Samuel Martinez Tattoo Artist

The Artist

It was not until I walked into a tattoo studio at nineteen that I realized skin was the canvas I had been searching for. That first apprenticeship was brutal and beautiful in equal measure. Twelve-hour days, scrubbing tubes, watching hands, and eventually — finally — holding the machine myself. The first tattoo I ever completed was a tiny star on a friend's ankle. Shaky lines, uneven fill, but absolutely perfect to me. I was hooked.