Okay, maybe that title was a little lame, but I couldn’t resist… This speed art video, however, isn’t lame at all due to London-based Mister Paterson’s skills as an artist. Not only is he able to wield a tattoo machine, he also proves himself to be more than capable with a wood burning tool.
The tool that he’s using is a Peter Childs machine which allows the user to make their own tips out of wire. This allows the artist to change the shape and size of the tip whenever they want to by switching out the tip that the pen-like device contains. This allows the artists to create a wide variety of shapes with the special wire that comes with the kit, and then switch between these shapes to create their art work.
Paterson has free-hand sketched the skull design from memory, which results in the final design having a character of its own rather than simply resembling a real object. The artist then uses transfer paper (also called carbon paper) to transfer the image on to a piece of wood (possibly bass wood, though I’m not 100% certain), by placing the transfer paper beneath the sketch and then re-drawing the outlines of the skull. This puts pressure onto the transfer paper which leaves behind an inky impression wherever the artist drew a line.
From there, it’s a case of etching in the outlines and details of the skull. Paterson uses dots and lines to create shading, which gives the skull depth and form. True to his tattoo artist roots, Paterson has created a strong outline for the design to make it stand out.
Visit Mister Paterson’s website to learn more about this artist. Interestingly, his is the first website that I have see which tells you how much he will charge for a tattoo design. That is a rare treat, so go check it out.
