Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Smith.
Matt, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
Art has taken me on an incredible journey physically and mentally. It has put me around and introduced me into some of my best friends and greatest inspirations. As far back as I can remember I was painting, drawing spray, painting really whatever I could get my hands on, and it developed from there. Looking back I always put a twist on whatever I would do something I’ve seen a feeling or figuring out an idea and trying to translate it. The whole tattooing thing just started out as another medium I wanted to try, and I never forsaw making it as far as I have. Through my progress I got sober I put a lot of things I thought were important at the time aside to really focus on what I want to achieve. That’s progressing every day and being the best that I can and pushing myself to new limits. With tattooing the highs are high, and the lows are low, but the highs always outweigh the lows. I’m pretty hard on myself and have put it before a lot else, I’m learning that there is a balance between life outside of it and the art. It’s a fine line, but in my eyes, there is one.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I specialize in American traditional tattoos, vintage tattoos, old school tattoos, sailor tattoos. Call it what you like that’s what makes me tick. The designs have been around for more than a lifetime, and the imagery is classic, patriotic, tell stories about love it’s really endless. The images speak for themselves with the bold look and the solid black shading, all the way to the can’t take your eyes off its colors. Colors you can find in a traditional tattoo are black, red, yellow, green and sometimes brown, to some that’s seems limited to us that’s everything we need and more. We’re taking vintage imagery that has been tattooed and painted, doing our research to locate that imagery and then redraw that vintage image into a current day Tattoo leaving the remence of the previous Tattoo which attracts people to it in the first place. This style of tattooing ages the best through the years by the legibility of the designs. Their tattoos are made to look like tattoos and last! I tried going off on my own tangent of overstylizing these images and to me ten times out of 10 they look better keeping it as true to what it started at as possible.
The stereotype of a starving artist scares away many potentially talented artists from pursuing art – any advice or thoughts about how to deal with the financial concerns an aspiring artist might be concerned about?
It’s a tough thing that most everyone faces. For me, it was working at the art store when I wanted to submerge myself with being at the tattoo shop and learning. Best advice I have is take the plunge and don’t look back and kick it into overdrive. It’s scary to not see a finish line or an outcome in the start of anything but keep at it and do the best you can. Be honest with yourself and the people around you that you do want it and aren’t going to let anything else get in the way no other obligations or excuses you have to be 120% committed 24/7 eight days a week, or you won’t get the outcome your expecting and your just cheating yourself. All that said the money thing is still there and an issue but given the situation, if it’s there take it because the light at the end of the tunnel is priceless.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I work in Venice beach at house of ink tattoo parlor on brooks and oceanfront walk. We have all are hand painted flash on the walls of our shop. As well my work can be viewed on Instagram @mattsmithtattoos give me a follow say hello. Check out my work, and if you’d like to get a tattoo, I’d love to tattoo you I appreciate all the support I can get.
Contact Info:
- Email: matttsmith310@gmail.com
- Instagram: Mattsmithtattoos
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