Coal

Contact the artists to book your spot >pinkdust - - .tattoo - .tatouage - .pytlik - .russi

✌️ @ Paris, France

“Old people chatting in bars, the bustle of flea markets, a freshly baked tarte au maroilles, an old spiral staircase, 1920s architecture, youths racing their cars in car parks…” Multimedia artist is constantly inspired by the life that surrounds him. Whether that surrounding life speaks French, or Spanish, or any language at all, doesn’t seem to bother Carlo, who has lived in and traveled to almost 25 different countries in the past two decades. “It’s impossible not to be inspired. Through travel, I’ve expanded my curiosity, mind and perspective, and where I found my passion for art, architecture and culture.” As he moves from place to place, Carlo ties each new destination to its own project: from digital collages in Spain, to metal sculptures in Mexico, to murals in Portugal, to tattoos in Paris. Each new type of canvas challenges Carlo to expand or contract his vision, but his artistic approach remains the same. “The magic of art is appreciating the lack of barriers and obstacles, and embracing a complete freedom of expression. Small canvases ask me to synthesize a maximum -- ‘Less is more’. But the cool thing about big walls is that they’re great for experimenting and collaborating with other artists. Every moment and every style has its own gratification, but it’s all still connected by the same idea of minimalism.” But, for Carlo, art does not exist in a vacuum, or only for arts’ sake. Rather, the act of creating and being creative allows for deeper, stronger, and more meaningful relationships to be built among the surrounding community, even between people that already have deep connections. “Tattooing my mum was epic! She doesn’t like tattoos and never thought about having one herself, so this was a big moment. Tattooing my mum was like a peaceful ritual between her and me. As a kid, there was always painting all over the house, so it was cool to come full circle. At the end of the day, the most important thing about art is sharing and connecting with people.”
〰️ Interviewed by Coal 〰️ - Request in your city on wearecoal.com/carloamen {link in his ‘Request me’ highlight} - @ Paris, France

Email .katya to book your spot :
[email protected]

@ Lisbon, Portugal

When was a kid, he, like many younger siblings, had his idea of the world slashed to pieces by an older cousin. It was revealed to the young Mono that Marilyn Manson was, in fact, a commercial artist who did not embody the idea of “true punk”. For a budding artist with a rebellious spirit, what a revelation! “This concept totally changed my understanding of the world! Later, I came to understand that real art is irrespective of the demands and tastes of the majority, and is only art when conceived as an end in and of itself and not merely as a means to an end.” With this valuable knowledge tucked safely away, Mono creates tattoos that are not only unique as a concept, but are wholly cooperative with the individual body structure of each client. “All bodies are unique and so are my designs. I draw directly on the person’s body, respecting its qualities, and I try to use and highlight already existing aesthetics, be it the structure of musculature, bone geometry, or small things, like an interesting scar or a birthmark.” Mono’s tattoo designs build simple structures and clean shapes out of precise dotwork, establishing a quiet elegance with each pattern and shadow. “My style is a reflection of my inherent ambiguity. Perpetual oscillation between polarities produces tension that becomes my creative force. Seeing the world in dualistic terms of good or bad, black or white, provides insufficient understanding of the increasingly complex reality. The shadowland that exists in-between two ideals is where I wander in my introspective moments. I also draw inspiration from everyday banality. I find repetition reassuring, a peaceful contrast to my hunger for the new and unfamiliar. Ergo, my heavily dotted patterns are a sort of meditation on a theme -- the subtle variations of everyday-ness.”
〰️ Interviewed by Coal 〰️
- Request in your city on wearecoal.com/artistmono {link in his bio} - @ Berlin, Germany

