Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Coleman.
Mike, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started out drawing and driven by art in middle school where a mentor of mine introduced me to street art and graffiti artwork. I designed my first tattoo for a teacher of mine by eighth grade, and this is where the seed was really planted for my interest in tattoos as a whole.
I continued building my own style through high school at Malden Catholic where most of my work surrounded graffiti and tattoo oriented drawings and paintings. I designed and drew out designs for friends and family wanting tattoos; I always liked bringing their ideas to life and seeing their enjoyment when they got them done. I went on to attend Curry College where I majored in graphic design with a minor in advanced studio art.
While in college, I was getting tattooed at a local shop in Cambridge, a bunch and became friends with my tattoo artist, Mike Christie at Skin Art Studio. I bought my first two tattoo machines from him and instantly got to work tattooing friends in my college dorm room. From there I landed an apprenticeship under him and began my tattoo career on the road to becoming the professional tattoo artist I am today.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The struggle was basically maintaining balance in my life. At the time of starting my tattoo career as an apprentice, it was just shy of my son Max’s first birthday.
I was learning the in’s and out’s of tattooing which landed me at the shop for at least 35-40 hours a week at the same time I was also working in a union job for the Cambridge Public Schools which was a 40 hours a week job.
Maintaining that balance between being the best father I could be along with being busy with a job and starting a new career was not easy, but that road made me push hard and hustle to where I saw myself and where I could be.
Please tell us about Timeless Ink Tattoo.
I am a full-time professional tattoo artist currently working out of Timeless Ink Tattoo in Everett, Mass. I specialize in high contrast black and grey tattoos. I try to connect my drawing and illustration style to deliver high quality and unique works.
What sets me apart from others is I believe in working with client’s ideas on the day of our appointment and mixing it up with my own style to create one-of-a-kind tattoos surrounding realism and surrealism-type work.
I’m proud of providing clients with the best tattoo I can do, and I am also thankful to all the people have gotten work done by me and those of you who continue to work with me, I wouldn’t be doing what I love for a living and I am forever grateful for that.
My dream is to one day open a studio of my own to progress and reach goals I have set for myself moving forward in my career.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I wouldn’t change a thing if I had to start over, every step of my career so far has been a learning process, and I am grateful for every step along the way.
Contact Info:
- Address: 183 Broadway Everett, MA 02149
- Website: www.mikecolemantattoo.com
- Phone: 617-544-3783
- Email: mikecolemantattoo@gmail.com
- Instagram: mikecolemantattoo
- Facebook: Mike Coleman Art and Tattoo
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