As a tattoo artist with almost 30 years experience it’s always good to do some non-commissioned work just for myself.

I’ve been making prints in parallel with my tattoo work for a decade or so, initially screen prints and now wood or lino cuts. There is a strong connection between the Japanese woodcut and the Japanese tattoo that goes back 300 years, but that’s too long a story to go into now, it is however partly why I got so interested in it.

These portraits are a way for me to tie my 2 main art loves together, tattoo and print - they are portraits of my fellow tattoo artists from around the world. Many very well known in “our” world, and some long term friends and colleagues of mine.

They were a way for me to experiment in my new chosen medium - the woodcut print, and also a way for me to get away from the drawn image (they are all based on photographs) and experiment with form, light and texture.