We recently connected with Kassie Sheppard and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kassie, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Honestly I’m still learning. I believe one should never stop. I’m constantly changing the way I tattoo, the way I see tattooing as an industry. The main way I have done that is by working with as many people as I can, simply by watching them do their job listening to them talk about their experiences. I find it inspiring that we’ve all been taught differently, the more artists I talk to and meet at guest spots and conventions and different co-workers I’ve had the more I learn to apply to my technique and the type of career I want to build for myself.

I feel as though I have elevated fairly quickly from my beginnings. I’ve been fortunate to be exposed to kind and talented artists in various shops. I believe that the work we produce reflects our surroundings, the greater artists and work that one is observing the more one will strive to create such pieces. If anything has hindered that for myself, it would have been insecurity about my abilities or any doubt that I could reach a certain level. Now I am not so hesitant.

The skills I found essential in getting me to the point I am are determination and drive to continue growing. Also being self critical just enough to incentivize my ambition. Being too self critical can be detrimental, not being critical of ones self at all likely means you wont progress. It’s important to have a healthy balance.

I would have to say that the biggest obstacle I’ve had is learning how to manage my own business and being able to balance the business side along with doing the part of my job that I love which is the art. Of course I would love to just tattoo all the time but there is much more to the job of being a tattoo artist than just tattooing, which has taken time to figure out how to get good at and I am still learning.

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?

I am twenty four years old, I regularly get asked by clients “have you always wanted to be a tattoo artist?” No tattooing is not something I always thought about doing. I came into the tattoo industry by shadowing an artist when I was seventeen, I watched her tattoo a six hour piece and was entranced the entire time. Before that, I had no idea I wanted to tattoo or even that I wanted to be in the art field.
Once I began tattooing in 2020 I fell in love with the act of it more than anything. The flow and movement of my arm to my wrist to my fingers that are holding my machine pulling a straight line, feels like a dance. It’s an energy is coming from me and being put into what I’m working on. Tattoos are considered “cool” to most people however to me it is more, tattooing I just know is what I am meant to be doing.
Now, I have been tattooing for 4 years. I enjoy designing organic looking themes of dark nature and curiosities. I love tattooing in color with a combination of bold and fine lines. I also have a passion for creating elegant decorative black pieces that complement the bodies natural flow.
I love collaborating with clients to create unique designs. I believe that tattoos should make people feel confidant that is what I strive to accomplish, putting tattoos on clients bodies that we are both proud of.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

It might sound self evident but, I wish that I had been exposed to books having to do with art sooner in my career. I worked with an artist my second year of tattooing who really pilled on different books having to do with interviews of tattoo artist and their work, books about how to paint and most importantly to me, different types of artists and their art like Alphonse Mucha and Imao Keinen who are two from my list of favorite artists. I also love books on gothic architecture and ornaments. The shapes from these buildings I am starting to apply in some of my tattoos and designs. When I first began tattooing I didn’t know much about art and didn’t realize that it played such a huge part in tattooing. My mind was flooded with information from books having to do with art of various types and that was when I really started to be inspired to try and find a style that I was drawn to which is still continuously changing the more I discover.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I would have to say that if anything was driving me to a goal in my career it would be plainly to keep growing and improving in all aspects of this industry. I find that the more people I network with who are a part of the industry the more I’m inspired to change myself or the way I think. This includes anything you can think of, from the way I tattoo to the way I look at the industry as a whole to the financial aspect. This way of thinking began while I worked in a shop for about a year that had seven artists working around me. I started watching them do everything I could and all of them did things differently even something as simple as setting up for a tattoo procedure. I realized that watching something as simple as that I would improve by doing something more effectively because it was not something that I was yet doing in my own set up, and that is how I’ve learned, by watching. This applies to everything, tattooing, painting, sketching, the way you make a post about your work on social media, the way you work with your clients, the way you present yourself or your shop. Everything one does plays a part in their tattoo career it shapes us into the artist we are and the clientele we attract. I never want to stop growing in my industry, I don’t want to plateau, I always want to keep evolving. That is my goal.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Subrosatattoostudio.com
• Instagram: @kassidilla_tattoos
• Other: Email: [email protected]