat dog, Bowie.

Skulls on both sides of collar bones by Dean Petty
Skulls by Dean Petty
Angelique houtkamp tattoo
Angelique Houtkamp "Geraldine" by Jane Laver - Chapel Tattoo, Melbourne Australia

diamond tattoo What got you into tattooing?
I got my first tattoo at 18 to commemorate moving out of home and eight hours away. That was the beginning. Then I started getting tattoos every time something eventful happened in my life, good or bad. I wanted to try and get something tattooed each year around my birthday as a marker. I also lived with a tattooist for four years so that lead to a lot of random tattoo additions.

What inspires you?
Life, love, death, friends, family,  art, film and books. All my tattoos are related somehow to one of those things or  more than one of those things. heart lock tattoo

Do your tattoos have meanings?
Definitely personal meaning. A lot of them are reminders of particular times in my life and are a personal reminder of a triumph or tragedy. A few are purely aesthetic, but my large pieces all have some personal meaning or personal event attached to them.

bird daddy tattoo
Daddy by Dean Petty

Are you planning more tattoos?
Most definitely. I’m planning an awesome custom piece for my left thigh which is an amalgamation of  Angelique’s style, JT Leroy’s book and Asia Argento’s movie The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things. I am also planning this awesome little ode to my dog Bowie, artist Rik Lee is designing it. I definitely want to fill in my right arm with some patchwork traditional pieces and I’d love a beautiful piece to complete my left arm to compliment Micah Caudle‘s beautiful lady, I’d love Rose Hardy to design something a little darker to compliment it.

Rose feet tattoos
Feet Roses by Dean Petty
Custom girl by Micah Caudle - Flying Panther, San Diego, CA, USA.
Custom girl by Micah Caudle - Flying Panther, San Diego, CA, USA.

How would you describe your style?
My tattoo style is definitely more traditional mixed with a subtle darker edge. I love girls and skeletons.
heartogram tattoo
Do you have a favourite tattoo artist?
Far too many to choose just one. My personal fave to get tattooed by is Jane Laver who did both my Angelique pieces. But I love so many different tattooists and their differing styles.

Is there anyone else you would like to get tattooed by?
Rose Hardy, Valerie Vargas, Angeligue Houtkamp, Lina Stigsson, Nikko Hurtado, Jacob Des, Alison Manners, Jon Hall, Geoff Horn, Oliver Pecker, the list goes on…

http://reneeruinseverything.tumblr.com
http://www.twitter.com/reneeruin
http://www.sofidonuts.com/author/reneeruin/
http://www.reneeruin.com

Boy with antlers based on Sculpture by Beci Orpin by Jake Rolfe
Boy with antlers based on Sculpture by Beci Orpin by Jake Rolfe
Angelique Houtkamp 'Madeleine"  by Jane Laver - Chapel Tattoo, Melbourne Australia
Angelique Houtkamp 'Madeleine" by Jane Laver - Chapel Tattoo, Melbourne Australia
Die Trying on ribs by Zoe Lethbridge (unfinished)
Die Trying by Zoe Lethbridge (unfinished)




Anchors with bows on each side of hips by Dean Petty
Anchors with bows by Dean Petty