Eli Lucii Interview
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I spotted Eli's work when I was scrolling through Instagram and was transfixed.
I knew I'd found the artist I wanted to do my next tattoo.
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As none of us are going to be getting tattooed anytime soon I thought I'd pick her brains a bit instead.
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When did you know you wanted to be a tattoo artist?
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I’ve always wanted to tattoo! As a child I drew all over myself with Jell pens and through A levels I drew tattoo designs for art class.. which ultimately lead me to failing miserably and dropping out to peruse an apprenticeship
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How did you get into tattooing?
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I got into it by chance. A friend at the time told me his tattoo artist was looking for an apprentice so I brought him some drawings not expecting anything but I got the job on the spot. I was really lucky as they’re so hard to get into. It was a really long and painful learning process but I’m happy it was as I think it made me a better artist.
I got into it by chance. A friend at the time told me his tattoo artist was looking for an apprentice so I brought him some drawings not expecting anything but I got the job on the spot. I was really lucky as they’re so hard to get into. It was a really long and painful learning process but I’m happy it was as I think it made me a better artist.
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How terrifying was it the first time you worked on a person?
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The first tattoo I did on someone was a friend and it was absolutely terrifying. I spent the whole time shaking and sweating but even looking back at it now I’m happy with how it turned out
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The first tattoo I did on someone was a friend and it was absolutely terrifying. I spent the whole time shaking and sweating but even looking back at it now I’m happy with how it turned out
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How different is tattooing to working on paper? Was there a steep learning curve?
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Going from paper to skin was incredibly difficult. There’s so much you don’t know about how to put a line in until you’re doing it, even if you’re told “go this deep” and “stretch the skin this much” it hardly makes sense when you’ve never done it before
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Going from paper to skin was incredibly difficult. There’s so much you don’t know about how to put a line in until you’re doing it, even if you’re told “go this deep” and “stretch the skin this much” it hardly makes sense when you’ve never done it before
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Who is your favourite tattooist?
Who is your favourite tattooist?
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I have so many idols in tattooing it would be hard to put a list together. I look up to everyone that came before me and made tattooing what it is, creating new ways to do things. And being a woman, considering it used to be a male dominated job, I look up to every female artist as we’re still jumping through those hoops
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Do you ever have to work on ideas that don't inspire you?
I have so many idols in tattooing it would be hard to put a list together. I look up to everyone that came before me and made tattooing what it is, creating new ways to do things. And being a woman, considering it used to be a male dominated job, I look up to every female artist as we’re still jumping through those hoops
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Do you ever have to work on ideas that don't inspire you?
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I still take on pieces that aren’t “my style” but I still enjoy doing them. Doing a name or a symbol can be tedious.. but the happiness it brings my clients makes it just as fulfilling as doing something custom to my own work
I still take on pieces that aren’t “my style” but I still enjoy doing them. Doing a name or a symbol can be tedious.. but the happiness it brings my clients makes it just as fulfilling as doing something custom to my own work
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If you didn't tattoo, what would you do?
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If I didn’t tattoo I’d like to be able to paint for a living. I enjoy the calmness of it. And being so introverted I wouldn’t mind being on my own all day
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How has the current situation with lockdown impacted you?
How has the current situation with lockdown impacted you?
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The lockdown has been really hard. Being self employed we don’t get benefits.. no holiday pay, no sick pay, we have to fend for ourselves. But it’s making me learn new skills and it’s making me learn more about myself.
The lockdown has been really hard. Being self employed we don’t get benefits.. no holiday pay, no sick pay, we have to fend for ourselves. But it’s making me learn new skills and it’s making me learn more about myself.
I’m currently just trying to work on paintings without getting anxious about if I’m “doing enough” like I would when I was able to tattoo.
I always worried something would happen and I wouldn’t be able to work so I was frantically saving and stressing over something that, at the time, I kind of knew wouldn’t happen.
But it has.. so I’m working on finding my peace with the fact that. We can’t always do anything about it, and that’s okay.
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During lockdown it can be hard for many small businesses to make a living, especially those that require close human contact. You can make a real difference to these artists but buying their prints etc online.
You can see Eli's prints here. The frog one has my name on it...
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Comments
2 Comments
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Posted by Emma - Wilful Ink | June 05, 2020
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Posted by Emma Keating | June 02, 2020
Leave a CommentYes!
I will be super jealous if you get an amazing tattoo by her. How the hell do you make art that good on skin?!!
Hi Emma
What fantastic artwork! Thank you for sharing her with us. Might just have to make contact with her….
Keep up the good work
Emma xx