Kevin

My work explores the relationship between permanence and impermanence. I am drawn to moments where opposing forces coexist—stillness and movement, tradition and modernity, structure and spontaneity. Much of my work feels as though the pause button has been pressed on a film: something has just happened, or is about to.

Through tattooing, I explore how traditional textures and motifs can be reinterpreted through contemporary forms, creating work that feels both modern and rooted in history. I am particularly interested in preserving evidence of the human hand. Whether through the sweep of a brushstroke or the rough texture of pencil across paper, I seek marks that reveal the presence of their maker. In an age increasingly shaped by AI-generated imagery, these imperfections and traces of process feel more important than ever. Tattooing also allows me to establish meaningful, human relationships with the people who carry my work—an increasingly rare experience in an era where so much creative exchange has become distant and mediated.

My approach is informed by a background that spans both fine art and commercial illustration. After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of California, Irvine, I spent more than a decade working as a corporate artist, where my creativity was often shaped by practical constraints and established visual languages. That experience further refined my drawing abilities while ironically strengthening my desire to create work that moved beyond rigidity and reflected a more personal point of view. Much of my practice exists in the space between those influences—balancing discipline and intuition, precision and expression. I’ve always felt too much of an illustrator to be a fine artist and too much of a fine artist to be an illustrator. Tattooing has given a home to my work, which previously existed in a liminal space between disciplines and struggled to fully realize its potential.

Rather than communicating a single narrative, I aim to create images that invite contemplation. I want the tattooing to feel familiar yet difficult to place—contemporary in appearance while carrying the weight of history, memory, and human touch. Ultimately, my practice is an ongoing exploration of how inherited visual traditions can be reinterpreted through a modern lens without losing their depth, humanity, or meaning.

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