James King

Tattoo artist working in London

I can remember the first comic I ever made, I was 5yrs old. The art was primitive but even at that tender age there was an element of expression and impressionism. It was clear for all to see that the raw materials were there and an artist was in the making! Each line-graphed page was crudely bound together with sellotape, but regardless, this was the start of my fascination with imagery, tone and colour. My days at home in the urban East end were spent etching away at this masterpiece, which at the time I seemed to be drawn to.

As crude as my finished comic was, all the lines were misshapen and staccato, with felt tip dots soaking through three pages at a time, but I was proud and to me it was a masterpiece (of course!!). Not only was this my FIRST masterpiece, more importantly it what ‘the piece,’ which set me on my current creative path.

As I went through school I made a great impact with art & design, utilising the techniques learned in and outside of school, to create impactful images in an aim to out-do the next. During a term on ww1 and 2, was where I found realism, I had the opportunity to draw two portraits of war children and I instantly fell in love with this style. Throughout the years I mainly focused on filling sketch books of movie star portraits of the 90’s, each time trying to get the tonal difference and perspectives exact. I still reflect on these early works to see how my art has progressed.

About the age of 15 I began doing commissions of family portraits and some caricatures, which were fun pieces to do. It was around this time I got my hands on a copy of a tattoo magazine, which got me thinking about the prospect of tattooing as a profession.

In 2006 I finally got a chance to tattoo my first piece, I was suddenly at that place again, similar to that of my childhood where I was learning to master a technique. Inevitably this made tattooing quite challenging but I was determined to apply my artistic techniques to each piece that I did. Seven years later and having worked in various studios I am constantly trying to push the technical bar of my personal tattoo journey while keeping my pieces fun and thought evoking.