We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jimmy Dalessio. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jimmy below.

Hi Jimmy, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I always loved art, as far back as I can remember. My parents were always very supportive of my artistic journey. Ever since I was a kid, I was always drawing and creating some kind of art. I would draw dinosaurs after watching movies like Jurassic Park, which later branched into monster movies like Alien, which introduced me to one of my favorite artists, H.R. Giger. All throughout school, I would be the kid doodling in their notebooks, always having the best time in art classes, and just knew I wanted to do something with my life involving art, I just didn’t know how. Like most kids, I had no idea what I wanted to do after high school, but I looked into some options. I loved the idea of creating concept art for video games. I checked out a few schools, but I wouldn’t consider myself the best at computers, so I started looking at some other directions. Tattooing came up in conversation, and I gave it some serious thought. I didn’t see tattoos in person that ever impressed me, until I did some searching online. I saw some very impressive work, including one of my biggest inspirations, Paul Booth. His work really drew me in, and I would consider him being the artist that made me realize I wanted to be a tattoo artist. I checked out tattoo conventions and visited shops with my art portfolio and ultimately, I found a shop that was willing to give me an apprenticeship, and I never looked back.

Jimmy, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I started my tattoo journey in 2010 after graduating high school and finding an apprenticeship. I was very fortunate to start very early in this field. A tattoo apprenticeship varies from shop to shop, and I believe I had a very good experience, especially considering some stories I’ve heard in the industry. I had to forget everything I thought I knew about art and focus on what would make me a good tattooer. My days would consist of all the back end that most people forget about in a tattoo studio, which included cleaning the shop, sterilizing tattoo equipment, helping clients with their designs and paperwork, and most importantly, drawing nonstop. I would trace tattoo flash designs, over and over until they were correct. After a couple months, I was switched to tattooing fake skins, which helped familiarize myself with the tattoo equipment. The apprenticeship was a lot of work, but it was something I seriously wanted, so I did whatever it took to complete it. After many months of drawing endlessly, and tattooing fake skins, I was told to tattoo my first real client. I was at that shop for a total of three years, and then found another shop that was more art driven, and helped me push my art to a more realistic look. I started taking art classes from Marcel Franquelin, who helped me push my artwork to the next level and I would not be the artist today without his guidance. To this day, I try to find that next step in art and tattooing. I believe that I will continue to learn and push myself to see how far I can bring my art. There have been so many influences along the way, and I constantly get inspired my artists all around the world. The last few years have been really impactful to my tattoo career, as it’s let me really explore my freehand style with my clients. We had a wall at the shop, where we would tape our designs up to see if anyone wanted one as a tattoo. I would draw some weird horror creatures I made up and people really showed interest and I started being able to regularly tattoo my own designs instead of the walk-in style tattoos that I was used to doing. I would then transition from stenciling my designs on people, to just drawing them on the skin with markers, which helps me fit the tattoo to the person’s anatomy and a number of other reasons. Over the years, I keep trying to push these creatures to see how they can evolve and reach their highest dynamic potential. I am eternally grateful now that most of my clients seek me out to create this specific style of tattoo for them, and can’t wait to see what is next for my tattoo journey.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I want to be the best artist that I can be. I try to create art as often as I can, which is never enough. The drive to push myself is always there, and I’m not sure what sparked it. I see it in other people too, which also fuels the energy. There are so many talented artists out there that are really pushing art and tattooing to the next level, which inspire me to push myself further on my creative journey. I have met some artists that have said I’ve inspired them to create more art, and that is a surreal feeling. I was always looking up to these artists all around me, inspiring me to create art, and now I have artists telling me that my work has inspired them. I am always on board to take an art class, or tattoo workshops and seminars. There is always something new to learn, and I believe you can learn something from every artist, no matter the experience level. Other artists have helped me so much along my journey, that I started also teaching art and tattoo workshops at different shops and conventions over the years. I have many goals in this life, and each day is an opportunity to take one step closer to reaching those goals.

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

I get to create art every day. What can be more rewarding than that for an artist? I think about how fortunate I am every day when I sit back and look at what this life has given me. I also get to tattoo my own creations on people, which has been the best. I will draw or paint some designs out of my head, and post them up on instagram, and someone will want to get that tattooed on them. Tattooing these days is very different than when I first started, which was not that long ago. But even in that short time, tattooing has gained popularity so much that every artist can have their very own niche style. I have been pushing my style into designing imaginative horror creatures comprised of infinite elements. I get a lot of requests for demons, tree creatures, and others calling upon witchy inspirations. The tree creatures have been very fun to design, as they can have elements from anything in nature, including branches or mushrooms growing from its body, or various animal features to create something truly unique. Being able to create these tattoos for people has been great, and I can’t thank my clients enough who are letting this dream happen.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jimmydalessio.com
• Instagram: jimmydalessio
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/jimmymdalessio
• Instagram: @demonartwork
• Other: www.demonartwork.com

Image Credits
Nico Perez, Matt Sellars