written by @loretosocorro
Lorena León Camacho was born in Granadilla (Tenerife) and came to Gran Canaria to study Equipment Industrial Design Engineering.
Since when did you know that you wanted to be a tattoo artist?
I always drew, my grandfather was a painter, it comes from family. I studied engineering because I had to study something, due to family demands. My mother was worried, in case being a tattoo artist was not going to take me anywhere and, for that reason, she told me to study and then do what I wanted.
What do they tell you now?
What my mother tells me is that I don't get tattoos anymore... -stop for a moment and laugh; then she goes back to work and her voice becomes sweeter- My parents have always supported me a lot and are very proud of me.
You tell us that you already drew before you started with the tattoos…
Having a base of drawing is important, there are tattoo artists without a base but with a good pulse, who can do fine things, copy... but if you want to create, get out of the ordinary and have your own designs, you need a minimum level of drawing.
How were your beginnings, before or after the race?
While I finished studying engineering, I took an online course, but it didn't allow me to do internships, so I looked for a studio and, with my final year project in 2013, I found one that offered courses with internships in 7 Palms. I started with them, for a little while, to learn the basics and then practice as much as I could.
Lorena, did it cost you to start professionally?
It cost me a lot because I had to make a living: try out material, I had problems with the machines. After the practices in the studio, I had the support of my partner at the time and my family to continue practicing.
Is it so important to practice tattooing to improve?
Of course, it is not the same to practice with an artificial silicone skin, which does not move... than to start with a natural skin. Practice is everything and even myself, now I think they trusted me a lot, to let them do that: my ex, my sister, then friends and little by little until here.
Do you remember the first tattoo you did on someone?
yes to my ex -Laughing, she tells us that she remembers that she was nervous but that it went well- The tattoo was well done but I was nervous because they wanted to do a super big black spider and, look, I'm all color.
Looking at the walls that frame Lorena's studio, one cannot deny that black is not her thing, observing her designs is like entering the world where dreams are born that would paint any nebula, rainbow or even the journeys of loving bears...
And, in addition to the color, that the tattoos do not look like they were made with a marker, without blurring or gradients. I began to follow artists from other countries who did the watercolor-type finish and I liked that to do it myself.
Which tattoo artists do you remember and why did they surprise you?
A Mexican tattoo artist, who I think was the first one I saw, who did watercolors and whose name is Javi Wolf; then Mercuri Michele and my biggest reference was and is a girl from Italy: Claudia Denti (Clodin) who tattoos... but on a God level... I'm always looking and studying to advance, to do new techniques and, look, I've realized that most of the tattooists are Italian, at least the ones I've had.
Here there are not many people who dedicate themselves to this type of tattoos…
Few people asked for this type of work because it was a new style, nowadays it is already in demand, but at first it was difficult to introduce a new style in the Canary Islands. I also do realism, although this type of work with a watercolor finish is what I like. Nowadays, you see a work with this finish and you can recognize the type of watercolor, the strokes, the author.
That level of God that you were telling us cannot be very far from what you do... what does it consist of?
No, I'm missing...! I don't know how to explain it: when I see the application of color so perfect, the gradient... I imagine that a good photograph also influences, because the filter techniques help a lot, but above all they are years and years of experience.
Does your inspiration come from the Manga world?
My style is along the lines of the freak, now that is popular: anime, manga…freak; I like it because I think that geekiness is what people get tattooed and they will never regret it, it is something you ask for because you like it now and you will like it for the rest of your life.
Among the designs made and published on networks there is also a great variety of characters, animals... Do they ask you for specific designs or do you suggest them?
People bring me ideas, for example: the girl who comes now wants to tattoo the entire leg of cartoon characters she likes. I asked her for the list of the characters she wants and, from there, I make several designs for her in my style, I show them to her and she chooses.
We salute Keleima, a young woman who volunteered to be tattooed during the report.
This design is a character from Dexter's Laboratory -Keleima informs us, as she places herself on the stretcher- from Cartoon Network, from a million years ago…
Keleima comments that she started getting tattoos when she was eighteen, but last year she found Lorena on Instagram, who tattooed her pet, a kitten.
What does Lorena have that other people don't?
Work color like nobody else here, the watercolor roll.
Lorena, going back to paper designs, does the result vary a lot?
It is not the same when I pose it in a photo on the iPad, or in the printer, than seeing it on the skin. If we have good skin, it will always look better on the skin than on paper. It looks so much prettier on the skin.
What care should a skin have before and after the tattoo?
The ideal is to have well hydrated skin and no sun the days before and after. And it shouldn't be brown skin because the color work won't be seen: the oranges will blend with the skin and look like spots. The ideal is that the skin is white, to show off the color.
Aren't there tattoos for brown people?
Yes, in black, but the blacker the drawing, the less it will stand out.
What about a black and white tattoo?o?
No, not white, because the ink doesn't go on the outside, it goes inside the skin and then you can't see it.
What tools and supplies do you use?
Disposable razor blade: I always shave and I recommend it, if you don't usually shave so that the hair takes time to grow. It is better to do it here so that welts and rashes do not come out, because if you are not used to it, the skin reacts. Also Vaseline, to hydrate and to slide well and that, in certain areas, it does not start to suture because we open a wound when making a line.
