Project Statement 

My projects explore nature and animals together as a subject while practicing necessary techniques present in tattooing. I am creating a body of work that shows my interest in nature along with building a portfolio with work exploring illustrative designs. Line weight, composition, perspective, proportions, and values are all concepts which are familiar and are applied differently when creating a piece meant to go on skin. This helps my learning journey, as I am naturally inclined to being curious about various mediums as well as honing skill sets required to create work in them. I have been working on the same subject for a few projects to help build a strong portfolio for the tattooing world. Materials for this project range from watercolor paper, brush pens, watercolor, to digital software such as Procreate, and linoleum to create block prints. I use these materials to further train my hands and artistic eye in the importance of line weight, composition and proportions. Without a fundamental understanding of visual principles, a tattoo can read flat or poorly on a subject. Throughout this project I am exploring the relation between an animal and its environment by melding them together. I was heavily influenced by illustrative tattoo work and its relation to body placement in creation of pieces. My artwork is not attached to one specific philosophy beyond the idea of respecting nature in its forms. My artwork is most greatly influenced by various kinds of tattooing styles such as: Neo Traditional for idea generation and concepts, Black and Grey in execution with Illustrative style as well as Dot work. I want my work to allow the audience to connect with the subject on the page as well as inspire conversations about what a tattoo could be.