Beginnings: How to become a freelance tattoo artist?

Vytautas Vy [Vi:tautəs Vi:] is a tattoo artist. His studio is in a holy part of Vilnius, where for hundreds of years pilgrims used to come and pray at the oldest standing city gate. The painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, in the Chapel of the Gates of Dawn is known all over the world. Or at least that’s what you get when you google it. Locals go back and forth throughout the gate everyday as it connects the old town with the train station, as well as with the main market hall that’s now full of hip restaurants. But there are a lot of studios and small businesses in this area too, and that’s where we go to see Vytautas. His tattoo studio is right by the holy gate. He greets us with a cup of black coffee and a huge smile. Working for yourself is a blessing, but it’s not always that easy. What was his beginning like?

TELL US ABOUT YOUR BEGINNING, HOW DID EVERYTHING START?

In the beginning, I had no idea how to become a tattoo artist. You couldn’t just simply start tattooing by yourself at home, but I had a goal to become the very best tattoo artist. At the time I was living abroad but was already thinking about going back home, and I knew there were some amazing tattoo artists living and working in Vilnius.

So I decided it was best to email my CV and cover letter to them. I’ve never met them before and felt I needed to make a really good impression on these people, so I spent like 1 or 2 months writing and perfecting everything. I even asked for help from some of my friends working in recruitment agencies! At the time I couldn’t imagine approaching a tattoo shop in any other way - I wanted them to know I was serious about this and understood that it was a big thing to take on someone so new and inexperienced as I was.

I received an answer from them saying that it was the first time they received such a formal application for a tattoo apprentice. I was lucky and got offered a tattoo apprenticeship on the spot. My first tattoo machine used electromagnetic coils to move the needle up and down. As a result, it was vibrating like nothing I have ever experienced in my life. It felt like I was trying to draw with a wild horse that is trying to escape from my hands.

Just after two months of starting the apprenticeship, I did my first tattoo on another tattoo artist. It took me like 3-4 hours to do a simple skull that could be done in 30 minutes. Before tattooing I was so nervous, it reminded me of the scene from the “8 Mile” movie where Eminem goes to the toilet to puke just before going to the rap battle.

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WORDS: VIKTORIJA APRIMAITĖ

PHOTOS: UGNĖ HENRIKO