In the world of tattoos, there are masters whose works seem to come alive on the skin, turning into picturesque landscapes and portraits. One such master is Alexander Pusstattoo, a tattoo artist based in St. Petersburg, who has already earned the title of a professional in the tattoo industry due to his skill and original approach to tattooing.
Born in Murmansk and raised in Donetsk, Alexander found his calling in tattooing back in 2010, turning his curiosity into a professional career, a source of inspiration, and self-expression. Since 2016, Pusstattoo has been successfully working in St. Petersburg.
An interesting fact from Alexander's biography is that he is an architect by education, but without ever working a day in this field, he dove headfirst into the world of tattoos. Despite the challenges of being self-taught, experimenting with different techniques, Alexander Pusstattoo has reached great heights in the tattoo industry and continues to seek new ways for creative and professional development.
"I've been drawing my whole life," shares Alexander. "In the army, I was forced to try tattooing something. I managed to make one and a half tattoos, and I got hooked on it." This coincidence marked the beginning of a long and fascinating journey in the world of tattooing.
Looking at Alexander's portfolio, it's easy to notice his passion for realistic tattooing, but his creative scope is not limited to just this style.
"I mostly work in the realism style, but I like many styles that are not very popular," the artist explains. "Clients mostly come to me for realism. But I don't want to be confined to one style in my work. I see tattooing as a body enhancement, and there are plenty of techniques, methods, and styles to achieve that goal. Sometimes I do freehand, which is probably my favorite thing in tattooing."
The photorealism of his portrait tattoos is truly admirable. Carefully crafted, detailed works covering both classic subjects of ancient heroes and characters from the modern film industry come out of his hands in their most splendid form.
When it comes to inspiration, Alexander shares that his main sources of strength are the works of other artists, classical colorists from academic painting, as well as some modern tattoo artists. He also finds inspiration in nature, architecture, and even in the world of science fiction.
Despite considering tattooing primarily as a craft, Alexander does not deny that for some masters, it is art and a way to express their inner content.
Participation in conventions and tattoo festivals is an important part of a tattooist's journey in the tattoo industry. Alexander shares his experience: "My experience with conventions is limited; I've been to a few festivals in St. Petersburg, where I exhibited only 2 works during the whole time. And on the 3rd work, exhibited at the 20th St. Petersburg Festival, I unexpectedly won first place in the portrait category. And this is considering that we didn't finish the work at that time."
Despite the seeming ease of the creative path and the achieved successes, Alexander continues to evolve. "When it comes to career goals, besides earning money, it's, of course, about delighting my clients with cool and unusual works. Doing more freehand and looking for interesting placement schemes for images on the body, using unusual color combinations, and visual effects."
