We were lucky to catch up with Gui Ferreira recently and have shared our conversation below.

Gui , appreciate you joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

Before actually starting to work with art, I began studying Architecture and Urbanism, already in search of a profession that involved drawing. I managed to get a full scholarship for university, but I took up a job as a bartender to cover the costs of materials and other expenses.

I spent a few months juggling between college during the week and work on weekends, and I really enjoyed the things I started to encounter and learn during the course. I consider the college period to be very important for my artistic career because it was there that I realized I wanted drawing itself to be my profession, not just a means for the work I chose.

I really enjoyed walking around the city, and the Galeria do Rock in São Paulo was one of the places I liked to visit the most. It was during one of these visits that I became interested in getting to know tattooing, even though I didn’t leave home with that intention that day.

I visited some studios in the gallery and liked what I saw, which led me to look for a tattoo studio near my house the next day, since the Galeria do Rock was relatively far from where I lived.

I found a studio near my house and asked the owner/tattoo artist if I could spend the afternoon there to watch him work, to learn more about the profession. Coincidentally, he said he was looking for an assistant to work with him, and if I was interested, he could teach me how to tattoo if I worked at the reception and cleaning of the studio, receiving a salary equivalent to an intern.

Since I still worked as a bartender on weekends, I accepted the job and started juggling the two jobs. At 18 years old, this income allowed me to cover my expenses and start attending drawing courses and buying art supplies. I consider this to be the real beginning of my artistic career, towards the end of 2015.

From the beginning of 2016, after some practice on artificial skin, I started tattooing real clients, mainly friends and family, and charged a very low fee, just to cover my tattoo supplies.

I spent two years as an apprentice in that studio, doing more commercial work until the end of 2017 when I began investing in my more personal style art. I then quit my job at the bar and started working exclusively at another studio in a more central area of the city, and I began dedicating more effort to social media.

Promoting my work online and getting in touch with artists I admired was a combination that worked very well for me and allowed me to experience what it would be like to live solely from art as my main occupation.

Since then, tattooing has been my main occupation, and thanks to it, I can venture into and study other areas of art as hobbies or freelance work. I have tried muralism, digital illustration, canvas painting, 3D modeling, and I really enjoy the idea of exploring drawing, art, and painting in various different mediums.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hi! I am Gui Ferreira, aka GUIF. I’m 25 years old and I’m based on São Paulo – SP, Brasil.
Currently, I work as tattoo artist and take on seasonal projects in areas that interest me as a visual artist. Nowadays, I primarily promote my work on social media, and that’s where I attract the majority of my clients, especially on Instagram (@guiferreiratattoo) and Twitter (@guiferreirattt).

I always offer my clients a unique design created in my artistic style for their tattoos. To initiate the creative process, I ask clients to send some information about their tattoo idea and the desired artwork through my website (guiferreiratattoo.com.br/#contato).

After receiving the idea, I provide a project quote via email and invite the client to have a video call, where they can share more about their concept, and I can offer some suggestions to reach a consensus on the design I’ll create. Then, I begin my creative process, and once the artwork is finalized, I meet the client at the studio to start our tattoo session. Typically, I schedule one client per day due to the time involved in the entire process and the attention I strive to give to each tattoo.

I thoroughly enjoy working with original and exclusive artwork because I feel the appreciation clients have when they receive their custom designs, knowing they were created specifically for them, considering their tastes and ideas, under my interpretation and care. It’s truly rewarding for me to see a client leave the studio happy with a new tattoo; I feel a sense of accomplishment.

Working with original artwork also allows me to constantly evolve and incorporate my personal preferences or new things I learn in drawing and painting into the projects. This prevents me from being stuck in a rigid pattern in terms of conception or execution of my art.

Now, I’m interested in creating a small shop with products featuring my artwork, such as printed t-shirts, painting prints, and 3D models, for example. I would also like to start offering drawing workshops, something I’m already organizing, and it will likely become part of my work routine soon.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I don’t think there’s a specific place that I aim to be, like a hilltop. What guides my career and artistic journey are my dissatisfactions and curiosities related to drawing, and my quest to resolve and explore them through small steps and goals.

I’ve dreamed of working with drawing since I was very young, but I had never considered tattooing until the moment I stepped into a studio out of pure curiosity.

So I believe that this pursuit of demystifying drawing and art in the ways I can imagine is what drives me. If I can say that there is any motivation in my artistic journey, perhaps it is to never feel completely satisfied with my art, always seeking to learn a little more.

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

My greatest pleasure, without a doubt, is genuinely loving what I do when I’m working. I think almost every job carries some degree of disdain because we deal with many things, deadlines, and tasks, and I believe it’s normal and inherent to the concept of work. However, everything becomes lighter when we do something we enjoy and take pride in.

My work as an artist also allows me to explore much of what I think I wouldn’t have the opportunity to in another profession. Whether it’s the diverse people I interact with, their stories, professions, and curiosities, or even the things I’ve gained access to since I started earning money and living solely from art, such as travel, knowledge, and experiences.

My first trip outside of my home state here in Brazil was for work, as an artist. In fact, I have a trip planned to Europe next year, invited by some studios. Just thinking about it makes me quite anxious, and I’m truly grateful to art and all the people who have been part of my journey for giving me these unique opportunities and experiences.

Contact Info:

• Website: guiferreiratattoo.com.br
• Instagram: instagram.com/guiferreiratattoo
• Twitter: Twitter.com/guiferreirattt