Alex Garcia
“Omule : Hi, can you tell me how everything started?”
“Alex Garcia : As a kid I was always interested in art, I preferred pasting and colouring over toys. Growing up my interest in piercings grew as well. I never really fancied tattoos as a kid, my love for tattoos grew around the age of 14. I went from not really liking tattoos to ‘oh my god i need my full body covered when I grow up’. My uncle is a tattoo artist as well so when I started drawing at school he thought I was very talentful. Soon I started drawing tattoo designs for friends and that’s where it all started. ”
“Omule : Where do you get your inspiration from?”
“Alex Garcia : I take most of my inspiration from pictures. I prefer funny or special pictures. For example I would prefer a dog portrait of a dog licking a cookie of its own nose anytime over a dog just staring into nothing. It gives more dynamic and emotions in the artwork. ”
“Omule : Can you remember some of your earliest influences?”
“Alex Garcia : Yes. I think my first neo traditional influence would have been Willem Janssens. Later it was Toni Donaire that really caught my attention. He is still my favourite artist together with Sam Clark and Jacob Gardner. ”
“Omule : Do you have an ideal creative environment? ”
“Alex Garcia : I prefer my couch. I just like to be comfy and watch TV while I’m drawing. It makes me relaxed and doesn’t make me overthink every little detail. ”
“Omule : Do you have any kind of creative patterns and routines ?”
“Alex Garcia : i always start by putting together a composition on a picture of the body I will be tattooing, in that way i can make sure it flows nicely with the body anatomy. After that, I make my sketch in red pencil (I don’t know why but it has to be red!). I change it to black shades on my iPad and add the colours in the layer underneath. If my customer approves the design I will add another layer of outlines. ”
“Omule : I am a big fan of your work I love the traditional and neotraditional styles. What inspires you the most?”
“Alex Garcia : Thank you so much, that’s a huge compliment ! I love doing animals, portraits and nature elements. I think it is nice to look out for new animals and new types of birds and stuff. Actually I discover a lot of cool animals ! One time I didn’t know the difference between a hawk and an eagle so I looked up ‘hawk eagle’ and it is an actual bird, and a freacking awesome one ! ”
“Omule : What machines, inks and needles are you currently using?”
“Alex Garcia : Of course I work with a Dan Kubin (smiles), my other linework are done with a Vladblad coil machine and a Karma, all with Kwadron lining needles. For coloring I use either my Cheyenne thunder or an fk irons direkt 2, with ez revolution cartridges. The colors are just too many to mention... i have over 70 colors and they all look almost the same haha ! I have 20 browns that are just 1 shade different than eachother. And i use any brand like Intenze, Solid, Dynamik, Dermaglo, etc. ”
“Omule : What do you love to do in your spare time? ”
“Alex Garcia : i like to hang out with my girlfriend, my sister and her kids (my nephews - they are adorable) or go freestyle snowboarding. A bit risky for my hands but so much fun !”
“Omule : Do you have a favourite place to go on a holiday?”
“Alex Garcia : i love asia with a passion ! It is just so fascinating how different the buildings, nature and culture are ! ”
“Omule : Who is on the guest list for your ideal dinner party?”
“Alex Garcia : My girlfriend and my family of course ! If I could only spend more time with them I would be so happy. So, anytime if I would have free time for a dinner party, i would do it with my family for sure !”
“Omule : What superpower would you like to have and why? Also , if you had the power, what would you forbid ?”
“Alex Garcia : Probably time travelling ! I’m such an impatient person sometimes and i just can’t wait to be at the same level of tattooing as my idols. If i could just skip 5 years... maybe i would be ... haha !”
“Omule : What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?”
“Alex Garcia : “The greats weren’t great because at birth they could paint, the greats were great because they paint a lot”. Actually it s from a Macklemore song and it has opened my eyes on working hard for what you want to do, anything is possible if you commit to it. ”
“Omule : All in all ,what would be a great achievement for you?”
“Alex Garcia : World domination ! (Laughs)”
