BY CHARLIE WATSON
In the final 'Into the Spectrum' of this series, I got to talk to one of my personal favourite artists, Emily Bee, who can be found online as 'Travellers and Magicians'. This London based illustrator, who worked with publishers for many years, is now training as a tattoo apprentice at Black Garden Tattoo in Drury lane. Her combination of Art Deco and cultural influence makes for some stunning pieces, including some of the most beautiful portraits you'll see. Check out some of her work, including her apprentice tattoo designs, and our interview, below!
1. At what point did you start your illustration career? Did you go through education or start working on your artwork straight away?
I've always loved drawing ever since I was little, and loved all the arty subjects at school. I hated I.T with a passion and was pretty vocal about it, so my teacher used to let me skip the class and go to the art rooms to work on my coursework instead. I then went on to do a BTEC Diploma in Art and Design followed by a BA (Hons) in Illustration. At the end of the course I exhibited some of my work at the New Designers exhibition in London and was lucky enough to be head hunted by a book publishers. I remember being convinced I'd screwed up the interview, but then I got a call asking me to start the following week. I had no money, nowhere to live and I knew no one in London, but was like 'Yeh sure!' 2. What's made you now start working on a tattoo career? Is this something you've wanted for a while or a recent change? Pretty recently actually, over the last few years I'd say. Once I started getting tattooed it was transformative, that sounds super corny, but I love the feeling you have after coming away with a beautiful piece of art on your body. So I suppose my interest in tattooing came from wanting to be able to give that feeling to someone else. A very good friend started pushing me about a year ago to start painting more and to have the confidence to start an Instagram to showcase my work. When I picked up my first tattoo machine and started practicing on pig skin and fake skin I realised I'd found my happy place, even through all its trials and tribulations (both mediums are shitty as hell!). It's still really only the beginning of what will be a very long and hard road, but I've recently had the incredible fortune of starting an apprenticeship at Black Garden Tattoo and I cannot thank the talented team of guys and girls enough for their willingness to give me a chance and to teach me.
3. What are your favourite projects that you've worked on so far?
If you'd have told me a year ago that I'd be loving painting I'd probably have pissed my pants laughing, but I really enjoy my larger painted lady heads with all the decorative head dresses and jewels. 4. How would you describe the style of tattooing you plan on moving into? I wouldn't say there's one set style, after all 'variety is the spice of life' n'all that. Eventually I'd love to have the skill set and the experience to be able to recreate my larger paintings on skin, but this is a long way off yet, I still have A LOT to learn! To anyone who's seen the movie Point Break, there's a quote in it where the older detective turns to Keanu Reeves and says "You know nothing. In fact, you know less than nothing. If you knew that you knew nothing, then that would be something, but you don't...." That's the reality when you start out. 5. Where do you feel you take influence from the most? I fucking adore all things art deco and take plenty of inspiration from that period, boy did they know how to do glitz and glamour! But I also take alot of inspiration from other cultures, their fashions and traditions, some of my favourite paintings have been inspired by Indian, Thai and African culture; it's so important to research your subject matter and find inspiration in as vast a selection of sources as possible, not just looking at other tattooists work.
6. What would your tips be for anyone who's thinking about starting a career in illustration or tattooing?
It's not for the faint hearted, you have to have balls. When you start out it can mean working 7 day weeks, two jobs, going from one job to the next, late nights and even tears...actual salty tears! You really have to have a hunger and a passion for it like nothing else and, like any artist, be willing to suffer for your art. HOWEVER it can also be one of the most rewarding career paths and if you work hard it WILL pay off. When you think you're working your hardest, work harder! When you're having a shitty day DO NOT QUIT! 7. Seeing that you have a passion for tattoos, if you could collaborate with one tattoo artist in the future, who would it be? I literally dont think I can answer that, there are sooooo many talented artists out there it blows my mind! 8. What do you find the hardest subject to work on is? Thats a tough one, even the stuff I feel quite comfortable with can sometimes pose a challenge, if you get me on a crap day drawing a simple face will have me pulling my hair out (3/4 face angles especially kill me!), but you know what those are sometimes the most satisfying ones when you finally crack it. The hardest part is resisting screwing something up and chucking it in the bin, my mum has piles of shit from when I was a kid that she used to fish out of the bin! 9. If you could work on one subject all the time, what would it be? To be totally honest I wouldnt want to only work on one subject, it would get boring pretty quickly! If anything I want to keep reinventing myself, changing things up, learning and challenging myself. Its good to push yourself outside of your comfort zone, sometimes just outside the cosy box of familiarity is where you find what you're really good at!
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