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

Ronnie , appreciate you joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I was able to open my own tattoo studio, Finish Well Tattoo, only 5 years after I first even worked in a tattoo shop. We just celebrated our three year anniversary. I opened it during a difficult time not only in my personal life but at the height of Covid. Considering I came into the tattoo industry a little later than many of my peers, I feel like I’ve made good progress and relatively fast. I support my family doing only this. I’ve been tattooing full time for at least 8 years now.

Ronnie , 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?

So I’ve been an artist all my life. As a kid I worked with different mediums and loved all kinds of art but tattooing was always something I was intrigued by and interested in. I used to draw my own tattoo flash and I followed many of the artists in my area, guys like Jack Rudy and Freddy Negrete. Back then “following” didn’t mean social media, it meant conventions, magazines, word of mouth. These were guys that were doing the style of work that I liked. They called it single needle black and grey, “prison style tattoos.” I call them tattoos that look like tattoos. This is the style for me. The style that I still love. For me it’s Black and grey all the way. I loved and followed the tattoo industry for many years before ever becoming a part of it. I’ve been getting tattooed since I was 16 years old but I didn’t pick up a tattoo machine until my mid thirties and the only practice I had at that time was working on family and friends. A few years later, my life had turned upside down. When I landed on my feet, I decided to pursue a career in this full time. I didn’t really have a portfolio but I was able to talk my way into a local shop that agreed to give me a thirty day trial. A year later I was appointment only and I have been ever since. I opened Finish Well Tattoo in Mesa Az in October of 2020. I get to work with my wife who’s my piercer and my son is often at the shop with us so really this is my actual dream job. I personally love tattooing anything floral and I really love doing freehand work because I can make sure the design flows with the body. I think that’s what sets me apart from a lot of artists. Many don’t trust themselves enough to do freehand. I oftentimes prefer it.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

When I first picked up a tattoo machine, an old heavy, coil machine I had to learn how to take it apart and put it back together. I had to learn how to adjust it and “tune it” for proper use. I had to learn how to set it up. This was at a time before YouTube. I had to watch others, when and where I could, I had no apprenticeship. No one to show me. What I took for granted and didn’t fully appreciate was how tough this industry actually is.

I thought that all I needed to be was an artist.

There’s so much more to all of this. It’s hard to get into, it’s hard to make a living and stay into, it’s sometimes hard to do. I think a lot of people look at this and think to themselves, I can do that. Anyone can put a needle to skin but we’re trying to pull off impressive art on body parts. I still have projects I work on while sweating and holding my breath. And it’s changing all the time. You have to respect the industry and you have to stay current. You can never be set in your ways no matter how long you’re in this. You have to always be trying to level up. It takes a lot of work.

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

For me personally it’s about being able to make a living doing what I want. I work only by appointment which means I am the one choosing who to tattoo. My clients don’t choose me, I choose them. When I first got into this industry I soon realized that there are two types of artists. Walk in artists and Appointment Only artists. The walk in artists sits there and waits for someone to come in and interview them. They’ll ask to see their work, they’ll ask to see specific designs relative to what they want to get. They’ll ask them how long they’ve been tattooing. Then they’ll end up spending $60 on an infinity symbol. I wanted to be the artist that focuses on big projects. People choose to come to me for the specific type of work I do. My desire was never to be pretty good at a lot of things, I would rather be really good at a few. So I try to stick to what I do and I am sometimes selective about the projects I do.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.finishwelltattoo.com
• Instagram: @raideron and @finishwelltattoo
• Facebook: Finishwelltattoo
• Twitter: finishwelltat2
• Youtube: Finish Well Tattoo
• Other: TikTok- Finish Well Tattoo Threads @raideron