We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cambria Lara a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Cambria , thanks for joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

Earning a living as a full time artist is exciting. It definitely has its ups and downs. Not every client or day is guaranteed to make a profit but I love that every day is unique and allows me to create something special. Being a creative has always been a part of my life goal ever since I could hold a crayon. I am now a new mom and while the slow work moments can be daunting, I am grateful for the flexibility to do something I love while also being a mom to my beautiful baby boy.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Getting into the tattoo industry can be very tough. I was lucky to be able to have time align for me to be able to apprentice under my friend and talented artist Steven Garcia. I was able to learn the fundamentals of not only tattooing but also drawing and painting. While I love to tattoo in black and grey, I have been focusing on color tattoos lately. I love to be able to pull super bright and fun colors into a unique piece. Watercolor tattoos have also been a fun style to work on.
Tattoo concepts that inspire me are: animals, surreal art, movies and female faces.
Getting a tattoo can already be so anxiety ridden and so my goal is create a very calming and welcoming experience when clients come to me for work. I love to fill my work space with paintings and decor to allow the client to be distracted from something other than the pain.
I am so grateful to be able to create something special to cheer someone up and brighten them for the rest of their days. I am proud that I have been able to attribute my artistic skills into a craft that has evolved so much.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is being able to collaborate with a client and create something super unique. Even if the tattoo does not have a super deep meaning, it always lifts me up seeing someone’s face after they have received their tattoo no matter the concept. One special moment was when I tattooed a mom while I was pregnant earlier this year. She was so touched that a future mother was giving her a tattoo that was based on her point of view of being a mother.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Something that non-creatives may have a hard time understanding my journey as a creative is the lack of security. Yes being a tattoo artist is super awesome and fun but it can also be very stressful. The pressure to be perfect every single time and also the stress of being paid. Tattoo artists are not paid on an hourly wage and a lot of the time we work even outside of the shop/office. We are constantly working by creating content for social media, drawing/designing, purchasing supplies, doing research, answering emails/phone calls, etc. If a client does not show up to their appointment or cancels last minute then we do not make money and have a hard time paying bills if this is a constant act from clients.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Instagram@twistedflamingo
• Facebook: Twistedflamingo
• Other: Tiki tok @twistedflamingo