Jio Tattoo | Linework, blackwork tattooing

Exploring and Expressing the Pain and Ecstasy of Life through Art.

The mysterious lady I call number 25. Thank you

The mysterious lady I call number 25.

Thank you so much Vieran!
The last clip is of a spontaneous little concert that happened outside of @sticksandstonesberlin

Runner for Alessandra! Custom design for a lovely

Runner for Alessandra!

Custom design for a lovely person who wants to celebrate her love for running.

Thank you so much, it was such a pleasure to meet you and create this design for you 😊

This one was also done in San Francisco in February.

Transfiguration. Absolutely loved working and cre

Transfiguration.

Absolutely loved working and creating this piece for Leo!! Thank you so much for your trust and for flowing with my idea!

Done in San Francisco before Covid19 came to the US.

Will now start sharing tattoos that I’m doing in Berlin. I’m here now until October.

Angel of the dark. Shining light onto that which

Angel of the dark.

Shining light onto that which most are afraid to see.

Bringing wisdom from the deep.
Waking those that are asleep.

Not with rainbows and butterflies,
But with truth in its eyes.

Eye see you! Thank you Jerusha!

Eye see you!

Thank you Jerusha!

Pink Fire. My drawing process with Procreate. You

Pink Fire.

My drawing process with Procreate. You can find the full longer version of this video and more details about what brushes I used on my YouTube (link in the description).

I hope you like it! 😊
It was really a pleasure to work in this piece and I love how it turned out. ❤️

Higher Self. Another series of some form of highe

Higher Self.

Another series of some form of higher connection, mind expansion, third eye awakening, consciousness expansion.

So many ways to see it and so many way in which you guys experience and describe these drawings!

What meaning do they have for you?

Connection. Just want to take this opportunity to

Connection.

Just want to take this opportunity to thank you for your ongoing support, for motivating and inspiring me to create and share!

It’s been such a beautiful and crazy journey and I never imagined that I would be reaching so many people and touching so many hearts! ☺️❤️

My first #drawthisinyourstyle challenge!! Here ar

My first #drawthisinyourstyle challenge!!

Here are THE RULES:

- Redraw my drawing “Higher Self” in your style. You can use any medium and technique. It doesn’t have to be line art. You can modify the pose and features, but the essence has to remain similar. I encourage you not to trace it.  - Share your piece as a post on your Instagram along with my original drawing as the second or later slide.  - Tag #jiodtiys1 and #drawthisinyourstyle
Please DO NOT tag me in the image! 
- Deadline: 1st of August 12pm GMT. I will post my favourite 8 winners on my Insta Feed. I will also share entries in my stories for the duration of the challenge.
 - I will also pick 3 pieces and feature them in a Youtube video.
 - Make sure your account is public otherwise I won’t see your entry.

- Final Rule: challenge yourself without pressuring yourself. Enjoy it as much as you can and just play with your creativity!

I’m excited to see your creations!! 😁😁
Artists and tattoo artists welcome to join!

Tag any artists you know that may want to join.

Holding yourself in the good times and bad. Not ju

Holding yourself in the good times and bad. Not judging and trying to push away the pain and confusion, but understanding that it’s here for a reason, that it gives us wisdom and grounding.

I’ve spent a LOT of time in spiritual places and circles and I’ve seen and experienced a lot of “stay positive”, “only love and light”, “keep your vibration high” type of teachings and communities.

And I must say, that for me personally, it’s such bulls***. Yes, there is no use in dwelling in the past, making oneself as a victim, projecting our sh*t onto others and blaming them for our pain.

But there is also no actual real mature, grounded way to stay in love and light every moment of every day. It’s fake.

You can disagree with me.
I’m yet to meet a person who is genuinely happy and grateful all the time.

Pain is part of the journey.

Sadness, anger, confusion, frustration, fear.. are part of the full spectrum of this life that we came here to live and experience and if we avoid them, well, then we don’t experience the fullness that life has to offer.

Just wanted to share this contemplation.
As it’s one of the driving forces behind my work.

