Dan Molloy
“Omule : Hi, can you tell me how everything started?”
“Dan : I started my apprenticeship when I was 15 at a shop in town. I worked at that shop full time for a little over two years but it didn’t really pan out for me there. I ended up restarting my apprenticeship under my mentor @jonpindercomedy and he really laid the foundation for everything I’ve managed to achieve in my career. If it wasn’t for his direct influence on me we wouldn’t be having this conversation today.”
“Omule : Where do you get your inspiration from? ”
“Dan : I don’t think inspiration is something I look to find, you never know what’s going to get you feeling inspired to work on any given day. Anyone who has achieved any level of mastery in their medium or profession is inspiring to me because it takes real dedication and sacrifice master any skill. For what it’s worth though, I think inspiration as a concept is a little overrated. When you’re tattooing for a living you need to be able to create whatever the client wants to the highest standard you’re capable of regardless of how you’re feeling on any given day. The hardest part is sitting down at your desk, once I force myself to stop fucking around to go draw it all flows pretty naturally.”
“Omule : Can you remember some of your earliest influences?”
“Dan : My earliest real creative influences I can recall were Uncle Allan, Jason Butcher, Guy Aitchison, Tim Hendricks and BJ Betts.”
“Omule : Do you have an ideal creative environment? Do you have any kind of creative patterns and routines?”
“Dan : For me, drawing is quiet time. I lock myself in my office with some podcasts for hours and hash out every detail and make a solid plan of how everything is going to go on the day. Preparation is key and I take it really seriously. When it comes to tattooing, I like chaos. When everyone is in the shop and switched on and excited about what they’re doing, and we’re ragging on each other and having a good time, there’s nothing better then that. I like talking to my clients and getting to know them, I have a lot of regular clients and they’re all cool as fuck, so it makes working with them really fun.”
“Omule : You are one of my favourite artists all time. What inspires you the most for this unique style of tattooing?”
“Dan : Thank you, I appreciate you saying that. Like I said above, I’m not necessarily holding out for inspiration to work. I’ve done enough trial and error at this point that I know what I think looks cool in a tattoo as a general rule. I think the only way to really develop your style is to throw shit at the wall and see what sticks. As an example, when I started I would tattoo a face and I might hate every part of it except how I drew and shaded the nose. So I keep that, and next time I shade the nose the same way, but try and do everything else different. Then keep the stuff I liked on that one and ditch everything else again. By a process of elimination you eventually figure out what you like and what you don’t and that turns into a style over time. There’s not really any shortcuts to it unless you’re really some sort of creative prodigy.”
“Omule : What machines, inks and needles are you currently using?”
“Dan : I build my own machines, so I generally always line with my own or machines by my mentor @cesarmesquita. Depending on what I’m doing with the tattoo I might use my own shaders, or a dragonfly, or a direct drive of some sort. I mix it up quite a bit depending on what kind of effect I’m trying to achieve with a tattoo.”
“Omule : Do you have a favourite place to go on a holiday?”
“Dan : I’ve been on one holiday since I started my apprenticeship almost 12 years ago. I’m not really fond of the idea.”
“Omule : What superpower would you like to have and why? Also , if you had the power, what would you forbid?”
“Dan : I’d like the power to kill the battery on any Apple Pencil with my mind. I’m the only one who still has real art supplies at the shop so I’d become a sort of Immortan Joe-type figure, throwing down micron pens from way up on my high horse.I would forbid anyone changing lanes without indicating and checking their blind spot.”
“Omule : What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?”
“Dan : People usually prefer to get a good tattoo from someone who treats them well, than get a great tattoo from a dickhead. Treat every client like the tattoo is the most important one you’ve ever done regardless of the size or subject matter and you’ll do alright.”
“Omule : All in all, what would be a great achievement for you?”
“Dan : Make a living doing what I love, get to watch my son grow up, grow old with my wife and get that group photo of me and about 100 completed bodysuits I’ve done before I kick the bucket.”
