Today we’d like to introduce you to Charlotte Bolton

Hi Charlotte, 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?

I’ve been creative since I was little and I’ve always spent a lot of time drawing, so when I was leaving school and thinking about my future, I knew I wanted to progress into a creative career, I just wasn’t 100% sure how. My first experience in selling artwork was just after I left school, when I began doing pencil portrait commissions! This was a nice little side hustle from about 16 – 18 years old and these drawings in my portfolio actually helped me get a tattoo apprenticeship when I was 18.

I had always been interested in tattoos – I knew I wanted to be tattooed and I loved the idea of being a tattoo artist as I already spent a lot of time drawing flash and custom designs for people. Although grateful for the apprenticeship, I struggled to juggle this with life (I was working at a hairdressers once a week, doing pencil portraits and starting back at college) and unfortunately didn’t have the time or energy to put my all into the apprenticeship and so I decided to just focus on one thing – finishing my college BTEC in Art & Design and then going to university to study Surface Pattern Design!

Going to uni was probably the best thing I ever did, because it helped me figure out and develop the style I have now that you can see in my flash designs – cute, silly, whimsical animals. I feel really lucky with how I got back into tattooing, because as a self-taught handpoke artist, I never thought I would end up tattooing in an actual studio and (decent) tattoo apprenticeships are like gold dust. I remember seeing someone on Instagram who had bought a stick & poke kit to tattoo themselves as a birthday present in 2019 and this was the first time I even saw someone doing handpoke! I instantly thought this might be a safer/cleaner/easier way for me to teach myself tattooing rather than figuring out how to use a machine, because I already knew the health & safety aspect to tattooing from my previous apprenticeship and I feel like you do need guidance from someone with how to use a machine.

So I ordered all the equipment I needed and began tattooing myself, my sister and my friends (I’m very grateful they let me practice on them), and started posting my work on Instagram. One day I got a message from a college friend (shoutout to Liv Frost) who had been tattooing for years, asking me about my work and ended up inviting me to work at her new studio she was opening – I immediately said yes! So almost 10 years since my first apprenticeship, I began professionally tattooing at The Gilded Rook in Chesterfield in October 2020! I’m so grateful Liv gave me this opportunity, as I definitely wouldn’t be tattooing without her. Almost 4 years later, I’ve guested in numerous cities around the UK and now work at Elysium Tattoo in Sheffield, still handpoking but also practicing with machine now too!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?

It has definitely not been a smooth road, the journey I’ve been on through my career has been slightly chaotic, because things don’t always work out and you have to adapt, especially being self employed – I’ve gone from college student > hairdressing apprentice > tattoo apprentice > college student > uni student > graphic designer > freelance graphic designer > small business owner > tattoo artist (whilst also juggling some of those at the same time). But it’s also nice having all those different things to fall back on or pick back up if some things drop off slightly. For example, I was super busy with freelance design for a while, but since covid it’s dropped off completely! But this means I’ve been able to focus on tattooing more, however this year has been strange for tattooing – with the cost of living, people can’t afford tattoos at the moment and it seems as if the industry as a whole is struggling. It’s been tough and stressful, but I try to use the quieter periods to put my energy into things I wouldn’t usually have time for, like drawing more flash or making prints, stickers etc. It’s quite exhausting keeping on top of it all and it’s difficult maintaining a healthy work/life balance when you’re self-employed, but I’m so grateful I get to do this for a living that I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

I specialise in handpoke tattoos and I’d say I’m known for my cute, playful characters and animals. My style is quite delicate and feminine, as I tend to do finer lines with soft shading, which I think is perfect for the handpoke technique. The process for me is super therapeutic and I love that with handpoke you can tell it’s handmade from the textures and individual marks in the tattoo. I am inspired by the idea of embracing ‘girlhood’ and nurturing your inner child, and I feel like a lot of people relate to this. It’s a completely individual way to express yourself, as tattoos compliment people’s personality/interests and help portray their outward expression to make them feel more themselves. This is something I am proud of as a tattoo artist; I feel grateful that people trust me to decorate their bodies with something that makes them feel more comfortable with themselves or something sentimental that’s really special to them.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?

First of all my friends and family deserve the most credit – they’ve always been super supportive of whatever I do, even when I’m quitting things I haven’t finished and starting something new or overambitious. They’ve always believed in me and I wouldn’t be where I am without them!

I wouldn’t be tattooing without my friend Liv Frost (Farrington). She took me on to work at her brand new studio, and she believed in me as a self-taught artist (which is always pretty looked down on in the industry), so I never thought I’d get the chance to be a professional artist. I’ve learnt so much from her as well as all the other girls at Gilded who are some of the best friends I’ve ever had, so I’ll be forever grateful.

I’m grateful for Deryn & Joe at Tenacious for taking me on at their studio when I first wanted to move to work in Sheffield – their studio is so friendly and inclusive, and I had the best time there even though it was only for a short time. I’m also grateful for Alice Peppa who owns the studio I work at now for having me work in her space. I’ve known Alice since I started tattooing as we roughly started at a similar time and I used to fangirl over her work so much. So I can’t believe we work together now, it’s an absolute dream to work there with her and all the other amazing artists.

Most importantly all of my customers deserve a massive thankyou! I still can’t believe I get to tattoo silly animals on people’s bodies for a living and people trust me to do that!! All my customers old and new, I’m forever grateful that you enable me to continue doing this as a career.

Pricing:

• £80 1 Hour (minimum charge)
• £140 – £170 2 – 2.5 Hr
• £220 Half Day (3.5 Hour)
• £250 – £280 4 – 4.5 Hr
• £400 Full Day (7 Hr with break)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://charlottelucytattoo.bigcartel.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charlottelucy_tattoo

Image Credits
Polaroids taken by Fun Guy Club in Manchester.