Thank you Joy for trusting me with this tattoo!

And thank YOU for reading this until the end if you did.

Love and light to you all! 😁😇

Yes another eye 😄 And there will be more as th

Yes another eye 😄

And there will be more as this is part of a flash series I made with tons of different eyes.

There are plenty still available that I’m hoping to tattoo once I get back to it, so I’ll post them when I open my bookings.

Done in San Francisco in March.
Thank you Juan!

Longing of the heart ♥️ . I initially made a

Longing of the heart ♥️
.

I initially made a similar drawing to this as a tattoo design for a lovely couple.

I first created it during a phase in which I was deeply in love 🥰 and used that feeling as inspiration.

Now I redrew it and I’m in a different phase, grieving that love, yet the drawing still fully resonates.

I love how art can speak to so many emotions all at once!

What does this one speak to you?

NOW AVAILABLE AS A PRINT!!
Check my story for the link or find it in my bio.

I’m using an IPad Pro, app is called @Procreate. And I’m using the Technical Pen inking brush.

Eye. Thank you so much Kiwi!

Eye.

Thank you so much Kiwi!

What tattooing has taught me: Tattooing has taugh

What tattooing has taught me:

Tattooing has taught me to be more patient.

Tattooing has taught me to collaborate with others.

Tattooing has made me more humble.

Tattooing has taught me to surrender under pressure.

Tattooing has taught me to trust my intuition.

Tattooing has taught me about pain.

Tattooing has taught me to hold space for others.

Tattooing has taught me both freedom and discipline.

Tattooing has taught me to value my art.

Tattooing has brought a lot of lessons that I’m forever grateful for.

Thank you @dree_lee for these beautiful shots!

One healed, one fresh. The eye tattoo is fresh an

One healed, one fresh.

The eye tattoo is fresh and the chaotic head tattoo is fully healed.

Both done in San Francisco, one in September 2019 and the other in February 2020.

Thank you Brooke!

Trying out a little bit of a different technique o

Trying out a little bit of a different technique on this one.

The original sketch was made with a Pencil brush on Procreate, so the lines are not as solid and more pencil-like and my intention was to recreate them in the same way.

Once again, with a drawing that was made so intuitively and freely, when it came to tattoo it, the process was quite different, with slow attention and movement, building in the shades that create these lighter strokes and working in the lines in different grey scales and thickness.

If was great!
I love it and am so happy with the result! 😁 What do you lovely humans think?

And thank you so much Terry for picking this design and trusting me with the process!! This was made a few months back in San Francisco.

For anyone who doesn’t know, I’m in Guatemala since March, waiting for things to open up and hoping to go to Europe soon.

In the tattoo industry, there is a habit of making

In the tattoo industry, there is a habit of making photos look contrast’y and monochromatic, so something many tattoo artists (including myself) do is reduce the saturation in photos, because it makes the redness of the fresh tattoo less noticeable, the artist’s Instagram page looks more monotone and the tattoo is accentuated.

Unfortunately, what this also does is it creates an illusion that all of our clients are snow white. It creates little diversity in colour and sends out a message that tattoos are only for white people, the whiter the better.

I myself have fallen into this trap, until a day where a client of mine with a darker complexion noticed his skin looked too white in the photo that I posted and, in a loving and gentle way, called me out.

I feel very grateful that he did because it made me quickly understand that the look of my Instagram should not be so important that it turns a black person into a white person, without their consent.  If you scroll through my feed, you will notice that my older work is presented with very little saturation and everything looks white and pale.
However, more recently I began to show my tattoos with the natural colour of my clients, which in turn began to attract more people of colour to get tattooed by me.
 I feel that there is not enough information available in relation to what works on darker skin and what doesn’t. From my experience, the designs have to be made differently, some colours just don’t work on darker skin, some details might not be so visible and even the tattooing technique has to be different as the skin is often more delicate.

Yes, white skin and a black or colourful tattoo looks good on Instagram, it catches attention and receives a lot of likes. But everyone should be enjoying tattoos if that is something they desire.

