Matt Stebly Interview Part 2
Here is part 2 of the Matt Stebly interview. If you missed the first part click here!
What other mediums do you like to work with?
I do watercolors mainly. I just started doing some oils. I do a lot of pottery and sculpture. But, now I am starting to paint with tattoo pigment. Just because it is relatively available and a lot cheaper than watercolor.
Does it work the same as watercolor?
No not really. Not exactly. It is close. It is almost like liquid acrylic but, it is super bright. You can water it down to a wash or keep it super concentrated and you get a nice bright color.
What is your favorite aspect of being a tattoo artist?
Now I get to travel and meet new people and I get to go work. I don’t go on vacations I just go to work. I get to go to cool places. Being able to put artwork on people forever is cool. People are always going to have that.
What do you think your biggest weakness is as a tattoo artist?
Besides script? Uhm, I definitely know my black and grey could be a lot stronger because a lot of my stuff has heavy full saturated color. Probably black and grey and script. I guess I need to travel to California more. I appreciate it a lot but, I don’t even have a black and grey tattoo.
What would your ideal client be like?
Just somebody open to a lot of different things. Someone that is open minded and knows what my style is and is open to not only placement but, to artistic vision.
What do you think of the current state of tattooing in terms of reality TV shows and the growing popularity of it all?
I know some people have negative feedback on that. I think it’s positive for the industry. It brings in more people. More people are being aware of what a good tattoo is. I mean even on the reality TV shows with the crap that they put out. I don’t think you should be popular or famous for being on a TV show. I know people who are amazing and became amazing not from being on a TV show.
Is there a tattoo you haven’t done yet that you’d like to do?
I probably have a list. I have drawings and stuff that I’d just love to do. I really want to do big animal pieces. I really want to finish this big back piece I started. It is kind of a skull octopus.
That is all the questions I have. Do you have anything else you’d like to add?
The only thing is I have this goal. I am trying to get better tattooers into the south. There is not a huge concentration of good tattooers. We have a few people scattered around but, there is not a whole lot of big names down south. We want to let people know that you can get a really cool tattoo in the south.
Matt Stebly can be found at his shop Twisted Anchor Tattoo and on the road. To keep up to date with Matt's travel plans check out his website: www.MattsTattoos.com