We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lee Mullen. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lee below.
Lee, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
The moment I knew I wanted to be a tattoo artist was when I went with my father to a stranger’s house and watched him get an illegal tattoo. My home state of Oklahoma was the last state in the union to legalize tattooing in 2006. Oklahoma has always been a very religious state, so when I was growing up, it was considered taboo, anti-Christian, and generally not polite to get a tattoo. If you wanted to get one done, there were no tattoo shops around. You had to look underground.
Not being the devout type, my dad wanted a tattoo symbolizing his years of bull riding and an homage to his Comanche Nation heritage. A badge of honor on the upper arm, composed of a bull skull adorned with eagle feathers and the Comanche Nation logo on the forehead. He had found an artist through the grapevine, and made the appointment to visit a makeshift tattoo shop operating out of a spare room in a small house downtown.
As an eight year old, drawing and coloring is my favorite thing in the world. Making as many pieces of art as my mom can hang on the fridge was something I took pride in, and a challenge to be bested. Being asked to tag along to this appointment was a small thing that ended up having a profound impact on my life and future career.
As we are welcomed into this artist’s ‘studio’, I’m surprised at how much it looks like a normal house. They have a living room with a TV, a kitchen, and even a backyard. As we are led into the back of the house where the tattoo room is, I start to smell a somewhat pleasant smell. A mix of lavender, cleaning chemicals, and green Speed Stick™ deodorant.
I’m invited to watch the whole process. I see the drawing being finalized and the stencil being precisely scrawled. The artist shaves my dad’s arm lathered up with lavender soap, and then applies a layer of the deodorant to his shoulder to apply the stencil.
After a few minutes of chatting about the process, and letting the stencil dry, it’s time to get started. The artist sets up his very loud tattoo machines, chattering and vibrating like giant steel wasps. At first the noise startled me, but seeing how small the needle is, and seeing the fine little line left behind, I realized that it’s just a really loud pen and he is actually just drawing on my dad’s arm like I do when I get bored in class!
I was hooked. As the tattoo goes on, the artist is explaining how when he wipes it clean, all that’s left is the cool drawing that we have been doing and it will be there on my dad’s arm forever. I had always wished my sharpie ‘tattoos’ didn’t wash away at bath time, so the fact that it’s permanent is the main selling feature!
After a couple hours, the tattoo was finished, and the artist could tell I was stoked on this new experience, and continued to show me more about being a tattoo artist. He told me to draw every day, and to keep making art, and that’s what I did.
From eight years old to twenty-eight years old, I have been passionate about art and tattooing in general. I love being able to share a personal experience with so many people, and leave behind some of my passion in every tattoo I do. Each time I get to draw a cool design, or do a cool tattoo, I am still just as enamored and enthralled as that day when I was breaking the law with my dad.
Lee, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Lee Mullen, and I am a Tattoo Artist based in Seattle, Washington. I have been tattooing professionally for almost 5 years, and I specialize in Neotraditional and Illustrative tattooing. I have always wanted to be a tattoo artist ever since I was a kid, and I have never lost that passion. Every day I am so grateful, honored and just plain stoked to be able to make a living creating my art, and that so many people choose to wear it on their bodies forever. There are so many amazing artists in the world, so thank you for choosing me!
One of the things that set me apart from others is my passion for art and tattooing, as well as my passion for people. Not only is being a tattoo artist demanding in the way of artistry, it’s a service industry. I love my clients. I treat everyone as if we are lifelong friends, and heck, why shouldn’t we be? This tattoo is going to be there for the rest of your life, so hopefully when you remember getting the tattoo, you remember the artist fondly as well! I always go out of my way to ensure my client is comfortable and that they have a good experience. From good communication on the tattoo idea to the actual appointment day and onward, I am your homie. We’ll laugh and joke, exchange stories, watch movies, enjoy snacks, and generally just hang out, all while getting a sweet new tattoo that they’ll love forever and ever.
I am most proud of the way I knuckle down and achieve every goal I set for myself. In the beginning I knew I needed to be an apprentice at a shop to learn how to tattoo. Getting an apprenticeship is notoriously hard, not very many people want to take one on because it’s a lot of responsibility. Going shop to shop with my portfolio in my hand, and getting told no a million times was enough to discourage anyone. But, after a couple years of searching and trial and error, finally landing an apprenticeship with a good mentor was a huge milestone crossed, but only the first step. After that I wanted to get a good grasp on tattooing. Eventually I could do a decent tattoo no matter what the subject or style, and it was clean. Next up on the goal list was creating and specializing in my own style. I knew what I liked about tattoos, and knew that I ultimately wanted to do a Neotraditional or Illustrative style focused on bold and clean line work and bright colors. After a while if figuring that out, people were coming to me for my own spin on stuff, and it was really motivating to keep going. Now, I have a regular client base, I’ve won two Tattoo of the Day contests at a tattoo convention, and I just reached 10k followers on Instagram. None of these things really matter so much individually, but they were all career goals I have set for myself and achieved through passion and genuine love for the craft, and determination to keep doing what makes me happy.
The main thing I’d like people to know about me and my brand as a tattoo artist is that I am passionate about the artistry of tattooing, as well as culture and the people who get tattooed. I’m an easygoing, not too serious type of guy, but your tattoo and your overall experience are top priority. You can hit me up and feel comfortable knowing we’re already homies. No judgement, or celebrity mentality here, dude. Sometimes getting tattooed makes you a little bit anxious, and it’s my goal to reduce that as much as I can, and give you the best tattoo I possibly can!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Growing up a lot of people in my life told me to reconsider my dream of being a tattoo artist. With tattooing only becoming legal in 2006, a lot of my fellow Oklahomans didn’t see it as a real path one could take. Let alone a respectable career someone could make a living with.
I was discouraged from chasing this opportunity a number of times. Being told tattooing is for criminals or drug dealers, and that it goes against their religion. Or that if I wanted to be able to support myself I better go to college for something instead of doing art. No matter what my relatives or authority figures said, I knew I was meant to be a tattoo artist, and I knew that was the route I was gonna go.
Being an artist was always a passion of mine, but it was never something I was naturally good at. I took many art classes in school, but I was never the best artist in my class, sometimes the worst. I spent a lot of time after high school drawing and painting, practicing form and shape and perspective. As I became a tattoo apprentice I really got to dive into tattoo design and composition.
I was resilient by sticking to my guns, and no matter what came my way, I was going to achieve my lifelong dream of being a respectable tattoo artist. Despite being discouraged by many, and not having a natural ability for being an artist, I learned to draw and kept trying to be a tattoo artist, and develop my own art style. Now I am just trying to do a better tattoo today than I did yesterday, and keep doing what I’m passionate about.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the satisfaction and freedom of earning a decent living by doing work I am so passionate about.
Most folks wants a dream job, and I am living that dream every day. I love that one of my favorite things as a kid turned into a lifelong career and passion that allows me to support myself and my family. I’ll probably tattoo until my hands fall off!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://leefscented.com
- Instagram: @leefscented
- Facebook: Lee Mullen Tattoos
Image Credits
@leefscented
@portlandtattooexpo
@mryanphotos