Exclusive Interview With Jamie Luna

What first got you into tattooing? I quit my job at a TV studio and decided to live for myself. When I returned home, I decided to order a tattoo machine from China. Next morning, while surfing internet, I realised that Chinese machines are not worth ordering. And by that evening, I had already had Kat Von D’s mchine, which I bought at a local market. Thus everything began.

Who are some artists you’re inspired by? I could enumerate dozens or hundreds of people, but the main artist who always inspires me is God. You come out and see the sky, stars, animals, plants, people. Can you imagine one’s mind which invented all these! Nobody can ever make it out. We are simple imitators of His creation! He has already created everything and the future, too! He works wonders by our hands.

How has your tattoo style evolved and developed since you started tattooing? Recently, I’ve clearly examined all stages of my development, which allows me to analyze my way. First, I started drawing old-school, but within a week I realized that it’s a dead end. Then I took up graphic art, with dot work. I was working with a 3rl needle when I noticed that because of some specific features of our skin, all dots blend and become one big spot. I made the conclusion that I wasted a lot of time and effort and that I could simply have used classical shadows. The “Girl with a Pearl Earring” became the apogee of my work, which I tattooed for two days with 1rl needle. It was then I realized that I could combine graphic art and realism to everything I’d done before, but in a larger scale.