247 Ink Magazine (December/January) 2016 Issue#12 | Page 197

do whatever you want and nobody can say anything. I do a lot of exploring when I get a chance artistically. With your paintings, do you trying to convey a story or are they more free-flowing? Most of them are stories. With tattooing it’s very rigid. When I tattoo there a little bit more of a plan and sometimes when I paint I just have a rough idea and kind of let the painting take shape. Most of the time there’s a theme or a story behind it. With the fisherman, I like the idea that they’re out on the sea and have these stories to tell. They’re hardened but there’s this wisdom to them because they’ve seen and done things that are so far removed from everyday life. There’s an adventure to them. So with the squid attacking the boat coming up out of the smoke, I like the idea that there’s a story there. It’s a little hardened. So I read this quote from you somewhere where you were quoted saying, “You like to create stuff personally that is taking emotions that deal with some level of loss or hardship and putting those elements into a certain lightheartedness to become more digestible.” Can you 195