Today we’d like to introduce you to Jovan Perez
Hi Jovan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started my tattoo journey back in 2019 Becoming a tattoo artist was definitely not a linear path for me. Growing up art was always a big part of who I was. I was doodling and drawing on any and everything I could get my hands on. My mother would try and nurture my artistic abilities by enrolling me into a fine art class as a kid but I hated the structure of it. I didn’t want to draw trees I wanted to draw whatever I wanted to draw, which mostly consisted of dragon ball z characters.
As I got older I got into combat sports particularly boxing which became a passion of mine. The dream of becoming a pro fighter and earning an income for me sounded more attainable than the lifestyle of a starving artist. Boxing would then take over my teen and young adult years trying to chase that dream. Throughout it all I still held onto art and the love for drawing which served more as a way of decompressing from any stress I was dealing with. Chasing that dream of becoming a world champion came with many ups and downs. At that point I was 27 years old still trying to figure out life. Boxing didn’t work out for me and I was left feeling empty and depressed. I kept doing art and tried taking a crack at making it my career.
I slowly became that starving artist I was trying to avoid. I would eventually start posting my art on social media where I would slowly gain some traction but it was usually people wanting me to draw their deceased cat or dog for “exposure.” I would eventually be commissioned by my tattoo artist at the time to draw a portrait of him for his wall. That’s when the idea of becoming a tattoo artist first popped into my mind. You grow up and all you’re ever taught is go to school, graduate, go to college to then find your career. TATTOOING, however; was never an option. There were no tattoo schools at that time. Now there are tons but you should definitely stay away from them their just predatory money pit. I had no idea how I’d be able to get into the industry but it was as if in that moment I saw my whole career in my mind. I knew this was what I was meant to do!
Feeling nervous my friend encouraged me to just ask my tattoo artist how I could get into the industry and become a tattoo artist. I took his advice and offered to do the portrait in exchange for a few minutes of his time. We ended up meeting and he basically told me I’d have to start an apprenticeship at a reputable shop under a reputable artist. I’d need to bring in a portfolio of 15-20 of my best pieces to present to the tattoo artist. From there they would determine my fate.
As an artist you’re very self conscious about your work. Everything you produce feels like dog shit. Finding 15-20 of my best pieces felt like an impossible task. So I asked him if I brought 15-20 pieces to him would he take me on. I couldn’t think of a more reputable artist than him let alone his shop was one of the best shops in town. He was afraid I’d ask him that and told me he’d have to decline because he just didn’t have the time. I get it, he was a very busy man and I was just, how do the kids say; shootin my shot at a chance. So I put together a portfolio and went mentor shopping. I asked a few other artist to see if they’d take me on but got hit with a no from each one. At that point I was beyond frustrated. I felt like this is where I needed to be and I kept getting doors shut in my face. At that moment a very bad idea was born. I figured if I taught myself how to draw I can just teach myself how to tattoo. BOY was I wrong!
I proceeded to shop on Amazon for a beginners tattoo kit. That proved you can buy absolutely anything on Amazon. From here I enrolled into YouTube university and started “learning” how to tattoo. I figured what else do I have to lose. With Amazon and YouTube at my finger tips I’m one step closer to becoming President, which may be a possibility in the world we live in. With no one to guide me I tried practicing on synthetic skin which was basically a slab of rubber. I would do a few roses and thought “ I’m ready for people!” Boy was this a mistake! I would proceed to try and establish clientelle.
My first victim was a close friend of mine. He’s one of those friends who’s down for whatever ,whenever. I think everyone needs at least one person like that in their lives to make things interesting. It was 12am in the middle of his living room. I pulled out my travel tattoo kit and tattooed a dagger and feather. The feather closely resembled something more phallic. He was the homie so he was just excited to be apart of my journey. I would eventually tattoo another close friend of mine who was also on his own journey to make his passion become his career. We both fed off of that hunger to be great.
I was still afraid to post anything to social media because I didn’t want my tattoo artist to see that I was tattooing. It felt wrong and I didn’t want him to feel like I didn’t take his advise seriously. My friend would eventually tell me I tried to seek his help but I’d have to do what I’d have to do to make my dream happen. I realized he’s was right. I posted a couple stories to try and gain more prospecting clients. The next day I would receive a call from my tattoo artist. Extremely nervous I sent it to voicemail. I would then receive a text message right after saying “ when you have some time call me asap!” I called him back and he asked me the obvious question, “are you tattooing?” “Did you get an apprenticeship?” I was honest with him and told him the truth. He then offered me an apprenticeship under him. He saw my potential and didn’t want me to have a bad reputation as a “scratcher,” which is essentially someone trying to tattoo out of their home with no real guidance or training.
I would eventually start my apprenticeship under him and the guidance of all the other tremendous artist at his shop. I studied as an apprentice for a year an a half before graduating to become a full fledged tattoo artist. From there I would work hard on developing my craft in black and grey realism. I developed an awesome friendship with my now coworker Barythaya Lundsford, who I saw as a second mentor during my apprenticeship. She would eventually open up her own tattoo shop called XO Tattoo where I would move on to become a resident artist. Now having completed my 4th year as a tattoo artist I consider myself blessed to be apart of such an amazing team of artist and friends. I am literally living my dream and am excited to see where God takes me on this journey.
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?
I realized now I may have answered this in my small autobiographical response to the first question. lol! Ooops
To say the least there definitely have been struggles and challenges. I don’t think anything worth pursuing comes without its fair share of struggles. There were plenty of times as an apprentice starting off I struggled a lot. Your paid nothing as an apprentice so I had to take on an overnight job to be able to pay my bills while I worked a full day as an apprentice. For the first year of my apprenticeship I may have slept 4 hours a day working a full shift at the shop to then work a full overnight shift at a gas station to get through it.
I held on to what I wanted though and used the end goal as my motivating factor to keep going. If you want it bad enough you’ll make it happen one way or another.
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?
So I specialize in Black and grey realism tattoos. Essentially I aim to capture a moment, a figure or item as close to photo realistic as possible in black and grey tones. This style has become what I’m know for and sought after.
I think currently I’m most proud of my progress I’ve made in my art these past 4 years. I can confidently say that I can attribute that to the artist I surround myself with. They continue to push me to become the best version of myself,
I think what sets me apart from others would be my personality. I would say I’m pretty extrovert but I can adapt to any scenario.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
I would say if anyone’s interested in working or collaborating with me they can reach out to me through social media @thejovanperez or email me at j.pereztattoo@gmail.com.
If they want to support it’s really just the simple things for me which are absolutely free such as liking and sharing my work through social media goes a long way. My Instagram is @thejovanperez.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thejovanperez.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Thejovanperez