No matter what your parents do, just about everybody feels the need to rebel, even just a little bit. It was no different for , who now works out of Mao & Cathy, a shop located in Madrid and owned by her parents. “I started tattooing pretty late, at age 26. Having two tattoo artists as parents meant tattooing was a big part of my upbringing. I was used to it, so it wasn’t very interesting to me until I got older.” Even when she did follow in her parents’ footsteps, it wasn’t always a breeze. “It wasn’t easy to start my career in such a well-known shop. I had to prove to everyone that I wasn’t there just because of who my parents are, that I had a reason to be there. It’s been a lot of hard work, and I’m proud of what I’ve achieved.” Now, with years of tattooing under her belt, Julie has a unique perspective on the tattoo scene and the generational interaction therein. Where tattooing used to consist of familiar flash, quotes, and simple symbols, clients nowadays search for unique designs, and tattoo artists are becoming more specialized. “When my parents started tattooing, clients chose a flash and they got it. People now want very specific designs, they want to remember important experiences, they want the tattoo to have a special meaning. I’ve tattooed people who got tattoos by my father 20 years ago, or they got tattooed in our shop 20 years ago, and it’s kind of funny to see the difference in what they have and what they want to get now.” @ Madrid, Spain

With a good sense of humor and a pinch of optimism, just about anything is possible. “Joan Jett once told me she liked my hair,” laughs , a tattooer/illustrator/designer based in NYC, whose playfulness is just as important for his artistic process as is his creativity. For artists wanting to learn photo manipulation, for example, he suggests, “Just keep playing around with it for stupid reasons, and you’ll be proficient in no time!”. Much of Cavan’s work focuses on reimagining familiar images, often spinning classic iconography into modern graphic design. “I’ve loved learning how to break things down to their style components -- once you get the pattern, you can mimic it, interpret it, and make it your own. It lets you consume all of the art around you and spit it back out with your own influences. It allows you to be a part of the conversation with the artists you admire.”
In addition to his love of distortion, grime, and the underground, Cavan dives into lettering and typography with an incredible skill-set, sometimes creating pieces reminiscent of vintage typeface, other times making entirely new fonts that are completely unique. Cavan’s tattoos, graphic designs, and augmented reality filters all work together to realize his take on reality; Carpe Diem becomes Carpe DM, the Reaper’s scythe is branded Supreme, the Black Flag bars morph into Black Friday phones. “Importantly, never be afraid of stupid ideas. Pitching stupid ideas is a legit tool to work towards great end results as long as you keep iterating and stay flexible. Sometimes the dumbest concepts are the most honest ones, because your brain wasn’t hung up on trying to sound clever.”
〰️ Interviewed by Coal 〰️
- Request in your city on wearecoal.com/itsjustcavan {link in his ‘Travel’ highlight} - @ New York, New York

“Sailing in the Mexican sea, near Oaxaca, I once released a sea turtle. Legend tells if you ever come across a sea turtle and release it, you will be granted a wish… At least, that’s what a sailor told me.” Whatever wish made will remain a mystery, but clearly she has been blessed with an exceptionally creative eye and has developed the technical prowess to match. Tata’s work is both uniquely contemporary and steeped in indigenous Mexican cultural heritage, providing a singular perspective on celebrating cutting-edge progress while reclaiming shared histories. “I have found a deeper connection to my own culture in the deconstruction of the pieces I make in the ever-changing process of transforming a hand-made craft into a tattoo. Something in my heart aligns when what I live and what I portray in my tattoos is as beautiful as what surrounds me.” In a world that undervalues handmade and home-made in the face of factory perfection, the act of crafting as a means of cultural preservation is revolutionary. By bringing the textures and patterns of traditional Mexican crafts into the tattoo industry, Tata is one of the artists spearheading this movement and redefining what a tattoo can be. “We trap ink into our skin in the shape of things we love, things we want, things that scare us or motivate us. We make our dearest and most important things in life into images we can keep in sight so we never forget who we are. We take whatever we find beautiful in life and keep it with us forever. I am in love with all of this.”
〰️ Interviewed by Coal 〰️
- Request in your city on wearecoal.com/tabatattoo {link in her bio} - @ Guadalajara, Jalisco

