We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sammy McCoy a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Sammy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I think one of the scariest decisions I’ve made was to transition from being a full-time college student to dropping out to pursue a career as an Tattoo Artist & Creative. I knew I was about to take one the biggest risks of my life but everything in me was begging for a change & I could just feel that I wouldn’t be truly happy if I didn’t at least try.

Growing up, I always wanted to be an artist. I loved to draw, paint, sing, and create since I could even pick up a pencil & making art was definitely my escape and a space of expression for me as I matured. When I was 18, I think there was a lot of pressure to go to college because my parents never did. Even though I know everyone around me saw how passionate I was about art, they still had their doubts that I would be able to sustain myself without a degree and so I listened. Although I don’t regret going to college, I think it definitely squashed my creative flow for a few years because the passion I had was constantly being drained by grades from professors and quick judgements on my work. I went from creating for myself out of the pure love for it, to creating for assignments and classes that weren’t fulfilling me the way I needed them to.

In 2020, Covid put a pause on my college career, and although I thought I would eventually return, instead I discovered a love for a different career path and soon realized that if I wanted to pursue tattooing, I would have to pour everything I had into learning this new medium and to do that I had to take a huge risk; dropping out.

Another part of the risk I was taking (which I didn’t even realize at the time) was that I was about to enter into a period of trial and error, where I was not only teaching myself how to tattoo but learning how to run a business and how to market myself as an artist and build a clientele and create content and more. A lot of beating myself up and self doubt.

I started tattooing out of my living room, practicing on myself and friends who would trust me. Eventually I entered a short-lived (sketchy and uncomfortable) apprenticeship, and decided I would be better off teaching myself. I spent a year working full-time as a server, and after work or on my off-days, I would set up in my living room and that’s where it all started. Then, in the beginning of 2022, I was invited to work at a shop.

At first, it was very intimidating and overwhelming. Especially in this historically sexist profession, I knew that it wasn’t going to be easy and I think one of the hardest things about that was not always being taken seriously and being taken advantage of. There were many times where I wanted to give up but I knew that there had to be a better place for me to create where I would feel safe & supported.

In 2022, I took another leap of faith and moved to Philly, and then left the shop I was working at. Unfortunately it had become a place I felt unsafe going to and although I was so nervous that I had made the wrong decision, I knew in my gut that I wasn’t where I needed to be.

Thankfully soon after moving, I was given the amazing opportunity to work at a shop called Now and Forever Tattoo in Philly, which is a collective created for Women, Non-Binary, and Trans Tattoo Artists to work and evolve and a safe space for all to get tattooed. As a queer artist, entering this shop was life-changing and this was truly my first time ever experiencing a workspace like this where I truly felt welcomed and valued and loved. (Yes they do exist & yes you do deserve to feel that way.)

I think back a lot to the feeling I had when I was thinking about leaving college. At the time, there were definitely several people in my ear talking about worries that I would be “a starving artist”, but all I wanted was to be able to create freely and I wanted to feel that same love for art that I had growing up. As soon as I dropped out, there was this sense of relief that washed over me and I knew somehow, some way, I was going to be okay.

I’m so grateful that I followed my passions and that my gut led me here because now I am able to make art everyday and have more time outside of tattooing to follow my other passions like making music too. I get to share what I love with my clients and be surrounded by people who not only believe in me and support me but inspire me too. I know that I wouldn’t be where I’m at if I hadn’t taken that risk.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

So I am a full-time Tattoo Artist and I’m located in Philadelphia at Now and Forever Tattoo in Fishtown. Some styles I love to work in are Realism, Black/Grey, Botantical, Cybertribal, Illustrative, etc. Although I think my work is pretty versatile, I definitely thrive the most anywhere I can create lots of fine details, sharp contrast, and eye-catching composition.

Before I was tattooing, I became super obsessed with Realism and Portraits, and started investing a lot of time into practicing and learning new techniques to create paintings/drawings with tons of detail. I think one of my favorite parts of Realism is seeing how close I can make my art look like a photograph, it’s so satisfying and also exciting when other’s view my work and do a double-take questioning if it’s a photo or not.

The style I’m hoping to lean deeper into with tattooing this year is Realism/Photo-Realism. Although I’ve done a lot of tattoos in this style, I think a lot of people are reluctant to go for realistic style tattoos because it’s definitely about putting a lot of trust in your artist. I feel really confident in my abilities with it so I think somewhere down the line I would love to solely focus on Realism because it really is where I think I thrive the most out of everything.

I am always taking new clientele and my books are open for anyone interested in starting a new project with me!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I think the most rewarding aspect of being an Artist is seeing how my work can impact other people and their view of themselves.

For a long time I used art as a coping mechanism, an escape from life, something I kept to myself for me. It was a safe space where I could feel the most at peace and I could have never imagined how that would translate into where I’m at today.

When I started pursuing a career in tattooing, there was something so special that came out of creating a type of art that is shared with another person indefinitely. There’s a certain level of trust someone gives you when they allow you to permanently change them & for a lot of people, there’s so much thought and time that goes into deciding who to give that trust to. I feel super fortunate to be that somebody for people and to bring people’s ideas to life. (I also just feel so grateful that people will go out of their way to reach out to me because they like the work I create and want to have it permanently on them and still to this day it blows my mind. Like whattt! )

I think body-modification for a lot of people is a way to feel more comfortable in their skin and connected to themselves. Tattoos are a form of self-expression and I’m so lucky to have a front-row-perspective of seeing it change people’s lives, even in the slightest ways. It’s so rewarding and definitely has a forever-effect on me as well.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I think honestly the biggest resource out there that I wish I would have taken more advantage of from the beginning was to just talk to people!

I think there’s a lot of anxiety in being a creative because you are in a field where there’s potential for judgement or rejection because Art is so subjective but I have tried my hardest to remind myself that “closed mouths don’t get fed”!

Most creative people are willing to have a conversation, they are willing to share advice and insight and give direction or feedback. People you look up to who may be in a position that you want to achieve, have all been where you are at now.

I think speaking with other creatives that inspire you is the best resource out there and is also a great way to network!      

Contact Info:

• Website: artbysammymc.com
• Instagram: @artbysammymc
• OMusic IG: @sammyannmc

Image Credits
Headshot Credits: @shotbywave