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Leguyt

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INTERVIEW LEGUYT

@pascalbagot

Having gone through graphic design before finally becoming a tattooer, Leguyt now has fun with a neo-realistic style exclusively in black and grey. The Frenchman from Nantes does not wish to be confined to a single register. A true jack-of-all-trades, he maintains the desire to approach other universes, in order to perfect his technique and know-how.

Hi LeGuyt, let's start with a little presentation?

Hi, my name is Tanguy, I'm 34 years old and I'm from Nantes. I'm originally from Brittany (North Finistère) but I grew up and remained faithful to my region of Nantes.

How long have you been drawing?

I have been drawing for a very long time. My mother has an artistic bent - she studied at the Beaux-Arts - and so she passed on to me a passion for drawing, sculpture and many other things. All my youth I was immersed in abstract painting, pop-art culture and cubism. Today I am still influenced by Kandinsky, Juan Miro, Claude Monet, Andy Warhol... After college, I naturally turned to art studies before doing my higher education in graphic design. Once I finished, professional life made me realise that I was more of an illustrator than a graphic designer. That's when I started to approach the tattoo world.

How did you discover it?

With the first tattoo conventions in Nantes, which were held at the Trocardière. The Nantes convention is one of the conventions I like the most and it's also one of the biggest I've done so far. In 2021 I was really honoured to do their poster. As there is a high level of tattooing it pushes me to excel.

At what point did you know you wanted to do this for a living?

When a friend pushed me to present my portfolio. I didn't feel I had the right to enter this field, but after submitting my application to several salons, I ended up at Bastartz Tattoo in Nantes, who did me the honour of taking me on as an apprentice. He also taught me the values and the tricks of the trade. A few years later, we created together Le Sanctuaire Tattoo Shop in Nantes, and then after three years I had a child, so I decided to move a little closer to home. I worked for a year with Kubiak at Hara-Kiri Tattoo in Saint Philbert de Grand Lieu and today I am a resident at Numta Tattoo in Montaigu.

Tell us a little about your graphic culture.

I developed it during my years of study in graphic design where I met many artists. It was also developed by looking at illustration books like Artwork. For a few years I was also attracted by the whole graffiti scene. In fact, even as a kid, I was never a big reader but I always liked the illustrations in books, so eventually everything interested me.

Does this explain why you work in an illustrative style as well as in realism or Japanese style?

It's true that I try to do a bit of everything! I'm curious about everyone's techniques and I'm attracted by everything that comes my way: I'd like to know how to do everything! And then I like to test, to learn new methods to make my tattoo evolve. It allows me to find new textures, to mix several styles (like Japanese and realism for example). I am not closed to any technique. For me, everything is good to take to evolve. Besides that, I still like traditional Neo compositions and I want to create, to draw, each project I make. It allows me to tell a story. But whatever the technique, my ultimate goal is to get a result that highlights my client's body.

The tattooers of the past were versatile, something that is lost today. Were the old ones right?

The tattooers of the past were very versatile because they were few in number. But today the tattoo has become more democratic and there are more and more tattoo artists and therefore more and more talents. The two "eras" are not really comparable. Personally, if I don't feel capable of doing a tattoo that satisfies me, I prefer to send it to a colleague who will do it much better than me.

Can you be good in all styles?

Yes, you can be good in all styles. As in any profession, there are exceptional people who can do everything. But we mustn't forget that this only concerns a small minority of people. So, just being good and mastering one style is already very good.

You use black and grey for illustration, realism and Japanese style. Is it for its versatility that you appreciate it?

No, in fact it's much simpler: I almost never draw in colour. I don't have this chromatic vision, I can't combine colours to make something aesthetic. So I prefer to concentrate on black and grey, working on textures and contrasts as much as possible, which is already a lot of work.

How would you describe your universe, dark-retro ornamental?

It's true that it's complicated to identify. As it's very illustrative but I use a lot of textures to get a semi-realistic look, I think you could call my work Neo realistic.

Do you have any special references for your inspiration?

Of course, there are many, and with social networks, I add new ones almost every day. I don't necessarily have a favourite artist because everything - or almost everything - interests me. In fact, I build up large databases of illustrators and tattoo artists from which I get inspiration when I have to create my composition of the day. So I won't mention any particular name... it will also avoid me forgetting some!

You like to work on large elaborate pieces, how much work is involved in preparing and making one of these projects?

Yes, I really enjoy working on large pieces because as I said I like to tell a story. The execution time is very complicated to gauge: I would say that depending on the elements given by my client, the area to be tattooed, the search for images, the time for inspiration and the time needed to complete the design, it can vary between one to three days.

I really like this tattoo, the one that represents a love story between a mermaid and a sailor in the form of a wink to the tattoo culture and old flashes. Can you tell us the story behind it?

The stories behind the tattoos are specific to each of my clients and I just try to transcribe them into drawings. My client gave me these elements: a small fishing boat in a rough sea, an old sailor caught by mermaids, with the look of a person who accepts his end, and mermaids in the style of creatures of the deep sea. The world of the sea spoke to me a lot because of my Breton origins, but I especially like the challenge of telling new things with each piece.

What is your interest in the history of tattooing? Do you have any particular references, personal icons?

I think the history of tattooing, from its origins to the evolution of today, is quite extraordinary and when I started in the business I absolutely wanted to learn to tattoo with traditional machines. Today I would like to know how to weld my needles. I think it's a good thing to know where you come from before you move on. Then, as far as traditional machines are concerned, I was a fan of Bruno Kea's machines.

Do you have other fields of artistic expression than tattooing?

Of course I do. When I have time (which is increasingly rare) I paint. At certain times, I have sculpted on wood, carved stone, made engravings, silk-screen printing, pottery,... in fact any material is interesting to work with and I like to touch everything. + IG : @leguyt_tattoo Numa Tattoo 7 Rue de la Marine Royale, 85600 Montaigu-Vendée www.numta.com