An Olympic future? A few locals are worth watching
August 1, 2012Title bout headlines wrestling event
August 7, 2012
Bright colors and animated subject matter illuminate the surfaces of Josey White’s canvases, whether they are watercolor creations on paper or customized tattoos on a patron’s skin.
“I want to leave my own stamp, do something of my own,” he says, “and kind of contribute to everyone else, you know?”
The 22-year-old Houma resident developed a love of whimsical imagery from an early age. “When I was 4 years old, I drew a picture of this alligator,” he says. “His head was bigger than the rest of his body, he had one gold tooth and my grandma had it framed. It was on the icebox for a really long time. Ever since then, I was always doodling.”
White’s doodling continued throughout his childhood. Even at such an early age, he played around with body artwork. “I was with my great grandpa, and we went to this gas station. I put a tattoo on my stomach, and Mr. Randal that owned the gas station, he’s like, ‘Oh, you even look like Tattoo from ‘Fantasy Island’ or whatever, and he gave me that nickname, at 4 years old. To this day he’ll call me ‘Heeey Tattoo.’”
White’s artistic study continued throughout middle school and high school, though he felt constrained by the academic setting. “In high school, I passed Art I with a D, as in dog, you know? It was just, like, to me they didn’t have enough time to work on projects. I dropped out at 16 years old and went shrimping with my dad. I drew a lot out there. A lot of my art is aquatic, you know, a lot of stuff came from that. I feel like you’re a product of your environment, as a natural artist.”
With his self taught style of drawing, White felt that transitioning into tattoo work would be the next natural step in his career. “It’s just something I was always drawn to, since I was 13, 14 years old. It was the only way I could see to make money, ‘cause paintings are just so hard to sell, they’ll sit up somewhere for so long. And I tried airbrushing. It was just so nerve wracking, I gave up on that quick.”
After tattooing for nearly five years, White’s artistic style has developed dramatically, ranging from detailed Realism and three-dimensional imagery to animated “new school” tattoos, which are more stylized and generally of a higher quality than “old school” tattoos of several decades ago.
“It’s very diverse,” he says. “Some days, I’m feeling like I want to go more Japanese traditional, or kind of take from American traditional and throw that into a realistic piece. It’s very ‘neo-traditional’ and new school realistic.”
While tattooing is White’s main artistic outlet, he also creates through other mediums, many of which influence his tattoo artwork. “I do a lot of sketching, a lot of watercolor. I used to do a lot of graffiti. Got in trouble for that when I was 16, but I’ve had requests. I’ve dabbled in a bit of acrylic and oils, but watercolor, to me, is the closest to tattooing. It just has this unique look, the way it falls into the paper. I really like my watercolors.”
As with any tattoo artist, White’s subject matter varies, ranging from nature imagery to cultural symbolism to monsters and aliens.
“I like a lot of aquatic, fiery, you know, organic stuff. Flowers and birds are my favorite things to do because, to the person’s mind, they influence beauty. Nature and culture, man: I like all cultures, even different religious artwork. And aliens and stuff, I was always into aliens. When I was in first grade, that’s the only thing I drew, like, aliens in JNCO pants, riding in low-rider cars, spaceships and stuff.”
A large part of White’s inspiration also comes from studying the history of tattoo artistry and those who have left their impression in it.
“This guy, Grime, he works out of San Francisco. The way he pushes himself, he’s pretty much paved a lot of the way for everyone else,” White says. “He’s dedicated his whole life. I’m definitely getting into more of the history. You know, learning about Grime or Freddy Corbin, a lot of the old-school tattoo artists. I feel that a lot of people are deprived, not knowing where everything came from. What I’m trying to work on now is just taking it in.”
Having studied the art of tattooing for five years, White strongly promotes the responsible use of it. The availability of ‘do-it-yourself’ tattoo kits to minors can be just as harmful as drugs or alcohol, as tools that are not regularly and thoroughly cleaned in untrained hands can lead to the spread of diseases such as Hepatitis and AIDS.
“No one should attempt a tattoo outside of a shop,” White says. “There is no house clean enough. You should only tattoo after apprenticing at a tattoo shop. That’s how it was 20 years ago. If someone wants to tattoo, they should work on a portfolio of drawings and earn an apprenticeship, and the right to tattoo.”
White would ultimately like to see his artwork affect others in the field. “I would like to be someone who inspires others, you know? My main future goal is publishing a book consisting of some of my tattoos, paintings, my photography, my philosophy, poetry. A publication of my interpretation of life.”
White’s artwork can be seen at this month’s Art Versus in downtown Houma’s The Boxer and the Barrel, as well as Marvel Art tattoo shop at 5801 W. Park Ave. Ste. 202, Houma, and at www.facebook.com/tattoosbyjo.z.
Houma tattooist and painter Josey White displays his artwork. The 22-year-old’s products feature bright colors and animated subjects.
A tattoo as illustrated by Houma artist Josey White.
