We recently connected with Saint John and have shared our conversation below.

Saint John, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

Being an artist presents unique challenges. i feel like being an artist chooses the person and not the other way around. for me its like an itch under my skull i cant scratch without creating. this obviously lead to my current profession. a lot of friends of mine over the years have envied that “i get to do what i love for a job”. I wouldn’t give it up for the world don’t get me wrong! my job is the only job out there for me but my mom once said “even if you love it, a job is still just a job on somedays”. i thought that was extremely rude in my angsty youth and told her “she didn’t know, and this was different” but to a degree as i get older i realize somedays it is just like any other job. mom was right which i didn’t expect. being a tattoo artist you have to do it all. you ARE the business. you do marketing, consults, emails, social media, planning conventions, ordering supplies, cleaning and so much more that isn’t just the art side of things. a lot of them which are very abstract things you just kind of figure out over the years. every now and then when I’ve spent all day editing a portfolio, answering email after email, answering the shop phone and doing everything except the art i wonder what it would be like to be at a “normal” job. in my head its just like “okay Billy accomplish these 3 tasks, in this order, this way”. plus not having to do the business aspects, market, have personal interactions with clients. it seems easier for sure. it also seems a lot less fulfilling. which is why the thought never lingers too long. i will say as a working artist if you are looking to be a creative as a profession there are many things you should think about. you will work. all the time. everyday. constantly. so you better love it. liking it is NOT enough. you have to be ready to give it everything and when you do it will give back to you more than you can comprehend. your going to miss out on social events, you will have to get your own insurance, your going to pay into taxes every year (at a higher rate since your self employed too), it will come with challenges. you will doubt yourself and wonder if you can actually do what you need to constantly. as an artist with it being engrained into your personality and being as personal as art is you will have to learn to deal with things differently. i used to have a day where i tattooed and i wished it was better and that would spiral into self doubt, looking at the tattoo for hours on end after work and sometimes a little depression. meanwhile the client thinks its the best tattoo on the planet. you have to learn to be hard on yourself and have drive but also to be nice to yourself and take care of yourself. its a weird whacky rollercoaster of a job but if you love it, there’s nothing better out there and a normal job will leave you feeling like there’s a hole where something is missing in your life. i quoted my mom earlier, to end ill quote my dad “don’t half-ass it”. that’s the best advice i could possibly give a creative. give it everything.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I realized i wanted to be a tattoo artist very young, probably around 12 or 13. school was pounding it into our head to take our futures seriously. i liked art punk/metal and skateboarding. skateboarding was not going to happen cause i was bad at it and i didn’t know how to play music. they eliminated themselves quickly and so i began looking at art jobs. at the time videogame design was a very small niche of artists and almost impossible to get into. graphic design seemed boring to me because i gravitated to illustration/graffiti/murals. after thinking for a few days i saw a tattoo magazine. a light bulb suddenly went off. i wanted to be my own boss, in control of the art i produced, i wanted to be covered head to toe in tattoos. it kind of just grabbed ahold of me and here i am at 30 and it still has a death grip around my throat. the rest is history so to speak. i chased it relentlessly, quit skateboarding and listened to my music and honed my craft.

i tattoo many different styles and do both color as well as black and grey tattoos. i enjoy clients who come to me without pictures and just say “hey i want this idea i have of a skull and a dagger and a dragon on my arm as a sleeve” or “hey here’s a book i read my kids i want you to make a tattoo for it”. i love ideas. give me a springboard and let me make something awesome for you. every tattoo i do the only question i constantly ask myself is “how would i want to get this tattoo if i was going to get it tomorrow” and then from there i design the tattoo for myself to make sure i put my all into it.

i try to make the process an upscale service. i work in a high end shop, have a tv playing movies, a cart for my clients to put their snacks and items in to keep next to them. i encourage them to dress comfortably and bring a pillow or blanket if they need. getting tattooed hurts so i try to eliminate some of the discomfort. i do my best to be entertaining and carry on conversations to develop real relationships with people who im genuinely excited to see walk through the doors. even though its upscale and high end we try to keep the humor and banter in the shop up which keeps the experience fun and refreshing. there isn’t judgement, we make terrible jokes, tell our crazy tattoo stories and listen to our clients with their wild party tales. its a good time.

i don’t feel like i really have a brand per say. im just a normal guy doing tattoos. there’s no ego, im not a Rockstar, im just another blue collar guy who does art. i guess that’s my “brand” just your local neighborhood tattoo artist trying to have a good time and fun with clients while striving to do great tattoos and that’s really all i want. i don’t need to be on a tv show, drive a crazy car or go to Europe for vacation every three months. i just want to have good times with good people making good art.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

im going to be blunt. i think they are stupid in the current state of them. i think the technology is interesting to make digital art like owning a traditional painting or other uses for blockchain. however right now they are exacerbating big problems in the art industry or at least making it easier to see the current state of art. someone makes a dumb little picture of a dog, has AI make 10000 random ones then the public gobbles it up. why? they dont care about the art. what they care about is keeping up with the joneses, look what i have, look at this status symbol, look what i own. its just the poor mans version of the rich buying a Rembrandt or a Monet. art is no longer appreciated for the art. its about money, status, greed. its all super gross to me. go buy something local from a real person who spent real time making a real thing. be an individual, like what you like. fuck what everyone else thinks. maybe im just a romantic, or an idiot. id venture to say both assumptions are correct.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

stop devaluing artists works. everyone says oh well i want to pay less or my niece can draw ill have her do it. that mentality is killing off artists in droves. when you support local artists you are supporting and paying for the years of experience, the massive mental catalogue of knowledge, visual library and expertise that they have spent years and decades mastering. the best thing you can do is buy art from people that you genuinely like their art. don’t buy it because its worth money, or because your friend has one. buy it because you enjoy it. that pushes art foreword. support art you like and pay the price they have, support them so they can keep creating and so you can enjoy the things that they are creating. people forget that money is a lot like voting. you can put your money and votes on things you like. buy a print or a shirt. buy a painting, commission a painting. have that artist do something they enjoy and you’ll be rewarded with a masterpiece to stare at the rest of your life.

i think other things can be done too, we need art back in schools. we need to teach kids to appreciate what craftsmanship goes in. we need adults to wake up and support a more colorful artistic society. lets paint ugly grey building with beautiful murals. lets talk standing around a piece of art instead of a tv. lets give artist problems to solve and let their creativity inspire engineers and scientists with new ideas and thoughts. there’s so much art gives to us. architecture, film, videogames, cartoons, murals, tattoos! imagine life without all those things and life starts to sound like it would suck a whole lot! lets make the world colorful.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.saintjohntattoo.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saintjohntattoo/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saintjohntattoo/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saint-john-b-157bb824b/

Image Credits
all photos are mine or taken by me.