MURKADO

When and how did you decide to become a tattoo artist? What did you do for work prior to becoming an artist?

• I went to university for 4.5 years to become a dietician. I did an exchange in my last year in Melbourne, Australia, where I ended up finishing the academic year and dropping out of school.

• At that time, I didn’t think I would get into tattooing. It wasn’t even on my radar. But after working odd jobs and continuing to get tattooed, I started drawing, put together a portfolio, and got an apprenticeship.

How long have you been tattooing for?

• I have been tattooing for approximately 8 years.

Were you an apprentice at the beginning of your career?

• I did my apprenticeship at a shop called “Irezumi Ink” in Melbourne, Australia.

Do you have any mentors that you’ve been learning from?

• I apprenticed under a tattooer named Woody. I am still very thankful that he gave me an opportunity in this industry. Since then, I have gotten to work with a lot of talented tattooers who I have been lucky to learn from along the way.

What shops have you worked at throughout your career?

• I have worked at Irezumi Ink (Melbourne, Australia), Atomic Zombie, Easy Tiger, Classic Tattoo (Red Deer), and am currently working at Right Hand Tattoo.

What is something about being a tattoo artist that people may not know about?

• Just how much time that goes into tattoo jobs behind the scenes, away from the shop. You’re always trying to get better and strive to make a better tattoo every time. A lot of thought goes into the final design that the client sees when they show up.

What is your working process like when someone pitches you an idea for a tattoo? How do you go about creating the final design?

• It’s changed over the years. Before, I would ask for reference pictures and more of what kind of idea is in their head. But now I just ask for a simple outline.

• For example, if they say they want an alligator, that’s all I want to know. Then I can make a design that I think works best for the spot they want it on, as opposed to trying to get exactly what someone has in their head.

• In the end, I need to make a tattoo that I like more than the client. I don’t say that in an arrogant way, but if I love the design, then the client will be happiest with the outcome. Sometimes this means that a client won’t like the drawing, but that’s okay because those drawings that I am the happiest with always find a good home.

Have you ever refused a design idea from someone and vice versa? Are there any types of tattoos that you would refuse to do?

• I’ve turned down designs weekly, but I don’t do it because I think that I’m better than the idea. It’s more so because I know that there is someone out there who is better suited to the idea. I might not be the right person for every tattoo, but I’ll try to guide the client to someone who can do what they want, if I don’t think I am the right person for them.

• I’ll refuse any tattoos that I don’t think I’m capable of doing, or anything that is rooted in hate. Overall, I have to stand behind anything I put on someone. If I am not comfortable with the image or reason behind it, I won’t do it.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your work?

• It has mainly affected my ability for work by being shutdown. Other than that, it has probably streamlined my work and enabled me to guide my schedule and clientele into more of what I want to create.

• Having less people in the shop due to COVID has been good too. Now it’s just me and a client — we don’t have other opinions guiding the process.

Do you have any advice for someone just starting out or is thinking about becoming a tattoo artist?

• Just draw a lot and get tattooed by people that you look up to. Even in the short time that I’ve been tattooing, how people get into the industry has changed. In the end, people who work hard will get into the right positions.

Are there any tattoo artists out there that inspire you?

• Lots. The biggest inspiration has probably come from working with Heath since we see each other everyday. It’s inevitable that he’d have an impact on me. There are so many great tattooers out there that it’s hard not to be inspired. Nowadays, I try my best to take inspiration from things outside of tattooing.

What motivated you to get tattooed in the first place?

• When I think back to my first tattoo, I can’t say that I was super into tattoos at the time. I just knew all the bands that I listened to at the time were covered in tattoos which intrigued me.

Do you remember what your first tattoo was?

• My first tattoo was a black and grey pair of lips that say “Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me”, based on The Cure album of the same name.

How many tattoos do you currently have? Which one was the most recent?

• The number of individual tattoos is hard to quantify, since they blend into each other and some are from multi-session pieces. I think I have had over sixty different people tattoo me.

• The most recent one is a severed head down my side by Gordon Combs. Two years before that, I got a Namakubi and an Oni on the sides of my feet by James Yocum.

How do you decide on what type of tattoo design(s) to get prior to booking an appointment?

• I used to be a little more picky, but after a handful of tattoos, I realized that artists do their best work when they enjoy the design. I shifted from asking for particular images, to picking from their designs. Sometimes I’ll give them a spot to tattoo and say something like “maybe we can do a skull, a snake, a girl… whatever you’re into.”

What type of tattoo styles have you gotten done? What do you like about tattoos in general?

• I mainly have traditional images on me, but in the last few years, I’ve shifted to Japanese imagery to fill in whatever spots are left. These two styles have always stood out to me from the beginning because of their simplicity and imagery that I could wrap my head around.

Do any of your tattoos hold any personal meaning to you that you’d like to share?

• I have a “Mom” tattoo done by John Entwistle from Melbourne which is important to me. I have a few straightedge and vegan tattoos that meant something at a certain point in my life, but for the most part, the experience with the tattooer has more meaning than the tattoo itself.

Do you have any interesting tattoo-related stories?

• As someone who was trying to get into tattooing, when I got tattooed by Jonny Dollar in Melbourne was interesting. It was as authentic of a tattoo experience as one could have nowadays.

• John has been tattooing for over 40 years and his shop is covered in hand painted flash from back in the day. When you come in, he offers you a tea and you sit out back while he smokes. The both of you would sit on the same old milk crates that others who have been tattooed by him in the past have sat on before too. It was as close as you could get to feeling like you were being tattooed back in the old days.

Has having tattoos had any impact in your personal life?

• I don’t think that it has had a negative impact, but there is still the odd person who stares negatively for sure. For the most part, I think that tattoos are so popular nowadays that if they are well done, they can have a positive impact on someone.

Do you have any favourite tattoos?

• I have a couple Grez tattoos: a dragon and a man’s ruin tattoo on my hips. I like both images but the experience of getting them was important too. The way Grez handled himself and treated his clientes really stuck with me, which has impacted the way I handle my clientele to this day. The idea is to be grateful to someone who pays you to draw on them and to not take that for granted.

• I also have a rock of ages back piece that would be another favourite. Honestly the list goes on and on. I’m lucky to have a lot of great pieces.

Who are some of the artists that you've been tattooed by?

• Grez, Jess Swaffer, Andrew McLeod, Lucas Ford, Chad Woodley, Benny Hannya, Brad Stevens, Gordon Combs, James Yocum, Juan Puente, Ben Rorke, Fergus Sims, Matt Arriola......

What artist(s) would you like to get tattooed by in the future?

• I haven’t been tattooed by Heath yet, so the next one will probably be from him.

Do you have an idea in mind for your next tattoo?

• Whatever Heath thinks will work on some of the awkward spots on my front.