Gushing and chatting with Kirti, a queer artist who is a fresh face in the world of tattoo artists. Based in Goa, the creator of 'My Heart Is A Butterfly' tattoo believes in the power of expression through tattoos and teaching the value of tattooing as an art form, just as special as any other form of art. 

Can you recall a specific moment or event that inspired you and sparked your decision to become an Artist? 

The first time that I was inspired by anything was tattoos. I have always had an obsession with looking at people with tattoos, and I got my first tattoo as soon as I turned 18. My tattoo artist was really nice and really kind, and while just seeing them tattoo, I was just like, oh, maybe, maybe I can do that.

And that's how I asked them if they would be down for a tattoo apprentice, showed them my portfolio and that's how I started my journey.

What was the very first thing you remember creating, and how does it compare to your latest masterpiece?

The first thing that I remember drawing was probably some character from a video game I don't remember. I like my latest pieces, I have come a long way because I used to have sort of an illustrator vibe and now I have more of a tattoo vibe, if that makes sense. But I still love illustrating. I still love making art out of things that I like regularly. 

How has your artistic style evolved since you first started making art/tattooing? Are there particular influences that shaped this transformation?

So my style in the start, I would say sort of like a doodle and more on the illustration side. And right now I have been trying to experiment with a lot of different styles. I personally love, traditional tattoos, but I have not been able to get there right now, and it's pretty hard to come up with one.

So I'm slowly trying to hop into other categories. There are a lot of tattoo artists that I look up to, and yeah, I just try to see more styles and sort of incorporate them in my work. I am not very rigid on styles or any sort of aesthetic that I would want in any manner.

What's your go-to remedy for overcoming creative blocks? Any bizarre rituals or techniques? 

For me, whenever I have an art block, I genuinely don't want to do anything. I just don't draw, to be honest. I take a break that day and start fresh from another day because I really don't want to be forcing myself to be constantly working. 

If you could go back in time and give your beginner self one piece of advice, what would it be? 

One piece of advice that I would give myself, even right now, is that, when you're starting out, you don't have to be completely perfect. You will have times where your lines are shaky, or the any other fuck ups and it's okay to fuck up. There are ways that you can fuck up and not make it a very big thing either.

The most important thing in this profession is practice. And just like for anyone who's getting into this profession, I would just suggest they practice and practice a lot on fake skin or on your friends. Give as many free tattoos as you can just because it helps you practice more.

What's your go-to snack or drink while working on illustrations/tattooing? 

There is actually no go-to snack or a drink while I tattoo because I personally don't drink any sort of caffeine and sometimes I even forget to hydrate. So it's not very healthy. But I think one should just hydrate while tattooing. Personally, I just like to be focused and after that treat myself to some good food as sort of a reward.

Share a guilty pleasure when it comes to art supplies or tools.

One guilty pleasure that I have with art supplies is I would collect them even if I don't want them, but if they look really pretty or if their color is really pretty or something. I love to collect just art supplies. 

 If you could collaborate with any artist or illustrator/tattoo artist, living or dead, who would it be? 

There is this tattoo artist that I really look up to and like sort of look at their videos as sort of like a mentorship for me it's, Jinxi Gu. They run a tattoo studio called Patch Therapy Tattoo. Their work is been like an inspiration for me. That sort of skill and their technique is just really what I look up to. And I really wish people saw female tattoo artists as really good artists out there. 

 If your art supplies rebelled against you, what do you think they would protest about?

If all of my art supplies rebelled against me, they're probably just telling me that maybe you should just, not let us dry all the time and just keep us in designated places, because I just keep them anywhere and forget about them. I still have not been able to find them till now, so I don't know where my art supplies go. I think that's how they rebel against me. They would just run away from me.

What's a common misconception about being an illustrator/tattoo artist that you'd like to dispel?

I think in this industry itself, people on the outside or other artists have a lot of misconceptions about tattoo artists because I don't think they see us as artists. I think they see us as people who just, take designs and put them on other people. That's one thing that icks me out. Just seeing us as actual artists and seeing us people who are making our own art and putting it on somebody else's body is just such a fascinating concept to me. And I wish people could respect this profession as much as other artists are given respect.