The Nereid

What makes a great tattoo?

 

Some would say skill, the careful application of linework. Others, the years of professionalism and experience. While these factors have a bearing on any great tattoo, they are not the main component. What makes a great tattoo is a great tattoo artist. What makes a great tattoo artist is passion.

 

Any decent tattooer can apply a stencil to work a design. In fact, most apprentices spend hours inking flash, predetermined designs, usually on posters, into the dermis of willing patrons just for experience with the machine. Many artists make an hourly living this way, adhering flash and predetermined stencils, trying to master even linework and clean script. Nothing wrong with a well done Sailor Jerry ship. Few however, are given the chance to create custom design work, and even fewer wish to do so. Why?

 

Custom work comes with certain clientele, so it’s at the mercy of the customer. Tattooers are rarely given total creative license, which can be limiting. If that weren’t enough, clients often request work that must be taken home to sketch and re-sketch over endless cups of coffee late into the night. No hourly rates here.

 

Custom work, although freeing from the monotony of flash, is demanding of the tattoo artist. It requires a dedication motivated by passion, not just talent or experience. A custom artist isn’t in it just for the money. A custom artist is in it for that fifth cup of coffee at 3 a.m., for going back to the drawing board again, and again, and again, so the right design is done just the right way. They aren’t in it just for the portfolio but for the clients as well. For the honor of marking a triumph over cancer or the loss of a close love. Time and again artists become like therapists, sitting patient with drawing pad to memorize childhood memories and to memorialize them in ink. It is no small feat, translating the mood of an idea into something tangible and permanent.

 

Kurt Fagerland, Memorial Tattoo in Cabbagetown, has been passionate about ink for almost eight years. Strictly a custom artist, he started out as an apprentice under Cort Bengston at Corts Royal Ink in Patchogue, New York.

 

“I wouldn't think of trying to get into the business any other way. Getting a real apprenticeship from a skilled tattooer is the best way to learn. It can greatly impact your future in the business. Same as trying to get into a good college,” says Fanferland. Tattoos are just as often marks of triumph as they are an indelible manifestation of the soul, as evidenced by the popularity of character-like designs.

 

“My first tattoo is actually a small punk rock guy with a mohawk, that I tattooed myself with a sewing needle when I was sixteen. I still have it. Would never cover it,” says Fagerland. His passion stems from a love of creating custom artwork that will be with the client wherever they go in life. “It's an honor as an artist to be chosen to leave a permanent mark.”

 

Though he describes his style as illustrative realism, he enjoys working with everything from more traditional types to realistic portraits. As with many artists, he works in more than one medium, “I used to do a lot of painting. More recently, I’ve been working with graphite. I have a series of ghost story illustrations I've been playing with. I've also been carving custom rings and casting them in silver. There's something really satisfying about wearing your own designs. One of a kind.”

 

The mark of a great custom artist is not only dedication but a lust for growth. Though Kurt’s probably tattooed everything on patrons that he has ever wanted to, he enjoys every opportunity to revisit ideas that he’s worked with previously.“There is always something I want to improve in the art. I think a lot of the images people get are icons somehow rooted in the human subconscious...cultural symbols, spiritual or maybe just ideas that are tied to our uniquely human view of the world.”

 

“When I started tattooing, I was working in a busy street shop. I did flash designs all day. I dreamed of being a strictly custom artist. There is a great sense of pride that comes with being a custom artist. And honestly, I made more money doing flash. As a custom artist I put hours and hours into drawings in preparation for a tattoo. I don't get paid for time spent drawing, and my hourly rate is the same as any good street shop. I spend hours reading extensive emails from clients describing their dream tattoo. Some people really write short novels that start with their childhood history. It is a lot, and it is very taxing. At the end of the day, I still love working on custom tattoos and I am confident the personal rewards have been greater creating unique designs for my clients. There is a lot of heart that goes into the work. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

 

Passion sets an artist apart from the rest, often paving their path to success. Kurt’s extensive following is evidence of this. Everything in moderation, however: “What do I think about tattoo reality shows? I hate them.”

 

Briana Almeida

 

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