Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Preston Bishop. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Preston, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I have been drawing for as long as I can remember. My talent for drawing comes from my mom’s side of the family. When I was younger, maybe 10 or 11 years old, I remember one of my older brothers got a small tattoo and I thought it was super cool. I don’t remember previously paying much attention to tattoos before that point, so when I saw that my brother, who I looked up to, got one, I just thought it was the coolest. Around that same time, Miami Ink was airing on tv, and I was like “oh, not only is this the coolest job ever, but you can make money from it too?!” Ha! That’s when I knew that I wanted to tattoo for a living. I started drawing tattoo related designs all of the time. I was the kid in middle school and high school that would sit in the back of the class drawing in my notebook and all over my hands and arms. People used to ask me to draw on them, that’s when I knew I had talent and my career path was clear, I was going to be a tattooer.

Preston, 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?

My name is Preston Bishop, I am originally from the Greenville, SC area. My wife and I moved to Johnson City, TN a little over two years ago. I am first and foremost a follower of Christ. My main motive in life is to live like Christ, to take care of my family, and to share His love, for He is love. I have been a licensed tattooer for a little over four years now. I started my official tattoo apprenticeship in late 2018 at Persecuted Tattoo in Greer, SC under my mentor and shop owner, Izzy Hughes. He has been tattooing for over 20 years and is a staple in realism and biomechanical style in the Upstate SC area. I was drawn to the shop for many reasons: they had good tattooers, a good vibe, but the most important reason was they were believers in Christ, and they did not hide that fact. Being open about your faith is something you rarely see in the tattoo world.
When I started my apprenticeship, I had been hanging out at the shop for a number of years, getting tattooed and creating bonds with the artists. Justin Walker, the owner’s son and tattoo artist, had tattooed me, my friends, and family previously, so it was an easy and comfortable transition into my apprenticeship. I will be forever thankful to my brother Mat Bishop and my friend James Benden for putting in a good word with Izzy which helped lead me to my apprenticeship.
Shortly after I started my apprenticeship, James told me to set up his station so he could do a tattoo. I set up his station, and James proceeds to tell me that he isn’t tattooing, I am!! Imagine, me, doing a tattoo! I was so excited. This was a huge moment for me, and I had been waiting for this for so long. Naturally, I was nervous as hell! I tattooed a small smiley face on him. Once I did that first tattoo, a fire was lit inside me and I knew that I had been put on the right path in life.
My apprenticeship consisted of a year of tracing and painting classic tattoo flash over and over, scrubbing tubes, cleaning the shop, taking out the trash, and setting up everyone’s stations for tattooing. I started taking small walk-ins and worked my way up to doing slightly larger and more intricate designs, sticking to mostly traditional and illustrative styles.
In 2021, my wife and I felt called to move to Johnson City, TN to be part of an amazing new church that Mattie Montgomery, the singer of For Today, started after the band officially broke up. I was always a huge fan of For Today and of Mattie’s style of preaching. He preaches the Gospel with authenticity and love towards everyone and I’ve always respected and appreciated that.
Once we knew that we were moving states, I had to find a new shop to work in. God is so good, not only did He show me an amazing, beautiful and inspiring shop, He made it so natural and smooth for me to start working there. Gold Cross Tattoo Co is located in downtown Johnson City, TN on Main Street. The owners are Dave and Kaylee Calvelli, the sweetest, coolest, and hardest working fellow followers of Christ. The shop is full of amazing tattooers and artists. I am so thankful and happy to call them my friends. We are all so like-minded, which makes it easy for us to work together. We flow and grow with one another and help each other to improve our work every single day.
My style of tattooing revolves around American Traditional, but I like to mix with Illustrative and Western Japanese. I also enjoy tattooing blackwork, dark illustrative, and stipple shaded designs. I tattoo designs that range in size from a tiny dot, to a full sleeve on the arms, legs, back or chest.
I want everyone to feel welcomed when they come get a tattoo from me, regardless of the size or design of the tattoo. Tattooing is a craft that I love and I love that I get to do it everyday. I take great care and put love into every design for every client. I want my clients to have the best tattoo possible. When a client asks for a tattoo in a style that I don’t specialize in, I will recommend them to an artist who does specialize in that style because I want them to leave loving the piece they got. Tattooing is not about the money for me, I don’t just agree to tattoo someone to rush them in, take their money, and get them out the door. That’s not me. I genuinely love what I do and care about the tattoo that they will have on them for the rest of their life. There are more than enough bad tattoos out there, so I refuse to add to that just for the money. If you want to get tattooed by me, I will take good care of you and make sure your experience is a great one.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding part of tattooing, genuinely, is that I get to help my clients have a good tattoo experience, not just the tattoo but the conversations during the process of the tattoo. For some people it’s their therapy time to get something off their chest, explain why they’re getting what they’re getting tattooed, or just simply talk about whatever is on their mind. There can be a lot of emotions involved and that’s a huge responsibility for me to accept them and their testimony. So I always want to do what I can to make sure they feel as comfortable as possible, physically, emotionally and spiritually. I’m not always the most talkative, but I am a great listener, and I think that can go hand in hand with being a tattooer.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Society can best support artists by buying and supporting their local artists. Referring to tattoos specifically, you should start by researching shops near you that have a good reputation, good artists, good customer service, and quality tattoos, Once you find a good shop, go to the shop and talk to the artists in person, get to know them, and get tattooed by them. Another way you can support your local tattooers is to buy their prints, paintings, or other merch that they may have for sale. Ask your artist who they look up to, are inspired by or who they support. This helps to create a positive art community.
In general, you should visit your town’s museums, go to local art shows and markets, follow and share local artists on social media, and buy from Etsy or other artist-based marketplaces instead of buying from Amazon.
When you buy or support local artists, you are helping to create a strong economy in your own town. You are supporting those who help make your town better.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @_skinrips_
• Other: -Shop Instagram: @goldcrosstattoo -Shop website: www.goldcrosstattooco.com