The self-taught Dutch tattoo artist Tom Caramels specialises in hand poke, dot work and machine poke. He has a growing following although, yes, he started off as a home poker. ‘The type hated with a vengeance by the established tattoo artists and understandably so, because there are many botchers.’ But working in health care, Tom Caramels knows what the rules are in hygiene. And as a tattooist he now works on a professional level.

With ink, what was your starting point?

‘At the age of 21 I had my first tattoo, over twenty years ago. For me, it was a conflicted time. I had depressions, made worse by being in unknown surroundings. I was on holiday in Hungary; the tattoo was by impulse although I do remember enquiring locally beforehand whether the tattooist worked in a hygienic way. It was to be my only tattoo ever abroad. As a design, I chose the two classic theatre masks representing tragedy and comedy, matching what I felt inside. It was a tattoo of 10 by 10 centimetres, on the upper arm. The second tattoo came a year later, in The Netherlands, my home country. I was interested in tribal masks and went with my own design to a tattoo shop near the harbour of The Hague. After this, I wanted more.

It actually became a bit of an addiction; the more tattoos I got, the less it mattered to add another one. They also seemed to fill a certain emotional void. I now have a ‘body-suit’: 80 to 90 percent of my body is covered with ink, often in double layers. But I do not have any tattoos on my face or throat. This is an increasing trend, but it’s not for me. Not least because I work in health care in the community and have to consider other people’s feelings. This is also important in my current additional work as a tattooist. I started to be interested in mandalas and Arab patterns, and like tribal, shape and symbolism. But you must be very aware certain design might mean something entirely different in different cultures. You have to respect this. I am interested in mixing beautiful design, with my own interpretation, but in such a way that it does not offend anyone.

How did you develop your tattoo style and technique?

After having been under the needle, I wanted to try out tattooing myself. I started doing this twelve years ago. I was competent at drawing, liked designing tattoos and have an eye for patterns. I ordered material and began practicing on myself, using hand poke as a technique. ‘Stick and poke’ are often used for DIY tattooing, dipping a single needle -attached to a little stick or a chopstick- in ink. For each dot of the tattoo a new puncture is made, a slow process but I like the concentration, and you have total self-control.

Friends and family saw what I did and asked me to tattoo them, too. I already knew several professional tattoo artists. One of them, Kim Rense (aka Papanatos), came across my tattoos and invited me to work in his shop in The Hague. I was flattered, but felt comfortable in my own circle and initially held back. However, the wheels had been set in motion. I met more professional artists. Paranoir in Gouda showed an interest and introduced me to electric tattoo machines with rapidly moving needles, which is very handy when you are tattooing larger surfaces. I now regularly work with both shops and really enjoy it when people specially come to you because they like what you do. Good communication is vital, to understand exactly what a client desires. I always draw on graph paper with squares and send my design proposal beforehand. My client base is growing although I am not an all-rounder and do not accept every request. I do not have to make a living out of tattooing as I have a day job. But tattooing is an absorbing interest.

It is very pleasing an increasing amount of people follow me on social media. But I am not a big name. To me, a ‘big’ tattoo artist is someone you look up to, who inspires and amazes. Examples for me are Jondix, TomasTomas, Xed le Head, Alex Binnie and Tattoo Curly. England has many big names. I myself would hesitate to call myself an artist. I create shapes and patterns. Art? Art for me is Rembrandt.’

Tom Caramels - The Netherlands

https://www.instagram.com/tomcaramels/