I am making mistakes, I am learning, I am listening and doing my best. I’m sorry. And thank you! I vote for more authenticity, more diversity, both in colour, gender and body types!

Left photo is unedited, right photo is edited in the way I used to edit.

Thank you @sergio_canete for inspiring this conversation with your post.

Psychedelic Eye Process Video. Sound ON for more m

Psychedelic Eye Process Video.
Sound ON for more magic.

The other tattoo that is shown towards the end of the video on her other arm is fully healed.

Thank you Brooke!!

Another simple one. It’s funny and sometimes fr

Another simple one.

It’s funny and sometimes frustrating how sometimes these very simple and minimal designs are more praised than the bigger ones that took so much more work, time and energy.

And that’s just how it is, specially on social media.
Tiny cute tattoos reach a lot more people than big arm sleeves that took countless hours of work and planning.
In a way I understand.
It’s important to note that even though these minimal designs maybe took me 30min to draw and 1 hour to tattoo, they are not just random, they are a result of a lot of work, practice and a lifetime of drawing.
And sometimes I spend hours and hours designing them and they just don’t work out.

Anyway,
I just wanted to share the frustration ☺️ There is nothing I want to do about it, it’s just sometimes nice to express feelings, so thank you for holding space for them 🙂

Thank you Nate for flying all the way from Seattle to San Francisco to get this piece! It was a pleasure to meet you and I love how it turned out!

Simple. Thank you Avery!

Simple.

Thank you Avery!

Such an enjoyable drawing to create and tattoo to

Such an enjoyable drawing to create and tattoo to make!

I love the fact that my client Jascha surprised me with his wish to have a horse across his whole arm!

As we were booking this session over email, I thought it would be a medium sized tattoo like most of the one I make, but when we met on the day of the appointment, I got so excited to know he is open to have a huge piece taking most of his arm.

It was also challenging because I still didn’t have the drawing, so I got right to it and this came out, very effortlessly!

I just love big pieces that work with the body this way and I wish to work on more projects like this one!

Thank you so much Jascha!

Done in February in San Francisco.

This tattoo has a very special meaning. It is in m

This tattoo has a very special meaning. It is in memory of @aaronmackhypedout one of Dylan’s (my client’s) best friends, who passed away due to a fentanyl overdose with his friend Mez last December.

To capture Aaron’s free, confident and loving spirit, we gathered different images from his music videos and combined them into an expression that would represent these feelings the most.

It was an honor to work on this piece. Thank you Dylan for trusting me.

His two sides. I love how this design came to be,

His two sides.

I love how this design came to be, it was a true collaboration, going back and forward with ideas and coming up with this super interesting composition which works with both angles of the arm, when rested and when active (Powell is a videographer/ cinematographer and often holds his arm up), showing two different versions.

Thank you @powell_robinson for your trust and for the fun day at @blkserum
Done in February in SF.

Free Falling Thank you Okeefe for the fun convers

Free Falling

Thank you Okeefe for the fun conversations and for trusting me with this design, I love how it turned out!

Chaos in her head. Thank you Gigi!

Chaos in her head.

Thank you Gigi!

Higher Connection. Thank you Steph! Done in Febru

Higher Connection.

Thank you Steph!
Done in February in SF.

This design is a new retake of my previous version that I did 3 years ago.

And one last #artvsartist This one is a combo of

And one last #artvsartist
This one is a combo of my older oil paintings and an photo of me from about 5 years ago.

As some of may already know, I’m creating a Patreon page and working on my first process videos with voice over of me drawing and tattooing, explaining my techniques, tools, thoughts, inspirations.

It’s quite a bit of work actually and I want it to be really good and valuable so it might take a little bit more time but hopefully will be ready this month!

My intention is to use this platform to share my behind-the-scenes with any of you who are interested, inspire you to grow your artistic skills and give myself more motivation and time to create more, to draw and paint for myself - something I haven’t been doing as much these past years for lack of time and energy.

Oil painting is one of those things that I’m hoping to get back to with your support through Patreon.

