Carlos Torres has been tattooing for over 20 years and is mostly self-taught. Early in his career, Carlos worked at a couple of tattoo shops before he got his big break at So. Cal Tattoo in San Pedro, CA. It was there he learned the most and built his tattoo portfolio. Carlos specializes in black & grey realism and surrealism tattoos and loves creating original pieces of art. In addition to tattooing, he enjoys photography, painting, sculpting, teaching workshops, and traveling. His travels to international and domestic conventions have earned him awards including Best Small Black & Gray, Best Large Black & Gray, and Best Backpiece.
In October of 2017, Carlos opened his own studio, The Raven and The Wolves. This fine art gallery and tattoo studio is located in the heart of downtown Long Beach and is home to 8 artists.
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
- Carlos’ start in tattooing
- The power of mentorship
- Apprenticeship in the tattoo practice
- Intuition and learning to be in-tune with your gut
- The ever-changing nature of tattooing
- The art of tattooing in relation to other mediums
- Carlos’ love for realism
- Being a “loose painter on skin”
- Mastering a medium
- Mood and stress having a factor in tattooing
- The human element, and subjectivity towards ideas
- The clients desire for a tattoo, versus the artist’s interpretation and advice
- Carlos’ recent work within oil paints
- Freedom
- Growing up in the ghetto
- Staying positive in the midst of life
- Teaching making you a better artist
- Being informed by toggling back between art medium
- COVID-19 and Carlos’ time spend thinking about life
- Taking time off and implementing fresh ideas into your art
- Creatives becoming caricatures of themselves
- Having child-like sensibilities with your art practice
- “Holding onto your dinosaurs"
- Observing people losing their creative instinct
- The cliche’s of adulthood
- Storing ideas and inspiration
Artist Decoded Patreon:
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Originally released on 8.27.2020
