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

Hi Level Tattoo, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Although I have been doing art since a very young age I never considered pursuing it as a career. I was raised to believe that a safe career was the best choice and art was just a hobby, not something that I could make money doing. I went into college as an engineering major, thinking I wanted to be a systems engineer. After a year I switched to finance because I hated engineering but still felt I had to pick a “safe” path. Soon after that switch was made I started tattooing. I never really had a thought of wanting to intentionally pursue tattooing, it sort of just found me. For those last few years of college it stayed my side gig, my skill level drastically improved and I ended up being know as the school tattoo artist. I was far from professional but it was never meant to be that. It wasn’t until mid lockdown in summer 2020 after taking and hating an accounting job, that I decided to tattoo full time. I figured that if I was going to try that was the time and I went for it. Now that I have been full time as a tattooer for a couple years I realize how much of an impact all those years of art growing up helped me perfect my craft. Nobody ever took my doodles or sketches seriously and an art teacher in high school even told me if I wanted to be an artist I had to paint fine art. Here I am doing anything but fine art and loving every day of it. Sometimes the safe choice is not the one you need to take and stepping into the unknown can be extremely rewarding.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Over the years I have really struggled to find my niche. I did a lot of different styles because I just took on any project I was handed but I’ve had to learn to be more selective and pursue projects I’m really passionate about. In the last year or two I have developed a love for three blackwork styles. One that I am probably most known for is my halftone pieces which I have never seen done in tattoo form so I like to identify that as my unique style. The other two styles that I love are abstract realism and chrome pieces. I still do lots of custom work but those three styles are the ones that get me the most excited!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Oh boy, I’m actually really bad at this because me and my friends usually do everything really spontaneously and we’re satisfied with some Taco Bell and a good conversation. However, I am based in Pasadena and I absolutely love it in this city. There’s so many hidden gems and amazing food spots here, more than enough to fill a week. I don’t really think the LA tourist spots are that interesting but you can’t miss a beach day in Malibu and some boba from Tpumps.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Honestly, my journey as a tattoo artist has been anything but easy and I had a lot of people try to hold me back or deter me from pursuing this dream. From teachers, family, friends, my school, and even random people I met, there was no shortage of doubters. Without those challenges and obstacles I wouldn’t be here so shoutout to everyone who told me I couldn’t do it!

Website: www.lvltattoo.com

Instagram: @lvltattoo

Image Credits
Abe Denton

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