Jason Radley - SA Tattoo Artist

SPECIALITY: Varies

INSTAGRAM: @jason__radley

Can you give our readers a little tattoo history about yourself and your background?

As far back as I can remember I’ve been interested in tattooing, I would doodle and draw on my books, desks and anything else I could get my hands on, when I discovered old school flash designs from tattoo mags I was hooked on the artistry of tattooing. Going so far as performing “stick and poke” tattoos on my mates. At the age of 14 I was fortunate enough to spend some time with an old school artist, Frank Thompson in his studio in Rundle Street collecting pieces of art, admiring the process of it all and really getting a feel for things, asking question and beginning to formulate an understanding of what goes into the work. It was during this time I developed a keen eye for Japanese art, the bold lines and casual flow with grey wash shading brought the tattoo alive on the skin.

As a kid, what type of stuff did you draw and what art were you inspired by?

My first drawings were trucks and cars and doodling with just a sense of kid wasting time until around 12 years old I found an old supply of Tattoo magazines and I was hooked and started copying the designs and taking inspiration from this type of work it opened me up to a whole new world.

Looking at the detail you put into your work how far you have evolved over the years as an artist and what inspires you when designing some of your work?

I would say, after years of work in the industry I’ve always had a keen eye and desire to improve and evolve. There is no real substitute for experience and hours on the tools and immersion in the art and craft. I have been to multiple art courses to improve my grasp on shading, depth and realism so I can go that extra mile with my work, ensuring that my understanding of tattooing, drawing and painting is deep and nuanced. We, artist and customer collaborate on the design going on their bodies and it is with pride in myself and work that I strive to get their ideas into an actualised form on flesh. My own inspirations tend to come from the darker aspects of human nature and a sense of honesty in the work I want people to see.

I don’t think I can be pigeon-holed into a style per-se as I love to tattoo, from simple lettering through to portraits, I love to challenge my abilities as an artist to help bring to life my clients desires. If I was to pick two preferences though, it would be Japanese style art and cover ups. Japanese style because I’ve had a connection with and admiration for their art since I was young and coverups because of the degree of difficulty in art selection and the satisfaction in recreating something new from what a client is no longer happy with. My design inspirations for tattoos are a collaborative effort between myself and client to draw out their desires and then putting my own flair into it to create the best of both worlds, where we can include art that works with the contour and shape of the area of the body they want to put it on and to bring to life their concepts. People forget the body is not a flat canvass and sometimes you have to adjust and alter the designs so that it follows the bodies contours without losing the impact of the work itself a perfect collaboration for me leaves the customer ecstatic with the work and myself proud to have been in the design process and doing the work.