Born by the ocean and raised by the mountains, .tattoos has had a life steeped in a sense of worldly magic, which has never disappeared, even after she moved to the city and began her career as an artist. “My work follows the path of inner searching, especially my dreams. That’s why I call my work Swapna, the state of consciousness while you are dreaming.” A chaotic magic emanates off of Pepa’s art pieces, which seem to exist in a dreamy liminal space between nature and the heavenly cosmos. What may come across as effortless, however, was actually quite hard won. “I’ve met a lot of incredible people and I’ve learned a lot of new knowledge, but the most important lesson that life has given me is to be connected with my emotions and be honest about how I feel. I’ve been learning how to be alone….how to be with myself.” By joining her adventurous experiences with her inner self-exploration, Pepa is able to actualize her dreams -- and the dreams of her clients -- in her work. While tattooing has opened many doors and allowed her to meet people she now calls close friends, Pepa knows she hasn’t yet seen all that life has to offer. “I came to this world to work on myself and be a better person. Everything else is extra, a beautiful way to be part of a society. I’ve had incredible experiences while tattooing, but I expect to find more from this life.”
〰️ Interviewed by Coal 〰️
- Request .tattoos in your city on wearecoal.com/swapna.tattoos {link in her bio} - @ Tyrol Austria

When melded his two greatest joys, Photography and Tattooing, together, he had no idea he was about to introduce a completely new way to approach portrait tattoos. Alican’s simple yet powerful portraits are somehow able to capture the emotions of the moment and the personalities of the subjects -- without having a single facial feature! “My interest in photography started when I realized the pure magic of it. I push a button and that moment freezes eternally, I can hold onto that moment until I die… I remember thinking, ‘What the heck, I need to freeze an infinite number of moments!’” When a client walks in with a photograph, Alican draws out the most important colors and items, and simplifies the image. Yet, under his expert eye, these moments in time haven’t lost their significance or their complexity. Quite the opposite, through his simplification process, Alican is able to tap into the deepest and purest emotional veins: love and community. “I believe that the reason behind the rise and decline of our life energies is the feelings of solitude or companionship. The hardships you have to endure become easily manageable with company; different points of view and ideas collide and constellate to create something better.”
〰️ Interviewed by Coal 〰️
- Request in your city on wearecoal.com/pigmentninja {link in his bio} - @ Istanbul, Turkey

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@ Bogotá-Colombia

“I remember the first time I sat in front of a model; That adrenaline mixed with respect is a deeply meaningful moment. Someone is giving themselves completely, literally un******ng in front of you. Curiously, something very similar happens when I’m tattooing. It is a moment where something entirely unique is happening, and it is my responsibility to capture something interesting and meaningful.” The works of .alcolumbre revolve around figure studies, using different bodies in many different positions to convey the connection between our physical and emotional selves. Far from still life, Sabrina’s pieces hold deep emotions -- sometimes complete inner peace, sometimes relief in the arms of a loved one, sometimes even chaotic unrest -- that make the images feel as though they are in constant flux, growing and changing with the bearer of the tattoo. “It is so easy to obtain photos on the internet these days, so working with models in person, with an image that is being generated in that very moment, brings energy and meaning to the work. I work with incredible models. When one of them finds a pose full of feeling, it moves me, and if I manage to bring some of that emotion to the paper, then the piece has a soul.”
〰️ Interviewed by Coal 〰️
- Request .alcolumbre in your city on wearecoal.com/sab.alcolumbre {link in her bio} - @ Buenos Aires, República Argentina

“My style is inspired by folklore, people I know, and places I’ve been. It’s a mixture of popular culture and the inspiration I find in nature.” Entering ‘s art world is diving into almost psychedelic bursts of colors, blending into each other while simultaneously remaining separate and unique, and shapes, which are so clear and crisp, it’s hard to believe that not a single black outline is used. Reminiscent of folk-art from cultures across the globe, each piece Ces puts forth seems to be a scene in a fable or a character from a long-forgotten myth. “Tattooing is a form of meditation and reflection for me. Every color and shape brings the message of the piece to life, which becomes a part of the client’s story. This is why it is so important for me to be able to connect with each client, because I leave something of myself -- my imagination, my way of reflecting -- into each piece I create.”
〰️Interviewed by Coal〰️ Portrait shot by 〰️
- Request in your city on wearecoal.com/paramoces {link in her bio}
@ On The Road