Lorena tattoos live for us, shows us and informs us...
At first it doesn't bleed but at some point it starts to bleed and so we plug a little bit and work cleaner.
It shows us the different types of needles: the thick one and the colored one, the inks and a special soap.
Keleima (client) speaks to Lorena (tattoo artist)
-Can you tell him how many needles the colored one has?
-If this is fifteen needles Lorraine points out. Then a short silence, broken by nervous laughter that takes over the place- and it is important
Ras ras ras ras ras… like sandpaper… the sound of the needles on the skin is unmistakable. The cookie monster is taking shape on Keleima's leg
There are tattoo artists Lorraine continues. that for shading they use the same shadow color needle, but when they are small shadows I use the line needles.
The ink pots are mini, like dollhouses. She tells us that the special inks for tattooing that she uses are vegan and not tested on animals and that doing this tattoo will take her an hour and a half to two hours, depending on how she takes on the color.
Would it be finished today or do you have a review?
In theory it is finished. I have never reviewed any of them, but sometimes it can happen that a review is necessary after fifteen days, once the skin heals, if necessary it is done.
Speaking of you, Lorena, and your tattoos, how many do you already have?
I lost count… I've been tattooing myself. I started with the leg. Today they make them for me. The last one was also on the leg and it was about fifty hours of tattooing. I ended up a little tired, from so long.
We are in the XNUMXst century and prejudices against people who get tattoos continue...
Follow. There are companies that do not hire you if you have a tattoo, but the same if you put your hair in an unusual shape or color. Little by little we are achieving it.
From the group of tattoo artists can something be done to normalize it?
It does not depend on us, it is something of society. Years ago it cost more, especially for older people. As more and more people get tattooed, it is being accepted as something normal; I even have older people who come to get their first tattoo.
About what ages?
Around the age of 70, because there are people who always liked her but it wasn't well seen or they say that her husband wouldn't let her... and now she finally comes and does it.
What do people want to communicate when they get tattooed?
Each one gives her the meaning they want, what for her – She refers to the client she has on the stretcher- it can mean something, it means nothing to us. They are your experiences, your childhood or memories. Currently, people also get tattoos for aesthetic reasons, simply because it is something they like and it does not mean anything.
Is tattooing addictive?
The first one costs, it's usually the most important because you don't know if you're going to like it, if you're going to regret it, if it's for life, if it's going to hurt... once you spend that moment, that first tattoo, the others they come in succession And then, nobody is left with a single tatoo.
Why is the first so important?
Almost always, the first tattoo means something: for my grandmother, for whatever... but when they already have seven or eight tattoos, it's something else.
Are people nervous for the first?
There is everything: very nervous people because they are not sure where they are going to put it, if it is going to hurt… but then there are people who do not, who come determined and as if nothing had happened.
What is your role to reassure her, advise?
Always the same: if it hurt so much we wouldn't all be tattooed...
What part of the body is the most often tattooed?
The arm, both boy and girl. The first tattoo, or if they don't want it to be seen much, they do it above the elbow.
What influences?
Rather, the work, because they say they have to do it in hidden areas. At work they don't want it to be seen or there are people who want something small, but on the leg because they are reserving the arm to make a whole sleeve.
What is the strangest tattoo you have done?
Laughter, at the same time: Lorena and the mischievous client and the photographer, who have noticed a nice penis, behind my back, among all the tattoo artist's designs.
That too, is "penecactus"... and people ask me, but they don't ask me, vulvas or vaginas. I don't rule it out, but it's hard for me to convince people.
How much time do you spend on the designs?
For the cookie monster that I'm doing now, it can take four hours, I use an app for tattoo artists.
In networks we see how Lorena interacts with clients, showing various designs to choose from, playing and showing her work.
Lorena, if you weren't a tattoo artist, what would you do?
No idea, I don't know what would become of my life. I always liked decoration, but I'm happy with this. Sometimes I thought of doing it as a hobby, but when you see that something you like is possible as a job and that you can make a living from it, you bet on it. Before being here I had other jobs: in commerce, in the hotel industry… I come here with enthusiasm and I enjoy it.
Are there congresses for tattoo artists?
This weekend was the Barcelona convention, which is international and takes place every year. I did not go, but I usually follow it, although I am interested in other types of conventions; because it is true that the artists are very good but they are not dedicated to the specialty that I have. I would like to go to the one in Milan.
What are those conventions like?
Booths are usually set up for live tattooing. There are tattoo artists who attend on the go and others who take their people with specific designs. There are tattoo contests, with prizes.
And that is not done in Las Palmas?
No. It was done a long time ago. I, who am from Tenerife, have been here since 2008, and have not seen anything like that.
The space where we have met Lorena is shared with another tattoo artist and with professionals in micropigmentation, piercing. All by appointment and in an environment that inspires joy and peace.
We wish Lorena to be able to go to Milan and tell us if she has already reached that God level, which we know will not be far away. At Sal del Atlántico we want to see your tattoos on more and more people. Watercolor art on living skins.
