Raydems - SA Tattoo Artist

FACEBOOK: Raydems

INSTAGRAM: @raydems

WEBSITE: www.raydemstattoos.com

Your real name is Jan Cole but you prefer to go under the name Raydems. So explain how Raydems came about and is it a mask you take off when you get home or have you metaphorized into Raydems?

Excluding family it’s a name I’m commonly referred too as The name Raydems came about from my days of doing graffiti. I was looking for a new word at the time and changed the spelling of a street I used to live near and it has just stuck ever since.

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

Mainly portraits and creepy stuff and a lot of graffiti piece. At that time a family member who was doing tattoos had some creepy drawings and I always liked the idea of creating my own creepy characters.

What was the first tattoo you ever made and how much do you feel you have either improved or evolved over the years?

One of my first tattoos was on my uncle with some Script of his daughters name. I feel like from back then to now having the right people mentor me has helped me elevate really quickly and pushing myself to better my art fundamentals in general has all played a big part.

Was there a particular style you picked up straight away or did you experiment a lot to find your niche?

I definitely picked up dark weird character styled work and portraits first thing. I may not have been as good when I first started picking up them styles but the drive to push and progress has always been heavy.

You are best known for your horror and dark surrealism tattoos, was this a style you naturally moved into or was it a combination of things?

A lot of me was already moving towards predominately horror and dark surrealism but a few influences from other artist made me really want to push that way harder.

Let’s go deeper, you also specialize in Black and Grey Portraiture, Realism, lettering and abstract tattoos. Please explain all this and how it came about?

I always enjoyed portrait works when I learnt the basics in high school and enjoy trying to get things super or hyper realistic. Graffiti was heavy as a teenager and young adult so that has easily influenced both the abstract and lettering style tattoos I do. Only made sense to infuse them all to tattooing.

Describe how you go about creating a tattoo concept to finished design or would you rather choose your clients by their own ideas?

My clients sometimes come to me with there ideas or other tattoo works I have done, and then other times I just generally just draw dark stuff or create dark surrealism art/ abstract pieces that most people end up wanting used as a tattoo I also enjoy freehand a big percentage of my tattoos.

There is always a lot of detail within your designs, how do you feel you have evolved over the years as an artist?

Taking on tips from other artist, watching other artist in person or even studying the way some tattoos look has Defs played a part in understanding how to better the details of a tattoo and just any art information I can find and soak up.

What artists have you looked up to over the years and how have they inspired you?

Brandon Herrera, Ediablo, Victor Portugal, David Jorqua, Mr Dist, Jesse Levitt and Robby Latos inspired by their creepy dark art/ dark surrealism and textures.

Describe one of the most shocking tattoo you have ever seen? Did this end up being a cover up and how did you approach it plus what did you change it into?

Hahaha that’s hard one, iv seen a few shockers but nothing too extreme. One of my favourite coverups was over some old tribal which had been faded by laser removal. Approached with some high gnarly textured skull and Japanese stuff and it all covered super well.

How do you approach a cover up?

I approach a cover up with Pure honesty, if I don’t feel confident doing it I will suggest tattoo laser removal, if it is something I can cover as long as the client isn’t too specific with ideas that may not work then I tend to lean towards the dark evil stuff.

What do you love the most about being an artist?

Creating cool pieces and forever picking apart my own work to better it, Meeting other artist and clients and the friends I have made in the industry inside and outside of tattooing.

What’s your favourite tattoo on yourself and why?

My throat piece by David jorqua which was done at Mondial (Paris convention 2024)

You have been part of the Australian Tattoo Expos for a while now and won a few trophies from them. As an artist how much did you learn from being part of the Expos?

I have learnt to push my self to new extremes with new ideas which comes from the overall convention hype and always getting opinions of artist friends of mine on placement etc.

Is there one design that stands out more than the others from which you won a trophy at the Expo?

Yes my freehand piece at Rites of Passage Melbourne 2024. Definitely was a groundbreaking freehand piece/design for me. The freehand drawing was real nice and the tattoo came up awesome.

Is there any thoughts of heading overseas to expand your craft and learn from others in that country?

Yes I have been traveling overseas since late 2023, and plan to travel more to learn from other artists as there is an amazing amount of insane artist overseas and network my tattoo work further.

What have you got planned for 2025 and will we see you at the Melbourne and Sydney Expo’s this year?

2025 will be a slower year than the previous two years so I can spend time with family more. But I have planned to do several conventions such as Paris (Mondial), Lille convention in France, Inked Expo in Melbourne, Iron Gate in Sydney, and possibly Amsterdam London and Poland for some guest spots and conventions but also expand my work quality and network.