XIX. Sam Layzell
And so we reach the penultimate interview for the QV series. Last but by no means at all least, is Sam Layzell. Humble, underrated and unmistakable in his style, approach and ethic his work always blows my mind in its palette; often gently psychedelic. You know that his work will still look solid in fifteen, thirty; fifty years time, matched with ideas and references that allow personality but still respects tradition.
What is your full birth name? Samuel William Layzell. Where do you feel at home, in the world? I have a home that I love in Leeds. I travel a lot and there are also some familiar places that I feel very comfortable. Describe your style in less than 5 words. This made my think for ages and I got nowhere so the first 5 words that come into my head now are: "Lines black colour negative space". What’s the last tattoo you made? The last tattoo I made was a Greg Cristian puffer fish on an inner arm from a split set of flash we painted when I was in Ohio last year. What tattooer do you admire/respect the most? Chad Koeplinger, he’s coined himself as my tattoo dad. I think my and a lot of other current tattooers work wouldn’t look the way it does without his influence. He’s my favourite tattooed and one of my best friends. How many hours sleep, is enough (for you)? I tend to sleep from midnight or one in the morning till around half eight. I can function on about 4 hours but there’s never too much. Do you gravitate towards a certain colour/palette in your work? I like to use a lot of colours, I’ve gotten really into purple recently, but this is always changing and I’m not really one to stick to a specific palette. My consistently favourite colour however is definitely sea foam green. What do you remember about your first tattoo? I distinctly remember the strong smell of Dettol and the tattoo (which was at the top of my back) felt like it was half way up my neck. From the small amount of time I spent in the shop I thought it was incredible and couldn’t wait to go back. What’s your earliest memory of tattoos/tattooing? I remember sitting in the front of a shopping trolley with my mother in a supermarket and seeing an older biker with long hair in a ponytail with dragons tattooed on his arms, I thought it was so cool. Later in my teens seeing people like Henry Rollins and Dee-Dee Ramone with tattoos made me want to get them. How do you take your coffee? Black, no sugar if it’s a good coffee and you add more sugar depending on how ropey it is. Coffee isn’t really part of my routine though, I probably don’t even have one a week. How important is travelling to you, as a tattooer? I would say it was probably one of the main advantages to getting to do this, I try to travel as much as possible. Do you have a guilty pleasure? I don’t feel guilty for anything I like, does salt count? How close are we to W.W.III? I don’t have a TV or look at newspapers or anything so I’m probably the worst person to ask. What’s the best/worst thing about instagram? The best is getting so constantly inspired by seeing amazing tattoos that people do every day, that or it enabling me to work in a private studio. And the worst… People not being able to post back piece photos without censoring the butt crack or a nipple without it getting them reported, that shit sucks. How do you stay inspired? I’m pretty constantly inspired, by maybe a tattoo I see on Instagram, a photo in a book, tattooing is still really inspiring. Who or what has shaped your style? My style is constantly changing and being influenced by people, to name a few Ed Hardy, Chad Koeplinger, Diego Azaldegui, Greg Christian, Rudy Fritsch, Horimomo, Bert Krak, Sam Ricketts, Jondix, I could go on. What’s the worst advice you can remember receiving? When I did one of my first tattoos (in the first 10 maybe) I was doing a snake around a cross, I coloured it solid green, no black, no negative space, solid green (cos snakes are green right) and the guy I worked with came up and had a look, and instead of trying to tell me about putting black shading in or negative space he said “that’s great, what you need to do now is do some light blue shading out from it” I didn’t even know how to whip shade or anything so it ended up with blue splodges around it, that tattoo will occasionally drift into my thoughts and I shudder, oh man. Every good cocktail should have _____ in it. Ice. What don’t people realise about you?I’d love to say I can play the Oboe or something but I don’t really have a hidden talent. What’s the worst job that you had before being a tattooer? I was pretty work shy before I got into tattooing. I did used to work in the shoe department of a sports shop and because I had long hair at the time people would call me Miss. In what ways has your style changed since you began tattooing? I think I put a lot less lines into things than I once did and try to keep things simpler. What makes an ideal customer? Trust, when someone trusts me to do them the best tattoo I can give them without too many stipulations or a low budget. What do you need the most, right now? I really need to go to the post office, I’ve been putting it off for days. Do you have a vice? Food, for sure. Do you think apprenticeships are still important in producing a well rounded artist? Absolutely, I believe it’s the best way to learn, you need someone to be able to look at what your doing and respond to it just as much as you need to be shown what to do. What three pieces (by any tattooers) stick out in your mind as being particularly unforgettable or groundbreaking? The owner of the shop I apprenticed in showed me Filip Leu’s tattoos and there was a body suit of background with a dragon made entirely of negative space, amazing. One of the first times I got tattooed by Chad koeplinger he showed me his Ed Hardy tattoo, an awesome gorilla head on the back of his leg, the first time I’d seen one of Ed’s tattoos. I remember seeing one of Diego’s front pieces on MySpace, a fountain of blood on a guys whole torso, I’ve seen so many versions of that since. What album could you not live without owning? Alice Coltrane- ‘Journey in Satchidananda’ is probably the one I listen to most and it’s a good one to get shit done to, that or maybe Black Sabbath - 'Master of reality' What fastfood is most likely to be bought by you? My girlfriend and I are particularly partial to a Five Guys. If you could be an animal for a day, what would you be? Probably a spider, I like the idea of being able to create a web. What has tattooing taught you? I feel as though in tattooing I found my niche and I don’t really want to do anything else. How important is collaboration to you as a tattooer? I think it’s great, I’ve been painting a lot of split sets of flash with some of my favourite tattooers recently and love seeing what they come up with. What are Sundays best spent doing? Sunday is my busiest day at work, so I’d have to say that. I love getting up on a Sunday, having a good breakfast with my girlfriend Rosie then heading to work and working on tattoos all day. How do you imagine yourself living out your last years (of retirement)? I live my life in a way that gives very little consideration to my later years and would rather not think about that.
Sam works from private studio, MVL
