Self-acclaimed ‘legendary cowboy’ Crocodile Jackson is an illustrator and tattooer based in LA. He describes himself as ‘allergic to being bored’ and his artwork definitely reflects this attitude; it’s bright, playful and full of character.
Jackson’s work caught my eye on Instagram during a dull winter lockdown in the UK, and brightened my feed with a much needed dose of colour and positivity. Now that restrictions have eased, Jackson has also been posting more of his tattoos from his current base at Three Kings LA, and is currently working on a number of exciting creative endeavours…
Tell us a bit about yourself; where are you from and what do you do?
Howdy, my name is Crocodile Jackson! I’m a tattooer, illustrator, and professional doofus currently living in Los Angeles. I’m originally from Houston, TX and spent a lot of my childhood in a small town west of San Antonio called Knippa. That’s where I started drawing, mostly because there wasn’t anything else to do!
Your illustrations are so much fun! How would you describe your style?
Hey, thanks! I honestly never know how to answer that, but I think you nailed it! Fun and absurd, with a hint of optimism. I feel like I’m allergic to being bored a lot of the time and I think the incessant need for fun shows up in my style.
Can you share a bit about your tattoo journey? How did you discover tattooing and where did you get started?
Ah man, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t stoked about tattoos. I think it started from seeing my Pepa’s tattoos when I was a kid. He had this badass pirate head on his forearm that aged like hell but I remember thinking it was so tough lookin’.
I started my apprenticeship in Ohio. I was 19, had just moved to Cincinnati, and was laying concrete for a living. I realised pretty quickly that I wasn’t great at manual labor so I started buggin’ every tattoo shop that I could find until one of them finally let me scrub tubes.
The shop I started in eventually shut down for reasons I probably shouldn’t talk about and so I moved back to Houston and sort of finished up my apprenticeship there with a different mentor, until he got fired. Apprenticeships are weird, dude.
Where do you find inspiration for your illustrated characters?
All sorts of different places! My characters are just exaggerations of friends or people that I meet. But I think they usually fit into some archetype of a person that everyone knows.
Mostly so it feels a bit more relatable and has some emotion. I think that comes in handy for tattoos.
People seem to have an attachment to the character before they come in for their session.
Who are your biggest artistic influences?
An artist named Alex Pardee really inspired me to consider doing art for a living, so he’s a major one. But there’s so many! Ian Bederman, Winston The Whale, Daniel Bandit, Michelle Wanhala, and Jamie Hewlett were huge for me when I was developing my style as well.
What drives you to create and what keeps you inspired?
I want to inspire others to create and have fun like others inspired me. I always felt like I wasn’t good at things or didn’t fit in, art and tattooing gave me a sense of purpose and I want to show others that they can do the same. Hopefully I can leave the world a little more weird than it was before!
You’ve recently released a collectible toy, how did this come together? Do you have any plans to make more in future?
Yes! My buddy who knows the ins and outs of toy-making helped me produce my first one this year and I’m super stoked about it. And most definitely! I can’t wait to produce more in the future.
What’s been your favourite project to work on to date?
I’d have to go with getting to design cards for Magic: The Gathering. If I could tell younger me that I got to make my own magic cards he’d probably shit his pants.
Do you have any new projects on the horizon?
Oh yeah! But I gotta keep these things a secret. This next year is a gonna be a doozy for y’all, just wait!
And of course we have to ask – what makes a legendary cowboy?
Only when your name is Crocodile Jackson!
