Hey Claude. Tell us a bit about yourself!
Hey, I’m Claude. I’m a 25 year-old digital marketer, artist, writer and model. At the moment, I live in the social hub that is East London. I’m originally from a little town in the West Midlands, but moved down to London about two and a half years ago - I love living here!We can see you have a few tattoos. When did you get your first one, and what was it?
My first tattoo was a very spur of the moment thing. I was in my second year of university in Birmingham and just decided one night that I wanted to get my finger tattooed the next day. My Mom has a few tattoos and loves being a bit spontaneous, so it didn’t take much convincing for her to come along with me. I went for a super simple crescent moon design for my finger, and also added a line drawing of Saturn to my left wrist. I remember being slightly terrified when I entered the tattoo studio, but it was over in no time and I suddenly understood why people become addicted to them!
How many do you have now then?
I’m currently at a grand total of 12, with plans to get many more. The majority of my pieces are on my right arm - for some reason that’s become my favourite arm - so I plan on filling that up as time goes on.
Do you have a particular style that you prefer?
Personally, I love black ink tattoos and anything that expresses the personality of the owner. I’m not a huge fan of colour on my skin tone, so I stick to black line work, or traditional tattoos which feature shading rather than block colours. I’m obsessed with anything macabre or gothic, so I tend to lean towards designs with those themes. I’m always discovering new artists though, so who knows what I’ll branch out into in the future - I’m excited to see!
How do your tattoos make you feel?
I find this really interesting as the answer varies with each person. For me, being tattooed has allowed me to see my body in a new light; putting artwork on my skin makes me appreciate it as exactly that - art. I strive to encourage self love and body positivity in all walks of my life, whether that’s in my illustration work, or simply when talking to other people. Before getting tattoos, I used to hate looking at the parts of my body that jiggled when I moved, or those that were patterned with stretch marks. Now, I feel more confident when showing my skin as I think it’s the perfect canvas on which I can display the artwork that I love.