Recently I came across a few animal tattoos on Instagram. They looked like pets and were done by someone who understands the love people have for their pets. After a few searches, I found out about the tattoo artist and contacted her on Instagram. I was fortunate to get the response, so I decided to do a short interview post on her thoughts related to the tattoo world.
Meet Yeono
In her own words:
I’m originally from South Korean and work in Los Angeles, California. I do realistic tattoos and I have dedicated a large portion of my artistic career to tattooing animal images.
and I want to share my happiness with clients and many people who like my tattoo.
Let’s get on with the Interview questions and her responses.
1. What inspired you to become a tattoo artist and when did you start it as a career?
I’ve been tattooing professionally since 2014 with many clients from all around the world. When I was 17, my mother wanted to get a small tattoo. In the middle of looking for tattoo photos together with my mother, I got to see a backpiece tattoo by a Japanese famous tattooist. As soon as I saw the tattoo work, I marveled at it. As I instantly wanted to create that kind of tattoo, I made up my mind to become a tattooist. This was one of the decisions that changed everything in my life.
2. How many tattoos do you have on your body and what’s your favorite one?
I have over 30 tattoos on my body. These tattoos are done by the following artists: q_tattoos, Victor_chil, yuuztattoo, who_is_ryu, lookatthe_dokhwa, edit_paints, hocheon1, horikaka, miso_ttt, tattooist_won, naryn.wave, bigcatcid, hanytattoostyle, joon_letters, joozy_tats. I love all my tattoos and thank the artists.
3. Which is your favorite client tattoo, what was the story behind it, and how much time it took?
Out of all of the tattoo experiences I have had in the past nine years, the tattoo I remember the most is my first tattoo. My mother was my first client and she got a tattoo of my name and my elder brother’s name on her arm. It was such a simple lettering style tattoo, but on top of feeling really nervous, it took more than eight hours to complete the whole process, which is why I can’t forget this memory.
4. What do you do in your free time when not tattooing people?
I do exercise and live a happy life. Recently, I fall in love with reading books and listening to EDM music. and After getting to know the fun of the travel experience, my goal is to take a trip more often.
5. Why do you think people get a tattoo, even though it’s a painful process?
The tattoo is an excellent means and art of self-expression. And tattoos can give someone a good mindset, make memories last a lifetime, or give them fun. Tattoos have a lot of influence.
6. Who is your favorite tattoo artist?
There are so many artists I love that it’s hard to pick just one. I often appreciate the works by hyper realists. When I view their works, it is hard to tell which one is a photo or painting, and which one is the original or copy. I think this kind of experience is another charm of hyper-realistic paintings.
And I also often view the works by tattooists who represent them in tattoos. Instead of simply feeling amazed by them, I think of many things related to what I would like to do in the future.
7. What different styles of tattoos do you make?
In the beginning, I just liked drawing things realistically without thinking about the concept or meaning of the picture. After that, I started studying the aesthetic meanings of tattoos. I don’t think drawing the same picture as a photo is the most important. I am drawing pictures that can touch my clients and many people who love my work. I want to show them real tattoos in easy and interesting ways. And taking a long time and much effort to be completed is another charm. Despite the importance of content and design of pictures, my hard work is also an emotional element, I think. I think perfect realism is powerful and greatly influences people, and the reality is virtual reality. I like pictures composed of more virtuality than reality, which is what I would like to sublimate into my tattoos.
8. Where do you see the future of Tattoos?
To become a great tattooist, it would be necessary to be equipped with various skills such as artistic ability, great health, and communication skills. To build up one’s own strengths to differentiate from other artists, a tattooist should diligently draw pictures.
And a tattooist should be fully aware of knowledge about hygiene and skin for the safety of clients and also needs communication skills for effective dialogues with clients. And it is also important to have the ability to keep a healthy mental state without stress. so, I hope that there will be more artists who are healthy and happy with tattoos.
9. Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?
Even though it is very difficult to draw a small-size realistic tattoo on the skin, I like to draw a small tattoo as a challenge.
If there are some people who want this challenge, I would like to inspire them by sharing my own methods with them. So, I plan to open an online class on my own signature realism techniques I have mastered so far.
10. If you get a choice, which celebrity would you like to Tattoo and any specific design?
I want many celebrities who have pets to get their pet tattoos from me.
11. Please share your social handles and how to reach out to you.Â
My Instagram ID is tattooist_yeono, and my email address is [email protected]. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions 🙂
Editor Note: Yeono is very passionate about Tattooing. She listens to their client’s requirements and takes extra care when drawing their pets’ tattoos.