TATTOOS ON DARK SKIN: ANSWER ALL YOUR QUESTIONS
The artist Jessica Rodrigues shared her experience with tattooing dark skin.
One of the most asked topics here by you, our readers and followers, are tattoos on dark skin. We know it’s something full of doubts of all kinds: can you make it colored? can you get watercolor ones? what about keloid, a characteristic of dark skin? Wait, wait, wait!
Today, we have lots of tips to give, lots and lots of inspiration and of course, we’ll know everything from the brazilian- traveler-artist, Jessica Rodrigues.
Jessica is one of that artists who inspire us with each sentence she says. By the way, it’s from her: “The dreams live at the tip of my needles.” So let’s not waste anymore time!
I draw since the first time I’ve ever gotten a pencil. I studied Psycology and because of a freezing perfectionism, I didn’t draw for 3 years. During a strike in 2012, I decided to come back to the pencils and inks, and it all rushed back like I’ve never stopped. At the last year of college, I realised I didn’t fit there anymore, I decided to drop out of college and started to travel to near beaches with my current boyfriend, which at that time we had just met. Only one year after I dropped out of college I had money enough to buy the tattoo supplies. And in the middle of 2014 I turned the machine on for the first time.
I’ve tattooed my boyfriend, who didn’t have any tattoos, and today I see how crazy we were for doing this! My first test was on his skin, and I didn’t have much idea of what I was doing. I did some more tattoos and again, because of a freezing perfectionism, I stopped almost completely for several months. Until March 2015, when I decided to fight against my own mind and really start to study tattoo, by myself.
The artist told us that tattooing dark skin also started at this point of her life.
I studied two semesters of Visual Arts - dropped out of it too - and it was at that time, in 2015, which I really dedicated to studying tattoo. I was at college with most black people, at a city equally black, with wonderful people believing in me blindly. There wasn’t a better place to start.
But after I did my first trip, I realised it wasn’t there I wanted to be.
Currently, Jessica who has already traveled the world, is a resident at Ireland. But, she comes back for a while to brazilian lands.
I’ve learned that the most important thing isn’t the places, but the people. When I was 15 years old and dreamed about travelling - and didn’t have money to even left the state - I wanted to visit all the countries I could, take pictures, being at these places. Now that I travel frequently I don’t want that anymore. I’m not in a rush to fill up the passport, most of the times I come back to places for wanting to be with the people of that place again. The coolest part of my trips are those things you don’t see in the pictures. I met my best friends that way, going out looking for stories that makes me know better the places too.
FINALLY THE DARK SKIN TATTOO…
In one of her trips, Jessica told us that she went by a small city at Bahia (Brazil) called Cachoeira that changed completely the way she creates and produces her art.
It’s a city entirely of black people. There, they told me I didn’t need to post pictures of tattoos on black people, because “it didn’t look pretty”. I decided then, to do the opposite. When a person sees themself in my work, they are way more confident that it’s indeed for them. That’s the most important to me!
What about tattooing a lighter or darker skin, what’s the big difference, Jessica?
I don’t feel the difference regarding color. The type of skin and body part count way more. There are parts of the body more complicated to tattoo, that the ink won’t fix, others are too sensitive and blow out easier.
Talking about colors, people with dark skin can get colored tattoos?
I’m not an expert in colors, but basically is understading which is the “temperature” of the skin - not all white skin is cold, not all dark skin is warm - and adjust the colors to it. The skin end up being a filter over the tattoo, that’s why the colors can change and some can be faded on the skin. For that matter it’s better to avoid pastel colors and diluted ink.
Is there a different technique to tattoo depending on the pigmentation of the skin?
I’ve always tattooed the same way.
Is it true that dark skin has a higher tendence to have keloids? People with keloids can get a tattoo? What are the risks?
It’s true. But a lot of people think that who has keloids has prominent scars, usually caused by deep cuts, but that isn’t always correct. If the person really has keloids, even the most superficial injuries cause an exaggerate healing, in that case it’s better to avoid.
What other artists you know that make dark skin tattoos and are proud of it?
Mariana Silenzi, Luana Lobo, Enua Araújo, Larissa Azevedo, Amanda Gotsfritz. Some of them are starting yet, others are tattooing for a long time, they all have a wonderful path ahead!
What tips do you give to your clients to take care of a healing tattoo?
Keep it clean and hydrated - drink a lot of water, because moisturizers aren’t always enough - it’s the most important. Wash your hands whenever you touch the tattoo to avoid contamination.
After healed: to keep the color of the tattoo, what do you advise?
Hydrate, also from inside out, and use sunscreen.
We saw on your instagram bio the sentece: “The dreams live at the tip of my needles.” What does that mean?
I believe that each drawing I make has an owner. I feel like I draw dreams from people that I don’t always know, and that’s why I travel, to find people and put on their skin that thing that already existed in the form of a dream.
Go check out more of Jessica’s work and give her a follow:
instagram: @art_by_jroiz
facebook: AnotherInkInTheWall
Confira a entrevista original em português no site Tattoo2me.
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