Meet Garrick Lee Aka Gman | Tattoo Artist / Renaissance Man

We had the good fortune of connecting with Garrick Lee Aka Gman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Garrick Lee, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
After earning a fine arts degree and incurring significant debt, I spent seven years working as a studio designer in the advertising sector. The job provided a steady salary and stability in my twenties, but it lacked the artistic fulfillment I craved.

Seeking a new creative outlet, I started tattooing my friends. Learning the craft on my own was nerve-wracking and often induced waves of panic, but I persevered and developed a basic workflow.

In 2019, the onset of the pandemic led to my layoff from YouTube. This unexpected turn was followed by a visit to On Broadway Tattoos in South Central Los Angeles, where I was accepted as an apprentice. It was definitely something I needed. I learned all the skills a tattooer needed to know, as well as dealing with clients from all walks of life.

After several years I have now worked at several tattoo shops, and now work as a resident at Black Serpents WeHo.

As a tattoo artist I am also an independent businessman. While many shops take a significant commission of the artists’ income, I rent my station.
All branding promotion, client consultations, and development as an artist falls completely on my shoulders now. Instead of riding corporate behemoths like ad agencies and Fortune 500 companies, I am now the captain of my ship, the Bob Ross of my life.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I was always drawing things growing up. I liked drawing anything, animals, cars, people, you name it. I loved fantasy and sci-fi, and played a ton of video games growing up, which became a major influence in my artwork. Having a long time to develop my drawing style as a kid has always been my backbone.

I was always told growing up that I had horrible handwriting, which is amusing now that I specialize in custom calligraphy and old English lettering. While drawing orcs, knights and dragons came rather easily, learning to write in lovely cursive took many hours of practicing until my handwriting was at a level sufficient enough. I’m happy with how far my calligraphy has come and it definitely was something that came about from focused and intentional practice.

What always inspired me about art is the fine illusionary effect of realism. I’m always fascinated by classic fine art, renaissance paintings and Impressionism. I’m also a huge fan of medieval monastic engravings.

Right now my biggest challenge is continuing my personal growth, and persisting with my business goals. Artists have traditionally have had to fill many roles in order to have a functional career. The average artist/designer-for-hire must now be a social media manager, a photographer/videographer, and of course a passionate listener.

I want the world to know that I take my profession seriously with all sincerity. I am an artist, serving the patron, with the utmost respect to their vision.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend was visiting Los Angeles, I would pick them up from LAX because the Uber situation is terrible, and we would eat at the in-n-out burger down the way on Sepulveda. Classic California cuisine. After that, we would check out the Santa Monica beach, and make our way to the promenade. For dinner we would have Mexican food at the Blue Taco Cafe off ocean ave for some fried fish tacos and maybe a cerveza or three. After dinner maybe we freshen up at my condo in Inglewood and head over to downtown for a drinky at the Lock and Key.

The second day of the LA world tour would have to start with a trip to Chinatown for dimsum. Although some would prefer the clean cut service of a certain franchise by the name of Din Tai Fung, I prefer the old timey carts of the domain eatery of my childhood, the CBS Seafood restaurant on Ord and Spring street. From there the art scene in downtown is worth thorough exploration. It would take several days to explore the LACMA, MOCA, the Getty center, Broad and the other art galleries Los Angeles has to offer. You gotta be an early riser to see the museums, they all tend to lock up at 5pm. After seeing the art scene and the sun goes down, I’d say it would be time to get some grub at any of the good ol LA taco stands, my preference in the downtown area would be Al pastor tacos from Tacos Al Gavilan on Washington Blvd. After our gourmet street food experience, I think it would be time for a drink from the rooftop bar at The Standard.

After we wake up on the floor of my apartment in a hungover stupor it’s time for some recovery food. We head up to Koreatown to eat at Pho 2000, where we politely nibble down on tender beef meat and tendons with green onions and vermicelli noodles in a clear savory broth. From there we head down Olympic to Venice beach to see the intense beach bum culture, perhaps even visit some old friends I used to work with. We would get some bike rentals and take the beach trail all the way down to el segundo, then back up to Venice beach. For some fish and chips I would dine at the Venice Whaler, maybe followed with some shots and corona.

The next day I would say it’s time for a trip into the great outdoors, this time away from the smoggy carscape of Los Angeles. I would take a hike up in Solstice Canyon in Malibu. It’s quite a drive up the Pacific Coast Highway, but the views on the drive are well worth it. You’ll pass gorgeous beach one after another, and then you’ll find yourself in the shimmering wilderness of the remote solstice canyon trail. After soaking in the sights of the Malibu canyons til sundown, I would then head down to the Reel Inn, a wonderful fish restaurant for my ol seafood fix of fish and chips.

Our last day in the city of Angels would begin with a cup of coffee at Republique on La Brea, sipped while enjoying croissants and avocado toast. To buy some souvenirs we visit the century city Westfield mall and perhaps the Grove in the Miracle Mile. We wind down from a week of wild partying and grubbing with a couple hours at the Rancho Park golf course, hitting golf balls at their driving range. At this point my bank account would be completely empty and I would recoil back into my apartment and play video games like a hibernating rattlesnake.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I was definitely struggling in my quest for tattoo literacy. I was making mistakes left and right, without any guidance whatsoever. My YouTube education could only take me so far. When I met the artists at On Broadway Tattoo in south central Los Angeles, I started learning and shadowing a man named Felix Tejada. He had been tattooing for over 30 years. He taught me tattoo technique, the artist mindset, how to be present and how to deliver the best experience and product possible for my clients. Eventually I left that shop for better opportunities, but his strange words of wisdom still echo in my mind as I continue tattooing today.

Instagram: @gman.ink

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