If You’re Visiting Poland, You Need to Check Out This Artist

While most collectors make the choice between black-and-grey and color when deciding on a tattoo, with Dasha Chehomova you get the best of both worlds. The Warsaw-based artist seamlessly blends rich black-and-grey tones with pops of vibrant color, creating bold designs that jump off the skin. We caught up with the talented and highly sought after Polish tattooer to learn which artists played a role in the development of her style and how she expresses herself as an artist outside the tattoo studio.

What inspired you to become a tattooer and what was the beginning of your career like? My adventure with tattoos began when I was 11 years old. My step-father’s friend came to our house and tattooed him. Right in our house! I remember that I was in tears, begging my parents to let me get a tattoo. I did my first tattoo on my friend at school when I was 14 years old and  earned 500 Rubles (almost $8 ). As for serious tattooing, I started when I was 19 years old. At that time, I was on maternity leave with my daughter Alice and I had nothing to do. In the New Year of 2015, I sat down and made a list of what I can do, what I like, what I love and my desires. It all came together that I know how to copy and that I wanted to create tattoos.

What’s the tattoo community like in Warsaw, Poland?

I’m working in a Russian-language studio called Sky Tattoo Radom at Radom City in Poland. We communicate mostly among each other in the studio but I know that in Poland there are a lot of great tattoo artists from Russia and Ukraine.

How does European tattoo culture differ from American tattoo culture? Europe loves and specialize mainly in realism and realistic tattoos. Traditional tattoos are not so popular in Europe. Just like in U.S., realism is not as popular as traditional.

What do you hope to tattoo more of in the future? I only want to do better tattoos.

What’s your process for creating a tattoo from conception to the finished product? I develop all of my sketches with my client before the session. Absolutely all of my work is made together with my customer and we bring the sketch to life. The process of creating a sketch usually takes me around 4 hours. Then we sit down and I’m usually tattooing until late in the evening.

Which tattoo artists have made the biggest impact on your development and style? It took me around three years to develop my own style. It came from trash polka and working with Vasilii Suvorov helped me develop my own style. He is a great artist who helped me open my mind to my own style. There are a lot of tattoo artists that inspire me. I especially love the work of Alex Pancho, Thomas Carli Jarlier, Levgen Knysh, Sergey Eremin and Animal Tattooer.

What other art mediums do you enjoy working in? I like to paint in oil and acrylic on canvas. Also draw sketches with a pencil.

What’s up next for Dasha Chehomova? In 2020, I plan to attend more tattoo conventions and visit more countries. I want to grow up as an artist and develop my style.