Attracted by concept art and video games, but also by Japanese culture, the 27-year-old Russian tattoo artist Vesper Green - alias Tania - brings these influences together in a neo-trad style populated by heroines haloed by bright cyber colours.
How do you learn to draw Tania? Are you self-taught or did you study art?
I graduated from art school and university with a specialization in design. During this time I took courses in drawing, painting, digital art and sculpture. And after university I started my career.
How long have you been tattooing?
For six years. I got interested in tattooing when I was a teenager, on and off. After my first tattoo, I tried to immerse myself in the field, to find information about styles and artists. So I started drawing not illustrations, but tattoo sketches. Then my career started quite suddenly, through a musician friend of mine who was getting tattoos from a local tattoo artist, who later became my mentor. So, as soon as I graduated from university I came to the studio to get to know him and Rinat took me under his wing.
Artistically, what worlds were you attracted to?
I liked to follow the work of artists who specialised in drawing characters. I've been interested in video game concept art for a long time and I'm sure that all this has influenced the characters I like to draw and my way of seeing in general.
How do you come to neo-traditional?
I had planned from the beginning to work in this style. I've always liked line work and colour gradations, stylised shapes and restricted colour schemes. Now I see how this style evolves, it's pretty cool. For my part, I'm trying to constantly evolve and change my approach to tattooing, but I don't have a working algorithm.
Are there any tattoo artists you look up to in particular?
For example: Mitch Allenden (@sneakymitch), Bobby Johnson (@glendalebully), Matt Tischler (@tishtattoo), Daniels Beauté (@danielsbauti), Ignis (@ignis.ink). I consider them masters. It's especially nice when one of them notices you and subscribes to your Instagram account, as an artist I experience it as a kind of recognition (laughs).
Besides video games, Japanese culture also seems to be one of your influences.
I feel close to Japanese and Asian culture in general. In this case, I'm interested in studying Japanese mythology and I'm quite good at it. At the moment, I'm madly fascinated by harajuku. Harajuku is a style born among teenagers in the streets near Harajuku station in Shibuya, Japan. It is a movement against strict social rules and norms. Harajuku style is a mixture of all the well-known Japanese sub-styles such as Sweet lolita, Gothic lolita, Visual kei. I am slowly incorporating elements of this style into my work, I want my characters to be as colourful and interesting.
As in manga, anime?
Yes, I love Japanese animation, and I love reading manga and comics. I guess this is directly reflected in the themes I use in my sketches and drawings. I memorise character types, interesting versions of clothing or hair, all of which help me to imagine, develop a tattoo theme based on a particular anime or comic.
Your colours are beautiful, how did you build your palette?
I always thought I was spontaneous in my choice of colours but I guess the heritage of the art school I attended is mixed with my intuition. In almost all my work I use shades of turquoise and mint, but I also prefer to use pinks and peaches. I can't say for sure if this will change in the future, but now I would like to make my palette more permanent and recognisable, like a signature.
Does drawing strong women, heroines, make more sense today after #metoo?
I'm very happy that I haven't had an experience in my life comparable to this hashtag. And I really feel for all the people involved. I think it's a subconscious desire to draw stronger, confident, capricious female characters, because that's who I am. In fact, I've often been told that I represent myself every time.
Realism is also a genre you like to create in, especially in painting.
Originally, my mentor was a person who specialised in realistic tattoos. One day I started to get interested in it, because I have technical skills. I learned a lot from him, and sometimes I still do realistic tattoos. But I'm more interested in developing my own style, which is closer to the neo-traditional style. So, realism, I confine it to oil paintings.
You've done some great portraits of Marilyn Manson, I guess you're a big fan of metal music?
That means I'm a big Manson fan (laughs). Yes, in general I prefer to listen to heavy music, like chaotic hardcore, sludge, doom metal bands, I like the combination of clean and overdriven guitars, powerful drum sounds, extreme voices. But I also like industrial rock, trip hop, it all depends on my state of mind. I think that the right music increases productivity and tunes the mood. + Instagram: @green.vesper
