Could you introduce yourself as a tattoo artist ?
Made in Australia, that could be the label on those fun, colorful and solid tattoos. Leisure Bandit, the amazing tattoo artist from Perth is providing those one for several years now. Who could guess that this one was mostly doing realism before ? Such an appetite for animal characters twisted with 80's style and bright accessorize. Brodie Leisure , with his sunglasses Oakleys, always on his noze whatever happen, is fighting boredom. My name is Brody Leisure, i am from Perth in Western Australia. I am tattooing for about 10 years. I work at a friend's studio because i travel around too much to have my own studio and it's just easy and more convenient at the moment. I have got a permanent spot there that he hold for me so i can come home and get ready for the next trip. I try to travel as much as i can, hopefully next year i could bring my wife along with me to the conventions.
So you have been tattooing for 10 years, did you always draw new school style ?
I always wanted to tattoo but i didn't really know how to go about it so i just took like a portfolio with my school artworks and i went to some studios in the city. I was knocked out several times and eventually some saw some potential they took me on. Then i was doing a carpenter apprenticeship in the same time, so i was doing a full week doing carpentry and also a full week doing tattooing, i think i was doing about an hundred hours a week for about three years. I was super tired but i think it embedded a work ethic in me that has helped me in my career as it's going along , i can utilize the time spent in convention to get as much work as possible done.
You started ten years ago, what was your environement as a tattoo artist ?
It was so different, and a lot rougher, when is started ten years ago and we come from a long way as it becomes more accepted, when i first started there was thug looking guys in the shop all the time and you didn't want to say the wrong thing to the wrong person whatever else, but now its not just that, its a lot about more fun stuff. You have also draw the art poster of the Austattoo Expo, how came this opportunity ? I did the banners digitally, with Ipad. That was a big learning curve, i bought an Ipad and three days later the Austattoo Expo ring me on and ask me to do the poster for them, and i was like, « hey, no worries, i told them , i can do this » and i was then « shit i don't know how to do this ! I'm shit with computer ». So i had to learn how to do this well in few days only !
How long have you been doing those kind of tattoos ?
Maybe about three years i think. I did a painting in New South Wales at that time for a friend i was working and staying with him. It was a dolphin with a backward hat and gold chains it just remind me the people in New South Wales, it was how they look like. But i just did that as a joke and then i got back to the studio where I work, and one of the artist i was working with was leaving and we did a tattoo trade and asked me for the dolphin and i was like « man, why you want to do that ? What ? » it was such a complete joke ! But actually i had so much fun tattooing it, with the shades and the background and that kind of stuff and i'd like to fucking do more of this and i'd love to. Suddenly it get more and more popular i suppose so it was awesome for me. Who was the artists you look up to ? Three in mind i can think straight away, Matt Curzon Peter Lagergren and James Tex Just for the one which tattoos is just inspiring. How did you progress with this color panel ? I always used colors like that, may be not as this extreme may be a little bit more muted, but i generally bought that kind of style when i travel, when i am at home i mainly do black and grey so that's also why i really like to travel more and more, so i can do more stuff that i like. How did you progress with this color panel ? I always used colors like that, may be not as this extreme may be a little bit more muted, but i generally bought that kind of style when i travel, when i am at home i mainly do black and grey so that's also why i really like to travel more and more, so i can do more stuff that i like.
You come back from NZ Convention, which is one of the best in the world ! You also did a collaboration over there with an artist, could you please told us more about it ?
Yes, i just comeback last week-end, me and Stu Pagdin (Adelaïde, Australie) did a collaboration on both days so Stu's style of tattoing kind of a New School japanese tattoo, we both have kind of the tattoo is not the same subject matter but the way we tattoo is quiet similar and we have been friend each other for a long time and thought it was a good idea to do it. The way, the application process is really similar : its just bold lines and solid colors, essentially like the fundamentals of tattooing, a third color, a skin, that is our kind of tattoo. That was really fun, Stu and I both never have done any collaboration before and we both didnt know how it was gonna work but it was fun. So what we would do, He lives in Adelaïde and i am over in Perth , so we'd bring each other up and brainstorm. Come up with a bunch of different ideas, and than sit on that for a little while, we didnt find anything that click together too much, we had a couple of idea but we weren't really sold on it. I came up with the kappa idea, he loved it and then he draw the party kappa itself and then i added all the crazy backgrounds, we put him making a Gin Tonic in his head so I added the Gin bottle and the tropical kind of stuff and put the Oakleys on him. It was really fun, we want to do it again with a bigger front or backpiece. It might be a little hard to find someone who commit to that, but there is some crazy people out there so i rekon we can find someone.
Are Australian customer open to your crazy tattoo style ?
Definetly, not so much back in Perth, like they are a little bit more serious over there, but around the coast people are pretty interesting to get crazy and happy things and generaly its the brighter the better. Are you going to travel in Europe or Asia next year ? I will definetly be attending Hawaï convention and i will be doing Montreal as well but it's definetly in the works, as long wife and child are ok with that. In futur i will definetly be there. I try to travel as much as i can. Finally, why are you tattooing ? I love it because i get to express myself through artwork that i personnally enjoy. I couldn't see my self behind a desk nine to five, it just drive me insane. So, i was just lucky enough to be in the right place and right time and find a job that i love and i am super passionnate about that. @theleisurebandit www.theleisurebandit.com.au/