I’ll make sure to announce it here and give you a chance to join if that is your wish 😊

Yesterday I discovered that this #artvsartist chal

Yesterday I discovered that this #artvsartist challenge was initially created to see if the art resembles the artist.
What do you think? Does it?

I definitely focus more on the inner feelings and try to express them into my drawings, so in that case if you don’t really know me it’s more challenging to say if my drawings resemble me or not.
And at the same time, through my art, you probably already know me very well 😊
.

And when I draw I don’t just express what I’ve felt and feel by I tune into the feelings of the collective and intend to express what needs to be expressed on a bigger scale.

Thank you so much for all of your beautiful lovely comments on my last post and I again welcome you to keep sharing here, what my art speaks to you and what feelings it touches within you!
🖤
#artvsartist2020

#artvsartist -> Tattoos vs. Tattooist. Some of my

#artvsartist -> Tattoos vs. Tattooist.

Some of my favorites pieces and me!

I’m curious if you have a favorite out of these ones and if you would be open to sharing what it speaks to you!
😊

Reaching. Thank you so much Matlyn for coming bac

Reaching.

Thank you so much Matlyn for coming back for one more epic tattoo!!
Done in San Francisco in February.

I used the incredible photography by @bellanudaart for reference.

With the current situation, I’m not sure when I’ll be back tattooing, so I can not tell you exactly where my next locations will be and when my bookings will open. I hope to make it to Berlin, San Francisco and NY this year.

Right now I’m in Guatemala, using this time to catch up on projects that I usually don’t have enough time for, I’m finally selling prints, I am editing drawing and tattooing videos that I will be sharing on my YouTube channel, creating a Patreon account for anyone who is interested in diving deeper with me and be part of my creative process and working in an online course for artists.

Besides that I’m also spending a lot of time on my personal inner journeys that you can find at @jiomaia

I hope this World pause also gives you spaciousness to focus on what really matters to you and what you are passionate about or maybe gives you a chance to rest, to reflect, to tune in, to dive into projects and reconnect with yourself.

If you would like to have my art on your wall and not on your skin for now... these drawings are available as prints. Check my IG story to find the link or find it on my website.

I’d love to hear about what this Global Crisis is inspiring in you if you want to share in the comments.
🤍

Sweet portrait of Tod and Vix for Hannah! 😊 Do

Sweet portrait of Tod and Vix for Hannah!
😊

Done in San Francisco last February.

The Kiss - Flash design done on Valentine’s Day

The Kiss - Flash design done on Valentine’s Day for Sophia!

I want to take a moment to thank all of your wonderful comments on my last post!

And a big thank you to all the wonderful humans who bought prints! Please send me pictures or tag me in your posts when the prints arrive in your home!
💕

These beauties are available as prints! I’ve de

These beauties are available as prints!

I’ve decided to give it a try and work with @inprnt to make high quality prints of some of my favorite works so that you can have them and love them in your home! 😊

You can find the link to my shop in my stories or on my website.

I wonder if I should take some time to write about how I hope that people won’t use these artworks for tattoos, since I designed them for my clients who already had them tattooed by me and they are not meant to be flash.

But I see that there isn’t much use in keeping fighting this war because I can’t stop people from stealing and copying and I get more and more messages from people who have directly copied my art and got it tattooed by somebody else (often it looking badly placed, not well executed and distorted) 😣
and I’m quite sure that the ones of you who will take time to read this are also the ones that don’t need to hear this message because you already respect and value my art and would prefer to get tattooed by me and with my consent.

So if you did read this, I thank you from my heart and if you’re waiting to get a tattoo by me, I’m looking forward to make that happen!
And if you are considering tattooing one of my designs with someone else, maybe I can inspire you to reconsider and to be more mindful about art copyright, to either patiently wait for the chance to meet me or support other artists in doing what they love to do, or just realize that you can’t always have what you want.
Or maybe you can get a print instead? 😉😊
.

Thank you so much for your support!
❤️ PS: if you did read this, I’d love to hear from you in the comments about what you think about stealing art, tattooing other people’s designs and anything related.

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