A tattoo artist for 25 years, Luca Natalini is what you might call an old hand in the business. At 47, the Italian tattooist opens the doors of his Montecatini studio in Tuscany for Inkers and talks about his career and his influences, between new-school and Japanese style.
Which comes first, tattoo or drawing?
I studied a lot of Art History in college but I never drew before I started tattooing. Once I was able to focus daily on tattoos I went step by step from tracing tattoo flashes to drawing my own stuff. I think that’s one of the key aspect that influenced my style, which takes shape entirely within tattooing.
What are the graphic references you grew up with and that eventually built your graphic universe? Art nouveau for example?
I would say a whole lot of visual references are part of my references being that I grew in a beautiful Toscan town in Italy, packed with Art Nouveau and studied in Florence for three years. But, since I started really working on the craft, I really looked at all the masters in tattooing and copied and paste from their best work to try to understand the underlying sense of flow that makes an image legible and able to dress the body properly.
Which styles particularly caught your attention ?
New school and Japanese. The last one because of the way Japanese use background to put the image on the body. The other one because of the artistic freedom and unexplored territory. Many have been the artists that I learnt from trough distance and mostly in person in the shop I worked in the United States and Milan (Italy), especially Bugs early on, then Lou Jacque, Nick Baxter, Adrian Dominic who I worked with in the States. Like I said, I mostly studied tattoos and tattooers, feeding in the meantime on all king of art. I love manga and anime culture because the estethics are similar to what a good tattoo is : bold line, work high contrast etc. But I’m definitely not an expert.
How did tattooing come into your life?
I got into it thanks to a friend in high school in the 1990s but it stayed a side hobby for few years because I couldn’t t find shops to give me an opportunities back then. The real start I consider it when I moved to New York in 2003 where I got a job at TATTOO LOU S in Long Island. These six years in the States really shaped my work.
You approach various genres, is this a legacy of your old-school background?
Like I said, I learned everything in drawing living the typical American shop routine where you were supposed to handle everything. I really enjoyed the challenge and the little things that you learn about different aspects of tattooing from every piece. Once I got my skills in place, I used it to produce the best image I can based on a careful read and understanding of the customer idea. I love and respect the main genres of tattooing especially Japanese, traditional, tribal and new school. I’m not big fan of realism but I love a realistic approach to light and shadow, or to organic shapes.
What are the points that you particularly focus on when you approach a new piece?
Appoaching large pieces I focus on dynamics and flow lines much like Japanese backgrounds. Then, I move to sketch the figure going back and forth between the two freehand sketching is key. The body usually tells you the best way to put an image. I love working on legs and arms because the cylindric moving shape that gives the most interesting solutions.
You are a good colourist. How did you build up your colour palette?
I build up my palette panting with oil then trying to find the same combination of colors on the skin. That’s one thing that I love to explore, especially the subtle passages of cold to warm colors. I do some in plain air very often to exercise.
There is a very particular sense of flow in your drawings, which might remind you of graffiti. Have you done any?
I love graffiti but actually never done it. I think the new school genre comes from the same hip hop root, foreshortening, bold lines and colours, highly contrasted images, all of which fits perfectly with good tattooing.
What is tattooing for you, a decoration, a marker of life, a way to live more intensely your passions?
It is a craft, a wonderful craft, I love the routine of it, the fact that you have to perform daily creating a custom piece, so in that sense it is a lifestyle.
What is a good tattoo for you?
A good tattoo works together wit the body, it fits the part, dresses it, it has to be pleasing to watch from distance as well from up close, and that involves the right contrast and the right color choices. Also, it is supposed to last for as long as possible. This last point seems to me it is the most overlooked nowadays.
How do you stay fresh and creative?
Mostly by painting, reading and watching other artists at work, social medias are great for this aspect.
Can you tell us a bit about the place painting has in your artistic activity?
Unfortunately I paint sporadically. I get into productive periods off and on. Lately, I got into cutting wooden boards into shapes and then paint on, just to get away from the rectangular shape. I fell it more similar to tattooing. The biggest difference is, in tattooing the creative process follows the customer request while in painting I have to decide. It’s definitely hard. Mostly, I end up painting landscapes where I can explore depth prospective and the atmosphere that emerges. + IG : @lucanatalini
