Sponsored Artist of the Month - Sissy_Ink

Based in her own Electric 07 studio in Mannheim, Germany, Sissy_Ink creates incredible realism tattoos across black and grey and colour styles.

Specialising in portraits, Sissy_Ink has immortalised family members, pets and celebrities on her clients’ skin, as well as iconic moments from TV and film.

We had a chat with Sissy_Ink about the tattoo design process, guilty pleasures, and how weird it is to have your own face tattooed on your husband!

What made you want to be a tattoo artist?

Art. I’ve drawn my whole life, since l was a child.

How would you describe your style of tattoo art?

I would describe it as soft black and grey realism, but I‘m still figuring it out!

Have you experimented much with other art styles?

Oh yes… and sometimes I still do! There are so many things that are inspiring to me.

You do a lot of family member portrait tattoos - are these stressful to get right?

Sometimes when a person is not that distinctive and I just have this one photo and have never seen that person in real life, it’s more difficult I think.

Do you enjoy getting that personal connection with your clients?

I don’t always get that, but sometimes I get clients that could easily become my friends.

Is it difficult to incorporate lettering into your tattoos?

It depends on the placement, but I love the way it looks when lettering is matched to an image.

What is your tattoo design process?

First, I take a picture of the placement, and then I create the design together with my client on the day of the appointment. I want my client to see why something looks good in a particular place, and why some ideas don’t work as well. That makes it easier for them to understand what I‘m doing and how the design develops.

What’s your favourite animal to tattoo?

It’s got to be raccoons, because they look like little gangsters!

Whose face have you most enjoyed tattooing onto people?

Eminem! I‘m a big fan.

What’s the strangest concept you’ve been asked to tattoo?

It was a rat that had strangled itself on its own tail. Very weird!

You don’t often use colour in your art but when you do, what inks do you use?

I like the colours from Intenze.

What tattoo equipment do you use?

I love my SOL Nova Unlimited with 3.5 mm stroke by Cheyenne because it shades so soft and the handling is very straightforward. In terms of ink it’s mostly the Black Gold by Panthera, and my cartridges are also by Cheyenne, mostly just small curved magnums like 7 and 11, a 3 liner, and a 5 round shader.

What’s Electric 07 studio like?

It‘s a lovely, friendly place in the middle of nowhere.

How is it working with your husband at Electric 07?

It varies! But he supports me in every way, so that I can completely concentrate on tattooing.

Who else works at the studio with you?

My lovely apprentice Monique.

Is there anyone you’d really like to do a collaboration tattoo with?

So, so, so, so many artists. Way too many to list them all. I‘m a big fan of collaborations!

Can you tell us how your husband came to have a tattoo of your face, and is that weird for you?

I don‘t really know how it came about. My husband is crazy! It‘s inside his thigh, so I don‘t see it most of the day but when I saw it for the first time… yes, it was weird.

What is your favourite thing about your job?

Feeling free.

If you weren’t a tattoo artist, what would you be?

If I could choose, I‘d like to write for trash reality TV.

Which tattoo artists do you most admire?

I can‘t say - there are so many crazy talented artists in this world.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I really, really want to list some cool sports, learning, cooking, reading books and so on… but to be honest, I love lying on the couch with my girls, watching trash TV and drinking wine!

What does the future hold for Sissy_Ink?

Who knows! If you had told 16 year old Sissy that all this would happen to her, she wouldn‘t believe it, so I think I‘ll just happily wait for the future!