We recently connected with Kris Masterson and have shared our conversation below.

Kris, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

Creativity is a tricky thing. When your JOB is to create images for people, you can’t sit around and wait for inspiration to hit like you do when art is a hobby. It takes discipline, especially when you’re doing completely custom work.

That said, I did work regular jobs before becoming a tattoo artist, and it taught me a lot. My first job was Burger King. I worked for the county, I was a waitress, even worked for TSA in Ft. Lauderdale for 4 years. All of this taught me patience and communication. It taught me what it was like to earn an hourly wage and scrimp to save what I wanted.

I was so miserable at TSA that it spurned me to put in the work to put together an art portfolio and get an apprenticeship. I was so miserable in a uniform that I was willing to put up with the long unpaid hours as an apprentice, the hazing, the constant working on my art. Working regular jobs gave me the gratitude for the work environment that I have now.

Kris, 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 have been drawing since I could hold a pencil. I grew up with real cartoons, like Disney and Looney Tunes, so animation had a big impact on me, and later, so did comic books, and pinup art like Elvgren and Vargas…

I worked “real jobs” when I was younger, (I was also one of the first waves of people hired for TSA in Ft. Lauderdale and it was the most miserable 4 years of my life.) and eventually put together an art portfolio and got a tattoo apprenticeship. This was a very traditional apprenticeship, where I was not paid, I was responsible for paperwork and cleaning, I made needles, I scrubbed tubes, ran errands for the boss… it was tough, but it gave me an appreciation for the career I have.

I have now been tattooing professionally for 17 years, and I have been through the gamut. I have survived divorce and gaslighting, toxic/alcoholic bosses, years of therapy and a whole journey to find my self worth. And I found it in the art. I have also had clients who have become lifelong friends, I have met artists who inspire me, who exchange ideas, who don’t see art or tattooing as a competition. I work in a small private studio with two other incredibly talented nerds and I look forward to going to work everyday.

Working in walk-in shops has given me an expansive wheelhouse of skills. I am capable of almost any type of tattoo someone wants, but I specialize in custom new school work. I especially enjoy pinups (men or women and everything in-between!) and cute animals. I can do cover ups of old tattoos or scars, and have done many realistic nipple tattoos for maesectomy patients as well.

I take pride in being able to put someone’s idea on skin, and even if you ask me for a tattoo of a popular character, I can give you your own version of that that does not exist anywhere else. I love the shop environment we have created too, we like our customers to relax and be themselves.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think a lot of non creatives don’t realize how much TIME goes into making art, or writing music, or writing in general. I think a lot of people think we draw their whole tattoo in a few minutes because we have some kind of god given gift.

It doesn’t work that way. Most tattoos take me a few hours to draw. I think a lot of artists starting out also get discouraged because they don’t realize that to get good at anything creative, you have to suck at it first. You make good art by making lots of BAD art. The more you fail, the more you will succeed. I’ve been drawing my whole life and I still do art I think sucks.

I’m talking about art, not tattoos. This is why I think it’s important to be good at ART before you try to get into tattooing, but this is apparently an outdated and increasingly unpopular opinion.

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

I have had a couple bad experiences with big name tattooers and an increasing amount of my clients have horror stories about tattooers. “Reality TV” has made this look like a rockstar job so a whole new slew of people are trying to become tattooers for the wrong reasons. I hear about, or have worked with tattooers that arrive hours late to their appointments, who make their clients wait while they draw, or they charge drawing fees, or they trace someone else’ art and tell the customer they drew it. Some tattooers charge a mortgage payment for a day of work and have massive egos.

I might be one of the few artists that holds myself to the same deposit policy I hold my clients to. I LOVE The Holy Hyena. The two guys I work with are incredibly humble, they’re responsible, they show up to work on time, they’re ready to go when the client walks in the door and they’re incredibly creative. We strive to give people the best ORIGINAL, one-of-a-kind tattoos we can in a fun, relaxed environment.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.krampusssytattoo.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/krampusssytattoo
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Krampusssy

Image Credits
All photos were taken by me. All art was created by me.