Capturing photographs on the skin is not very simple, but Luis Enrique applies himself every day to achieve it and has a talent that indicates that he is doing it, I invite you to meet this Caracas artist, born in 1994. He shows us some of his work and tells us about his other artistic virtues as well. Enjoy it!
Astrid: How long have you worked as a tattoo artist?
Luis: Since childhood I had always been mixed with the world of art and painting, at school time I started in the wave of graffiti. I see the art world from a more urban and open plane, with the arrival of Internet access I get closer to tattooing and take it as a starting tool and so I start in this long process in 2011 taking tattooing as my lifestyle and livelihood.
Astrid: What motivates you to keep tattooing?
Luis: I have always seen art as my engine of life and tattooing has become my bread on my table, my trips and life experiences but beyond that thanks to tattooing my family was formed the same that supports me in all my projects and madness I feel that they are the key pieces for my effort and evolution. It is also worth noting other people and friends who have been with me unconditionally since the beginning and remain faithful throughout the years.
Astrid: What style of tattoo do you like most on a personal level?
Luis: With so many studies that I have taken when tattooing I have come across incredible artists who take various styles to the limits, many of them even colleagues make each style something unique, but if I should choose a style to perform only in that I think that it would be realism in all its derivatives I feel that they are works to admire since they are delicate sessions with high concentration value.
Astrid: What style of tattoo do you think you stand out the most at?
Luis: In these 11 years of career I have worked many styles that have worked for me and although I have worked in color and I have been pleased with the results I feel that I work in the work of shadows and high contrasts, they are many years looking for the shadow that will work best for me and I feel that I have a respect for shadow work and if I could only choose between one style I think it would be to continue learning and evolving in shadow realism.
Astrid: Which ink brands do you think are the best and which ones do you use?
Luis: Hey look with so much time in the artistic guild I have worked with many inks like ‘Wordfamus’, ‘Radiant’, ‘Intenze’, ‘Dinamic’, some worked for me and others not so much, currently my range of primary colors I constitute a set of ‘Eternal’, a set ‘Solid Ink’ and for composite colors and grayscale I go hand in hand with ‘Radiant colors’ I feel that it is the fundamental basis for my pieces without leaving aside the white ‘Starbrite’ which is the secret weapon for my black and white works.
Astrid: How do you think your work influences society?
Luis: It is no secret to anyone that with the tattoo before society we had started with the left foot, it was not so well seen or accepted, I feel that with the passage of time and technological advances the tattoo gave a boost and a total turn in society with a totally different projection with other artistic objectives making more and more people know our guild more closely and I think the greatest Contribution to society is to be increasingly professional and ethical so that the public wears more than a tattoo but that other people understand art and we can end the taboo that slows us down so much.
Astrid: What kind of machines do you use and why?
Luis: Everyone who knows me and has worked with me knows that I consider myself a fan of machines, currently my arsenal consists of 18 machines both coils and rotary even pen
. For my preference in my style I usually work with a coil machine ‘Damascu’ for lines and for shadows I use cartridges and pen type machine ‘Dragon hawk version Atom 3’.
Astrid: Do you belong to any crew or artistic group?
Luis: Currently I have not joined any crew or artistic collective since I have always worked in constant movement. It should also be noted that the crew or artistic family builds it yourself by surrounding themselves with artists who become more family than co-workers such as: Gabriel Garcia, Sonic Márquez, José Marcano, Rockxana García, Carlucho Limón, among other good colleagues who are always there to add, I feel that if you have alliances like these you do not need to depend on a crew, Of course, it is also a personal decision of each artist.
Astrid: What other jobs do you have besides being a tattoo artist?
Luis: Apart from tattooing I have always known how to develop in several projects always linked to art such as graffiti, sculpture but painting pictures I feel is my favorite activity to disconnect from the world of technology and social problems, thus making it my favorite personal therapy.
Astrid: Do you consider tattooing as a source of work despite the taboo that has always surrounded it?
Luis: Recently I had commented that tattooing has become the bread of my table, in that of my family and my children sometimes it is a strong career to play with ups and downs with excellent seasons and other difficult especially with the point of taboo but I also think that the vibe and attitude we have to perform in the middle is fundamental when once we get paid for the Piece we stop thinking about money and focus now on making the piece to obtain a transcendental and optimal result is the key to this work. I believe that if it is a job beyond just the piece that the client takes, there is an arduous production work that if appreciated more closely they could understand everything that one puts effort, I speak of flyers, photographs, visuals, presentations, publications, marketing, design.
It is a work like any other, more than artists, it is also an industry only with a better audience vibes.
For me it is always an honor to be able to talk with wonderful artists, thanks to Luis for showing us part of his artistic world, I invite you to follow him on his social networks!
Social media:
Instagram:@luisenrique_tattoo