Tattoo Artist Research
Kat Von D
Don Ed Hardy
Don Ed Hardy is a retired American tattoo artist; he was born in 1945 in Cost Mesa, California. He is known for his tattoo work, along with his named clothing and accessories, and became famous through his Japanese twist on his work. Although he has retired from tattooing himself, he has a studio names Tattoo City in San Francisco where he oversees and mentors’ artists. Hardy’s tattooing career died down during the 1960s when he turned to focus on is printmaking; he also carried on with his other art forms such as drawing and painting. He was originally a student of Jerry Collins who was known for tattooing sailors, and through this got the opportunity to work with Horihide, the Japanese classical tattoo master. He gained inspiration from his time in Japan where he went to study in 1973. Whilst researching into Hardy’s designs one caught my eye; it’s a typical skull and roses design yet you can tell that its Hardy’s. There’s a sense of the Japanese type colours and the way the lines are drawn with gesture rather than precision puts Hardy’s mark on it. I like this design as it would be labelled as a “typical tattoo” yet I think it’s a unique version of that. In a line of these particular tattoo designs you would be able to tell which one was designed by Ed hardy and I really like that about his work. It stands out, its colourful yet not overly coloured and the shading gives it more definition, it gives it more of a 3D look.
Kat Von D is a current American tattoo artist; she was born on the 8th March 1982 in Montemorelos, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. She is also known for being a model, musician, entrepreneur and television personality; she also has her own makeup and clothing lines. Her most famous factors are the television shows, Miami Ink and LA Ink she starred in and the cosmetics line that she launched in 2008. Von D gives credit for her influence in music an art to her grandmother, Clara Von Drachenberg; she also states that the Los Angeles Latino culture is a big influence towards her tattoo art and style. Within her younger life, around the age of 12, she began to listen to punk rock bands; she got her first tattoo at just 14 years old and she dropped out of school to become a tattoo artist at the early age of 16. She has produced so many tattoo designs that it would be impossible to put a number to. One of my favourite designs of hers is a cassette tape with the film pulled out into the shape of a heart; the date the design was created or tattooed is unknown. The design is black and bold yet it looks like its bright, it stands out. The small detail within the tape is fascinating I think it would be hard to capture within a tattoo, this just portrays and shows the extent of her talent. I like this design as it’s something that I would be interested in to be tattooed onto my own body. Music is a big passion of mine and I have fond memories of listening to these tapes throughout my childhood; tapes that my parents passed down to me that they had made for each other.
