Today we’d like to introduce you to Diggy Velez.
Hi Diggy, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My name is Dignel Velez, but everyone knows me as Diggy. I am originally from Puerto Rico where I grew up in a house where there’s was always art around me, my mother is a ART teacher and she taught me a lot as a kept growing, when I turned 15 years old. I fell instantly in love with tattoos due to the show in TV Miami ink, I saw the female tattoo artist Kat Von D, which inspired me to become a female artist, my mom didn’t agreed with me at the moment, but I never gave up my dream, she wanted me in university. I also have passion for music, so I started early in university at 16 years old, when I got my first tattoo with my mother’s permission then got two more tats by the age of 17 I already had 3 tattoos, then I kept my mind going towards art never stopped drawing and painting until I got the opportunity of working in a tattoo shop. At 18 years old young mother I just had my baby Pixie, her father brought me close to the tattoo world which I will always be thankful for the shop is called Harisumi.
I started as a front desk, I started to work there because I needed a job not with intentions of tattooing or asking for anapprenticeship, with time I fell more and more in love with tattoos and after a year I did my first tattoo on myself from there I had the opportunity to work in other shops as front desk also but clearly wanting to tattoo or have an apprenticeship as a female it was kind of hard to find one but after a few years of hard work and taking a few classes in one of the best schools of arts in PUERTO RICO, Artes plásticas (Liga de arte) I started to learn on my own following advice from other artist and from what I have seen through the years working in tattoo shops until a tattoo artist gave me the opportunity of being his apprentice his name is David Reyes and his shop is called sacred pain after I kept going with my learning with Julio Rivera at Body Temple and learned from many other great artist like Javier Che, Skim, Luis dibujo, Mota, Juan Łópez, Jose de Los Ramos, Harí Seda, Demian Rivera, Manolo Fernández, Hermit, Hermes, Joey RODRÍGUEZ, Daniel Delgado, Juanky… between other great artist, I struggled for years being a young mom not having day care and also I worked double sometimes two part time so I can go on with my apprenticeship and pay rent for you daughter and my self, I been already professionally tattooing six years and like 12 years working around the tattoo world, after the hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico I sadly had to leave the shop that I last worked Live Once ink which the owner and the manager Adam Callen and Alexis Noventa took me in and always treated me like family, on October of 2017. I came to Orlando worked in Hart Huntington city walk as Guest artist where I kept growing and learning from other amazing artist and now I am currently working at The Divine Canvas where the T-Rex Family has taken me as part of there team and family couldn’t be happier where my life has taken me all this thanx to God, I always tell my clients “It was a long trail, to get to this chair.”
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My struggles came also being a young mother at 18 working double shifts to do my tattoo apprenticeship than you don’t get paid for, not having transportation taking bike rides at night, public buses taking my daughter even sometimes to the shop if I where permitted to, also as a female artist a lot of doors where shutdown to get an apprenticeship but I am not a quitter a. Few people and family members encouraged me to give up but that was a big no for me; there was a time a fell into a bad depression and one of my best friends took me two some classes call Feel and live in positive way of life I learned so much that weekend and one of my goals. I wrote in a paper. In March of 2016 that I will finally be part of a shop as a tattoo artist and that become true, I am a very positive person I have a lot of faith in God and that helps me overcome anything.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a female tattoo artist that loves art with all my heart got this passion from my mom, that is an art teacher, I love to draw and tattoo different styles in between blackwork traditional full-color illustrative nature flowers, cartoons plants, colorful black and grey creative custom work.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
My daughter she has been part of my growth and courage and willing to keep going and become someday one of the best tattoo artist and that someday I can also travel the world and make my name known.
Pricing:
- All tattoos start at 60$ the minimum of the tattoo price depends on the size detail and placement.
Contact Info:
- Email: Diggytattooart@gmail.com
- Instagram: diggy_lupitatattoo
