Today we’d like to introduce you to Mia Morbid.
Hi Mia, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
As a kid growing up in a Chicano household with my grandfather ‘Armando Nunez’ a Chicano park mural artist and my father ‘Marc Nunez’ who was a graffiti artist and now a custom and structural carpenter, I was always encouraged to pursue my dreams of being an artist.
At the age of seven I discovered tattooing and was absolutely mesmerized, I knew that one day I would accomplish my dreams of becoming a tattoo artist. At the age of 19, I discovered an apprenticeship in Chula Vista and practiced for a year straight drawing, watercoloring, stippling, tattooing and cleaning the shop top to bottom understanding the importance and safety of sanitation and blood born pathogens. After my year apprenticeship, I found a new shop in Chula Vista where I was encouraged to pursue my dreams of becoming a black and grey portrait artist. Though I was very hard on myself, I never gave up and was guided a lot along the way by my family and many amazing black and grey tattoo artist. Now being five almost six years in with a two years old daughter, I’m happy to say I’ve accomplished my dream career of becoming the black and grey portrait artist I’ve always wanted to be and hope to one day see my daughter follow somewhere in my footsteps.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road to success has definitely been bumpy along the way. I’ve hit many walls, during my apprenticeship I was always discouraged by many of the male artists for drawing what I wanted instead of what they asked me to do. I was yelled at almost everyday and would often go home miserable feeling I’d never make a name for myself. As well as countless days making as little as $20 or somedays no income even outside of my apprenticeship when I was a fully established artist sitting in the shop all day waiting for a walk-in to come get tattooed, but I managed to push through it which only made me stronger and more appreciative of all my client’s.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
The work I love and specialize in doing is black and grey portraits, I’m most known for my mini pet portraits, face portraits and adding a ‘darker’ twists to my designs. I’m most proud of my custom pieces and the clients that give me full creative freedom to create something unique for them with only their description of what they’re looking to get done. What sets me apart from others is my ambition and drive to only become better and pushing everyday to make the next tattoo even better that the one before.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
What I love most about my city is all the culture, diversity and open-mindedness San Diego brings as well as how many female and LGBTQ+ tattoo artist there is now. What I dislike the most about San Diego is the high cost of living and the high cost of owning and running your own business.
Contact Info:
- Email: morbidinktattoos@gmail.com
- Website: https://morbidinktattoos.com/pages/instagram?ltclid=10a1e735-ac19-4e92-8c91-d39a7db96d83
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morbidink/
- Other: https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdMcF2M3/
Image Credits
Andrew Robles for personal portrait
