Meet Krasnodar Tattooer Daria Pirojenko

Daria Pirojenko is one of the best, boldest and brightest tattoo artists to emerge onto the tattoo scene. Originally hailing from Moscow, Russia, she’s become one of the most sought-after watercolor realism tattooers in the world. However, can you believe that she’s only been in the game for five years? We had the pleasure of speaking with the colorful artist to learn how she developed her extremely unique tattoo style.

How did you get into tattooing? I’ve been working since 2013. I was a student at university and all my friends were tattooed. I also had a couple of friends who were tattoo artists. I helped my friends with sketches every once in a while and one day, I realized that I could tattoo, too. So, why not? And, in one day, I resigned from my office job, bought the equipment and started.

What was your first shop experience like? It was a very big start for me. I came into a famous shop in my city and had the opportunity to observe how other artists work. It gave me a lot of skills for growing and this shop had a general public for promotion, which gave me a lot of practice

How would you describe your signature style? I initially understood that I liked color tattoos, but I didn’t have enough skills for realistic style. So watercolor was the first style that seemed interesting to me. I started making simple watercolor tattoos with just black lines and watercolor splashes. Yet, I wanted to make something more complicated and at a certain point, I began tattooing realistic pictures. Everything but realistic seemed boring to me and soon, I started making something special. I have been experimenting all the way through and will continue. I’m sure my style will change every year. Every day I try to find new elements and decisions to improve my style. It can be a different kind of lettering or watercolor splashes, but I want people to smile when they look at my work.

Do you prefer tattooing portraits of animals or people? Actually both, but I like dogs specifically because pets are hilarious. I can take some elements of their life and play with that. It is actually the same with people. I like to take some popular people but with some funny distinctive features. My style is fun, even though working with serious characters can be quite hard.

Where do you find artistic inspiration? Everywhere. Sometimes it can be a magazine with photos or art exhibitions of contemporary art. But most everything I draw is in my head. When I start a project, I never know what it will be. But once I get going, gradually I find my way, and step-by-step I understand what I want to get in the end

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Ten years is a long time. I don’t rule out the possibility of changing my city or country. I like to travel and I hope that after 10 years, I will visit a lot more countries. But I know that after every time, I can come back to my home and to my lovely family.

What’s up next for Daria Pirojenko? A lot of conventions, new shops, and new collaborations.