Tony works at Spanish tattoo studio ‘El Mono Manco’ in Alcantarilla, near Murcia, and feels the time has come to focus on international tattoo conventions.
Hi Tony, what inspired you to become a professional tattoo artist?
Well, I can’t remember my whole life without drawing. Before tattooing I worked as an illustrator for metal bands and then because of old friends I decided to try tattooing. Before that I’d never been curious about becoming a tattoo artist, I just loved tattoos and getting tattooed.
It seems that your art is 90% based on the study of the female face, expressed in an elegant yet fantastic style. Have you ever wondered why? Or is it better not to ask too many questions of inspiration?
Yes, I’ve noticed it too! But I didn’t force it. Eventually I ended up drawing more and more women’s faces and I felt more comfortable using them as the main element in my compositions.
You can express a lot of feelings with it and maybe that is the reason.
But I still enjoy drawing animals or whatever my clients ask me to draw. Please ask me for more female faces! (laughs)
Do you think you’ve had a mentor in your life? Or do you consider yourself a self-taught artist?
I’ve never really had a mentor in the true sense of the word, but I feel like I’ve learned a lot from who I get tattooed throughout these years. But if I have to name someone it would be Rodrigo Kalaka Gebelin (IG: @rodrigokalaka), he was always my spiritual mentor in the distance and he helped me a lot to improve my work. But to think of yourself as a self-made artist is to think that you’ve never asked for a tip from your shop partners or a tattoo artist who inspired you so…
‘El Mono Manco’, the studio in Alcantarilla (near Murcia) where you work, means the “one-armed monkey” or something like that. Why this name? And what kind of tattoo studio is it?
Yeah, that’s the meaning! (laughs) I wasn’t there at the beginning, but I know the story. They wanted to call it ‘La Mano del Mono’, which means ‘The Monkey’s Hand’, in reference to ‘The Monkey’s Paw’, the horror story by W.W. Jacobs. Eventually they found another shop with the same name, so they decided to just take the monkey with one hand.
What 2025 do you imagine?
There are some tattoo conventions I want to do this year in Europe (Italy and Ireland just confirmed). I think it’s time to move a bit more on the conventions because I’ve been doing a lot of guest spots in different shops through these years but now I feel more comfortable with my work to try it again.
What is your biggest dream (yet to be realized) related to tattoo art and your life in general?
My biggest dream is the same as everyone who loves this craft. It’s to be relevant and do something different that adds more value to the tattoo industry.
Obviously I still have to work hard to get there, but I’m still motivated and enjoying the process.
Do you need to have “faith” to create excellent tattoo art?
More than “faith” you need perseverance, self-criticism, aesthetic taste, and of course, knowledge of tattooing. And, of course, always striving to improve!
And your last famous words are… ?
Periwinkle! But it is better not to ask why. It is a long story! (laughs)
