Meet Jing Huang | Fineline Tattoo Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jing Huang and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jing, we’d love to start by asking you about lessons learned. Is there a lesson you can share with us?
In China, there is a Chinese proverb that translates to “if you work hard, you will achieve something.” I used to believe in that a lot, but now I don’t think it’s 100% true. I believe when you achieve something it’s with the help of friends, family, and god’s help. I think all of these people are incorporated and are influenced in the aide of helping you achieve these said goals – not just your hard work alone. After learning and gaining this new mindset, I believe you appreciate more of what you have currently, and you also won’t look down at those who aren’t as “successful” as you, nor will you compare your successes with others. I think it’s important to remember that everyone works and achieves goals at their own success rates and times, and after realizing this, it helps bring you to a better mindset.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I studied art at China Central Academy of Fine Arts and Zurich University of the Arts in Switzerland. I never intended to become a tattoo artist, but one day when I was with a friend, we walked into a tattoo shop and I thought to myself, “this could be a fun hobby…” and here I am today! I personally think having a background knowledge in art and painting influenced me to quickly catch up on how to tattoo and learning the skills. Normally an apprenticeship is a two year duration, but I only practiced for two months until my master said I was ready to start tattooing. To me, tattooing is similar to painting, but you have to be a bit more patient with tattooing. I’ve learned a lot of lessons while becoming a tattoo artist and even today on my days off, I practice traditional Chinese painting on silk to further improve my skills as well as develop new ones.

I also feel like my studio and I are a small tree and we will be continuously growing year after year. Like all trees and how they grow larger as time passes on and provide more shade, I wish that my studio will also serve as a protective place for others. I also hope that it will help influence the industry and the community in terms of providing a safe space and environment where everyone can be comfortable and truly be themselves, and not have to hide who they are. One of the main intentions and goals of owning my studio is to not only provide profitability for myself, but for everyone as a whole. I am a huge believer in helping each other grow and working together to achieve our goals that I want my business to be seen as a family style business opposed to just my own business.

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?
Oh there’s so many places for me to recommend! The top two places that I always recommend are Arts District and Little Tokyo. There are just so many restaurants, bars, galleries, and boutique shops to visit. All of the eateries and shops here are worth the visit. I’ve never had a bad experience at any of the businesses in these areas, only great ones!

If my friends are also interested in doing more than just eating and sightseeing, I would also recommend and take them on a hike in Malibu, or even go to Hermosa Beach to see the sunset. These two beach cities are my favorite places to recharge in nature or just to have a small getaway from the city!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people I would love to dedicate and provide a shoutout to. For starters, I would love to give a shoutout to all of my tattoo industry friends. It’s absolutely incredible how they all support and inspire each other. It’s also inspiring how we encourage each other to travel together, especially somewhere nature related, to do a recharge and refresh our minds from our jobs; kind of like a little getaway. I feel so blessed to be in this supportive community because we all want to support and help one another grow further into our careers. A lot of people I meet and host in my studio are always friends of friends, and I’m incredibly grateful to be given the opportunity to meet everyone.

Website: https://www.firstjing.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firstjing