We were lucky to catch up with Jhon Gutti recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jhon, 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?

For about 15 years, Yes, I’ve been able to earn a full-time living from tattooing. At the beginning of my career I was still living with my parents, so for about 3 years I was strictly using my income to reinvest it my own supplies; I grew up in a very slow-phase living town near Medellin in Colombia, and not too many people were so open to get tattoos back then. I think one of the best decisions I made was moving to Medellin while studying Architecture, that allowed me to be known by more people, increasing my chances to earn more to cover not only my supplies but also my bills. The second best decision definitely was when I moved with my wife and daughter to the States. After being offered a job by the Legend Kari Barba to work along her and her crew, it was a no-brainer. I personally have a problem with the “could have”s, I think they simply don’t exist. I think my process has been as it was meant to be. I still in a learning process that will never ends, tattoos and art are one of those things in life that you can’t stop perfecting.

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

I got into art and tattoos at a relatively early age. My first attempt at Oil was because of my Grand Mother, I think I was 13-14 years old and I got my first tattoo at age 15 after that my curiosity about it got sparked.

My clients trust me when they want a realistic Black & Grey tattoo, that’s my expertise; whether is a portrait of a loved one or a big scale tattoo like a full sleeve or an entire back piece with intricate details.

When I got a new client/project, I want them to be happy with not only the result but also the process, since the initial consultation where we discuss the idea/concept until the last session of tattooing. I like to have a designing time together to make sure every subject and detail is going to work on their bodies. I want my clients to be involved since the conception of the design, I like to design my tattoos always starting from my client’s vision Instead of directing them too much towards my own ideas. I think great tattoos are a matter of mutual trust. This way to conceive a project is probably one of the great added values I can offer to all my clients when they request it to be like this. There are other clients that trust entirely my vision and ideas, so they let me just go with it they way that I think is more suitable.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Well, I would have to choose the moment we moved to the States. As an immigrant, it’s was not easy to leave everything behind to try something new, and I mean, everything, your family, friends, pets, clients, etc; You basically arrive with a piece of luggage and all your hope and determination to face this massive change. Arriving to a place where you are not familiar to the language, culture, customs, etc. That, is never easy. I compare that to the many challenges you as a creative person will face during your whole career. Sometimes you hit the end of a stage and you have to get out of that comfort zone and create a new level, evolve.

I’ve been through times where my motivation and inspiration are not anywhere near me. But, you just have to keep pushing and trying. All these big obstacles are nothing but an opportunity to reinvent and perfect your talent.

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

In my line of work, I have the privilege to share a lot of time with people of all kinds when we work on long projects. This without any doubt strengthen these relationships, I get to know a lot about them, their goals, families even problems. I think is incredible how a lot of these people that I appreciate, and that I know appreciate me, had turned into good friends. This is probably one of the most rewarding aspects of my career. I owe my life to my work and my clients. That’s why I put everything into every project.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.gutti-art.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jhongutti/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JhonGuttiTattooArtist/