Jay Freestyle
“Omule : Hi Jay, can you tell me how everything started?”
“Jay : I started off as a piercer and my mentor was the one to actually push me to learn tattooing. I started practicing on pig skin for couple of months and once I felt confident moved onto friends and co workers. I had a lot of work done on myself by professionals and that was one of the main ways I learnt and got into the trade.”
“Omule : Where do you get your inspiration from? Can you remember some of your earliest influences?”
“Jay : I’m not sure how to answer that, I guess my collectors give me inspiration. As a tattoo artist we’re limited to what the client wants to get, so their idea’s are the foundation of being inspired or not. Everyone is different, so naturally the better the connection I have with the client, the greater the inspiration. The more free reign they give me the more inspired I am to create an awesome piece.
My earliest influences where: Agnes Cecile, Shige, Brandon Bond, guy Aitchenson, Jeff Gogue.”
“Omule : Do you have an ideal creative environment? Do you have any kind of creative patterns and routines?”
“Jay : My studio is my creative environment, every wall is covered in art. I think it helps to be surrounded by art. I don’t have any specific creative patterns, it’s more daily work routines, I like to start early because my days are long, so I make sure to eat something before starting and once I’ve started tattooing, I rarely stop for a break, I like to keep in the zone and not break concentration.”
“Omule : I am a big fan of your work. How would you describe your style and what do you like to do the most? Also, what inspires you the most for this unique style of tattooing?”
“Jay : My tattoo’s are very graphic and abstract, produced in a painterly manner. It’s a combination of all different elements that I enjoy tattooing
I like creating art spontaneously, trusting my gut feeling/instinct and translating that into something that is visually compelling. Using realistic elements and combining them with abstract ones, allows me to grow more as a person as well as an artist because I think abstraction is important to train yourself to think more and look beyond just what you see but I enjoy realistic elements as well to train the technical side to create balance between the technical execution and creative thinking. Having both good technical execution and creative designs are what makes me as an artist and keep me inspired.”
“Omule : Do you admire other tattoo artists? Do you have some favorites?”
“Jay : Of course, there are too many to name but some of my all time favourites are: Casey Baugh, Zin Lim, Chris Guest, HR Giger, Dali.”
“Omule : What machines, inks and needles are you currently using?”
“Jay : I use Cheyenne machines, specifically the thunder and hawk. The needles are also from Cheyenne. I have my own ink set from World Famous inks which is all I use, I tattoo with a limited colour palette.”
“Omule : What do you love to do in your spare time? Do you have a favourite place to go on a holiday?”
“Jay : I paint in my spare time, or play video games. Usually my wife and I like going to Hawaii for vacation, we do the convention every year and take a few days off while we’re there.”
“Omule : Who is on the guest list for your ideal dinner party?”
“Jay : Haha, I’m super anti social, I’d probably never host a dinner party but I guess for the sake of the question: Tenacious D, Jim Carry, Marilyn Manson, Corey Taylor and a dozen porn actresses.”
“Omule : What superpower would you like to have and why?”
“Jay : The power to teleport, I love travelling and it would be awesome to just instantly be able to go anywhere in the world at the blink of an eye.”
“Omule : Also , if you had the power, what would you forbid ?”
“Jay : I wish there was a way to cure stupidity, the world is getting dumber with every generation. It would be cool to forbid getting bad tattoos, haha.”
“Omule : What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?”
“Jay : Dream big, set out goals and work hard on achieving them.”
“Omule : All in all, what would be a great achievement for you?”
“Jay : I’d love to become more known as a painter and have my own exhibitions in museums around the world. For tattooing there’s not much more I can think of that I’d like to achieve.”
