We talked with this brilliant artist who works at ‘Legendary Tattoo Studio’ in Dublin and appreciated every single word he said as it was full of passion.
Matthew, how many years have you been tattooing?
Hello! It’s 6 years now going on 7, I feel like I’ve learned a lifetime but still room to improve. I started tattooing all styles – mainly black and linework, I didn’t use colour for nearly 2 years. I wanted to be brilliant at lines and black before tackling colour. I believe this progress helped me stay focused and not slow down.
Have you tackled other styles before coming to the one – anime – you are known for today?
Anime is my passion outside of tattooing. I grew up playing Pokémon and watched Dragonball Z which drove me to its artwork and love for drawing it. It’s bold, beautiful and introduced colours my little eyes were not ready for. I loved it and when I started tattooing this was always going to be my journey – making anime mainstream in tattooing. I think I’ve done ok so far.
Do you think that anime style is different than tattooing Traditional, Japanese or New School subjects?
Anime is art, it bears the traditional process for tattooing – Strong linework, shading and bright bold colours. As artists we use our passion as an elixir to create, watching anime from a young age built me and gave me a desire to do good things and be a good person. You can’t tell me you watched Dragonball Z and didn’t want to better yourself!
In question to the anime style – The subjects are the only difference in comparison when you think about it. You could ask me to tattoo a Traditional rose and Goku – I’d start and finish both pieces the same way. Different subjects, same tattoo process.
I notice that in addition to properly anime subjects you occasionally make “anime-like” tattoos dedicated to rock musicians such as Kurt Cobain, Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy, and Alex Turner of The Arctic Monkeys. Do you plan to develop this wave of yours more and more?
These questions are great! You’ve done your homework on me. While drawing anime I also used to draw portraits of famous people when I was young. Drawing was my identity, I was known in school as the fella who draws.
And I drew a lot of famous people so when people asked for portraits in tattoos I knew I could also do them, but it wasn’t easy – I learned a lot tattooing colour portraits in my style.
Can you explain your relationship with color? How do you always make it so bright and vivid on other people’s skin?
I get asked this a lot and I’ll stand by this for as long as I live. I use a lot of black! Sounds weird but using colour right means you lay down a strong dark foundation either behind the primary image to bring it forward or use in front to show a high contrast between the foreground and background.
You’re the boss of the tattoo and you can choose which way it stands out and the easiest way first off is to use black and use it well in your piece.
I choose colour pallets based on what I’m used to because of how they heal and hold up in the skin. Not all colours work in tattoos so there’s a lot of trial and error.
Can you describe the ‘Legendary Tattoo Studio’ in Dublin? What should we expect from a private studio like yours?
‘Legendary Tattoo Studio’ (IG: @legendarytattoostudio) is located in one of the busiest streets in Dublin and on the second floor which is great for people watching if you’re facing out the window that day.
I share a shop with 3 incredible artists who I’d love to mention: Isnard Barbosa (IG: @isnardbarbosa) who owns ‘Legendary’, Lucy Harrington (IG: @lunacy_tattoos) and Maja Ubik (IG: @ubik_tattoo).
You’ll be welcomed by a warm cosy shop full of nerdy nostalgic bits, manga and anime shows or movies playing throughout the day and a lovely cuppa.
Do you have any international tattoo conventions or prestigious guest spots scheduled in the coming months?
I sure do! I’ll be in Tennessee in May for ‘VideoGameTatts’, ‘BigLondonTattooShow’ in August (obviously in London), Miami in September for ‘AllStarTattooConvention’ and Virginia in October for ‘AnimeInk’. Tattoo conventions are easily the best part of this job. I love seeing and meeting new faces who also love this industry.
And your last famous words are… ?
The lyrics for My Chemical Romance are running through my head now. Ok. “Just get the f***ing tattoo done. Who cares. Do what you believe in and get that f***ing tattoo.”
