Recently, we visited the Moscow studio BUGPIN Tattoo, where was the first stage of the event, in which already recognized masters of the Russian tattoo Maxim Kislitsyn and Oleg Turyansky - shared their thoughts and knowledge about the art of tattooing with beginners and even some experienced tattoo artists. We asked a few questions so famous to the masters who have the colossal experience and knowledge accumulated in more than 10 years of productive work. So, we glad to introduce you with our first interlocutor - Maxim Kislitsyn!
- Maxim, good afternoon. I would like to start our interview with a question that has become traditional in this rubric. How did it all begin for you? How and when did you decide that you will be engaged in tattooing?
- Hi! How did it start? At the age of 16, I decided to get myself a tattoo. Of course, we did this with the usual sewing needle and ink and nothing good came of it (laughs). After that, I decided to try to figure it all out by myself. Now I'm 29 years old, and I have been professionally tattooing for more than 10 years.
- So, did you immediately decide to be a tattoo artist and did not try any other profession?
- Well, no, I actually tried a lot of things. When I was a student, I even worked in a nightclub, then for 4 months I stood by the machine-tool at the factory of my specialty. I am a master of carpentry and furniture production and in parallel I comprehended the art and skill of tattooing.
- Do you remember your first customer?
- It seems, It was me (laughs). Yes, I remember of course. With this person we still maintain friendly relations, he is from my native city - Vladimir. I remember how I did him a terrible tattoo by my homemade tattoo machine, which we then covered up with another terrible tattoo and, in the end, we must do once more cover up again (laughs).
- How many years ago it was?
- It was about 13 years ago . At the very beggining of a tattoo artist's career.
- Okay, tell us more about your style?
- Preferably, I work in Japanese stylistics. This is an neo traditional Japanese tattoo with traditional Japanese motifs or with stylized ones. Let's just say - it's a Neo-Japanese oriental, Europeanized or Americanized tattoo. Why I like the Japanese tattoo ? Because it clearly shows how tightly the tattoo interacts with human anatomy and how can you organically and dynamically fit drawing into a part of the body. Usually, my work is dominated by large-scale images.
- What features can you highlight in your own style?
- Probably, this is the observance of some canonic items in the composition and elements on the skin. In other respects all the same features that are in and other styles.
- What is the source of inspiration for you?
I draw my inspiration primarily from the works of other masters. I am very inspired by my collegue - Oleg Turyansky. Even when I just moved to Moscow and started work in a streaming studio on the Arbat, I already knew who Oleg was. And even now, it happens that I come up and I see what he draws on a body - it's cool! Also, of course, the Instagram was a great impulse to development. This is the place where you can see the work of artists from all over the world, works in progress, sketches and so on.
- And what does the word "tattoo" mean for you in general?
- No matter how strange it sounds - it's magic. Magic, as the pigment enters the skin, and as a image is formed for whole life. And when the work is done, you can see the final result - this is real magic.
- And what can you tell about your customers?
- I think they are courageous and resolute people. Because I do big tattoos, they take a long time, it's a little painful (laughs), it requires a certain patience with healing, and of course with regularity of visits.
- I remember that you had a very interesting project: you did the tattoo continuously, for about 20 hours. Tell us about this experience.
- Yes, it was. I even plan to repeat such a project, but apparently I will have to make the duration of the session longer - for example, 25 hours to beat my previous record. I have several options for implementing this idea. Either we will tattoo with my colleague Oleg Turyansky, or I'll do a tattoo of a man in about 30 hours. I even thought of buying a huge timer, like in gyms, so that you could pause it during breaks, for example, for food. We think to conduct streams, live broadcasts - in general, this is an interesting project.
- How much is it heavy? Do the eyes, the body, get tired?
- I remember that I fell asleep in about the 17th hour. I did something and fell asleep right away. No, nothing tired so much: no back, no neck, no waist. Only the brain tired. We kept on the air all the time, I kept talking. And it was very fun. It was real hype. Because no one never done this in Russia before. It was funny when people wrote in the morning: "Oh, damn, are you still tattooing? I have done so many things in a day. " In fact, I offered the customer a session of 55 hours, but his familiar pathologist told him that maybe it would be harmful (laughs).
- Do you have a lot of travel around the world?
- No, actually, I have not traveled anywhere and have not been anywhere. The fact is that I have a very good client base in Moscow, a decent payment for my work and I plan to travel with the goal of expanding my own horizons, new acquaintances among tattoo artists and just with interesting people.
- Do you think that it is possible to single out some features of the Russian tattoo culture in comparison with the western one?
- No, I think we have already caught up it and I know that many foreign masters admire the works of Russian artists in different styles. The main difference I think in the mentality: novice masters, customers. In large cities, of course everything is easier. In more distant from the "center" - a little heavier, a little bit 90th.
- And what about Tattoo Pharma. How did you get acquainted with it's products?
- The fact is that besides being a tattoo artist for others, I adore tattooing on myself. And one day, I encountered such a problem, that from one of the most popular creams for healing tattoos, I started allergic. I started looking for an alternative, and then I got, probably the first samples of the Tattoo Pharma products - Doctor Pro. I used it for myself. In general, the first thing I always do is testing everything on myself. And I had a great tattoo, without any allergic reactions. I looked at the effect and was ecstatic - wow! Since then, I myself use this gel, I advise all my colleagues and clients.
- Thank you, Maxim, for the interesting story. We are waiting for the discussion panel!
- Thank you :)
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