man joined Black heart Tattoo in San Francisco last October. Formerly with Spider Murphy's team, he inked a tattoo of a pure traditional American classic. Looking at his flashes, masterfully chained at the Mondial du Tatouage, we were desperate to catch this rare bird before his departure. He draws the contours of a traditional classic, powerful and inspired by his predecessors. Solid, his tattoos have a
Can you tell me about Black Heart Tattoo : when did you start tattooing there?
The legendary Black Heart Tattoo is in San Francisco California. It is owned by Scott Sylvia and Jeff Rassier. I started full time at Black Heart in October 2019.
You used to tattoo also before hand at Spider Murphy's... How was it like?
The shop is a kind of big hall where we do everything around the traditional American classic tattooing. There are a lot of influences with walls full of flashes and postcards. Everything that revolves around the sailor tattoo. The people working there now are Theo Mindell, A. Hodges, Laurent Trelaun, Bryan Randolph, Aaron Hodges, Jay Watkins, Jeremy Lyn Kimzey, everybody has a slightly different style. Some are inspired by mystical things, some are by sailors... but it's all pretty much based on the same traditional imagery. I discovered Spider Murphy because I'm originally from San Francisco and the shop is really close to where I grew up. When I started tattooing - at the age of 25 - and liked the traditional way, I did a lot of research, and found Spider Murphy's work really cool. Their way of drawing traditional tattoos is done according to the codes of true classics. I moved from San Diego, where I was living at the time, to come back to work in the San Francisco Bay Area.
You are part of a bold traditional tattooing but who was your mentor in prior?
The first person to inspire my interest in classic tattooing was Mikey Slater (1920 Tattoo, Helen GA). I would get tattooed by him and have him critiques on my portfolio. He was always honest and it really helped me in the beginning. When I got to Spider Murphy, Theo Mindell was and still is an amazing mentor to me. I learned so much just about art and drawing from him. He’s an amazing artist.
I noticed you're wearing a Damned shirt! (back at Mondial du Tatouage 2015) Are you a musician, like Theo Mindell?
I don't play in a band... I do flash tattoos instead. But I love music. I grew up listening to punk rock and some metal in the Bay Area. Then, living in California, it means that you are pretty much surrounded by punk music. I was a part of that. I used to skateboard and listen to punk while I was painting. Now I listen to a little bit of everything. From classic rock to '60s Rock 'n'roll.
Back then, when you started, did you always thought about becoming a tattoo artist?
I've always been interested in tattooing. When I was young first and then when I had the opportunity. Becoming a tattoo artist came up as an option and it all gathered together. It was an important decision but I have always admired this business. In fact, the first thing which inspired me was watching my father painted motorcycles. I used to hang out with him for hours around the machines and admire his work on tattoo designs. So it made sense for me to get a tattoo. Whereas when I was really young, I didn't know how to get involved. I took my time and waited for the right moment to come along.
Who else do you admire in the business?
I admire a lot of different people for a lot of different reasons, but I think Mindell has been a very important influence on my tattoos. But also people like Henning Jorgensen (Royal Tattoo Gallery, Helsingor, Denmark) who is really enthusiastic about tattooing. Even though he has been practicing for a very long time, he never gets bored and always approaches tattoo with enthusiasm. It's inspiring to be around people like him. These guys motivate other tattoo artists with them and the job is still really exciting.
And your style, how would you describe it?
I like my tattoos to be classically colorful or not and very simple. In a clean way. I'm not very good at doing crazy, rocky or psychedelic stuff. I'm more the type to make pretty faces or cool boats that I work to make them look nice and classic. That's what I usually do.
What about your style, how would you describe it?
I like my tattoos to be simple, colorful classics. In a clean, simple way. In fact, a lot of my artwork isn't very colorful. I'm not very good at doing crazy, rocky or psychedelic stuff. I'm more the type of tattoo artist to make pretty faces or cool boats that I work it out to make them look nice and classic. That's what I usually do.
Do you think you'll ever get tired of traditional American music?
No, I don't think I will. There are so many different subjects to do and that's what I like. It's very versatile. I also do Japanese and Black and Grey, but not regularly because most of the time the clients requests comes back to old school sailor tattoos and what's close to them. That's what I do the most and it's the imagery that I love to recreate: everything that comes from the traditional. So, no, I won't get bored!
What's the most important thing for you in a tattoo?
Getting the best tattoo I can on someone. And bringing them something special so that they have a nice, lasting memory. I want the customer to look back on this moment as a good experience. I think, especially between us tattoo artists and clients, in general, we just have to be good to each other. There are a lot of people these days who have shitty attitudes. Some people start tattooing and get to the top very quickly to become arrogant towards others whose job is not as good. But for a lot of guys, it took twice as much effort and work to be where they are as they are. These people don't realize how much work it takes and they behave badly towards other tattoo artists who are not as good as they are. Be humble. Things are constantly changing. With the internet anyone can start tattooing and be popular very quickly! And people should just stay kind and support each other in the tattoo community.
Can you tell us more about your project “PARADISE”, its an artbook that you've been publishing ?
Paradise is a project will LLL Books as a collectible book of designs. Something you could travel with. It was inspired by my adventures around the world. I even included pictures I took of some of my favorite places. The book has 51 hand painted pages of tattoo designs. Paradise is the second solo book I put out. The first was Continuing a Tradition published by Illustrated Monthly. These books followed the 1st and 2nd Spider Murphy’s books. I am always working on new designs and tattoo flash, along with paintings and tattoo convention posters. I have a link in my website to a “goods” section where people can get books, prints, flash and paintings. I’m currently working on a line drawing travel book.
You also have another parallel project at the moment influenced by your other passion: motorcycling?
Right now, my girlfriend Sarah and I started a motorcycle glove company called “SPEED” (@speed_california) which we launched in November 2019. My Father painted motorcycles when I was growing up and in my teenage years I got to assist him. He brought me to my first Motorcycle/Tattoo show. I’ve always loved to ride and my brother Erik Dobleman and I have been riding together most of our lives.
Do you still like to travel a lot?
I absolutely love to travel still. It’s always so inspiring to go to new places and also revisit the wonderful friends I’ve made all over the world. I’m very grateful to have these experiences.
How is tattooing in California at the moment?
California is awesome for tattooing. It’s so fun and I love working with the people I do. This pandemic set things back a bit for the whole world but hopefully things will get better soon, I know everyone is excited to get back to work.
What is the composition of a good traditional tattoo in your opinion?
A good composition in a traditional tattoo is clean line work, enough black, interesting shapes, good angles, strong silhouettes and a readable design. Informations : Paul Dobleman wwwpauldobleman.com www.blackhearttattoosf.com www.speedcalifornia.com
