Guy Antoine Blais, 35, from Montreal, Quebec, is a successful tattoo artist. He entered the world of tattooing by chance, and in the space of fifteen years has become a seasoned professional. He is now one of the most talented artists on the Canadian new-school scene. As well as using impeccable technique, his work is distinguished by its originality, drawing on a wide range of influences, from Art Nouveau to Japanese anime.
What artistic influences did you grow up with?
I watched a lot of anime/manga, like Dragon Ball and Pokemon, but also cartoons like Kid Paddle and Southpark. Later, as a teenager, I discovered comics and graphic novels. A whole new world of cool illustrators and concepts opened up to my imagination. Then, in my early twenties, I fell into concept art/character design, before discovering the great masters of illustration like Franck Frazetta, Alfons Mucha and Joseph Christian Leyendecker, whose work makes you realise just how many crusts you still have to eat (Quebec expression to say that there is still experience to be gained, editor's note).
References to Art Nouveau are indeed to be found in your work.
Yes, discovering Mucha was one of my biggest slaps in the face. In the years that followed, I tried to incorporate these effects of movement, but also negative spaces, dramatic and graphic contrasts in the lines, as often as possible. It's a style that goes well with a tattoo design.
How did your path come to cross that of tattooing?
It was pure chance. I'd just moved to a new town to study graphic design after secondary school, and I walked into a tattoo studio. I became friends with the owner and in less than a year I started my apprenticeship.
Did you have any idea then of what you wanted to do professionally?
No, but the passion for drawing had always been there. Today I can only thank the cosmic forces that made sure I was there at the right time and in the right place. I've been able to make a living from this passion! And I've been doing it for 15 years now.
Animals are one of your favourite subjects. Is this a legacy of Disney?
Disney, but also Pixar, Dreamworks... These are definitely major influences. Animals are the subjects that give me the most pleasure to draw.
What are the points you pay particular attention to when you start composing a project?
It's all about the general flow of the room, but also about interesting silhouettes. The use of negative spaces and different layers to create depth are also important. Secondly, the client's morphology and the place where the tattoo is to be applied have a major influence on the result. Sometimes it's even the placement that dictates the composition of the tattoo.
Tell us about your colour palette, I have the impression that it has become more vivid recently. How did it evolve?
Yes, probably, I feel more and more comfortable experimenting with a wide variety of colours. This new-found confidence came with the acquisition of an iPad in 2015. It's a good tool that tolerates trial and error without consequences. For the first few years, my colours were mediocre, so I stuck mainly to black and grey, but gradually I gained confidence.
Have you developed any technical secrets for making these bright colours last?
There aren't really any secrets apart from tattooing with confidence. In tattooing, it's a bit like everything else in life, you have to avoid doing things by halves. When you decide to plant the pigments in the skin, you have to do it for real, with confidence and a sincere intention behind every stroke of the needle.
At a time when the number of tattoo artists has exploded, how do you go about trying to bring something fresh to this landscape?
I intend to draw on my personal experience to continue to draw in an analogue way in a world that is increasingly dominated by technology - for example, the brush sets used on Procreate that draw in place of people, thus taking the new generation of tattoo artists by the hand already stretched by advances in AI. I'm going to continue to offer a classic approach, based on several styles, a way of doing things that some customers will probably be looking for again: art with a soul and not a copy/paste from the neighbour. That's what I hope, anyway! (Laughs).
Some new-school tattooists are a little disappointed by the lack of recognition of the commitment that the style requires. Do you share this view and what is the situation in Canada, or at least in Quebec?
Yes, I think people generally see the ‘real’ work behind the serious stuff, like a realistic portrait. A lot of people don't realise the work behind a BEAUTIFUL new-school design/tattoo, don't appreciate the skills involved in the art of simplifying as much as possible, without sacrificing the essence of a subject; of giving life, dimension, a unique interpretation to things without distorting them. I think that the new-school, illustrative style appeals more to other artists and clients who have an affinity with art. They know the work that goes into it, the passion behind every stroke of the pen. People are generally easily impressed by realism because that's what their brain understands easily, it's natural. But yes, new-school is an unloved style these days. It'll come back one day! + IG : @gigantornio www.athamestudio.com 1498 rue Ontario est, Montreal, Quebec H2l 1s3
