JOSLIN GAY
I consider myself an image maker. Tattooing is the medium I use most often, but I pull from influences in drawing, printmaking, graphic design, ceramics, amongst many others. I received a Bachelors of Fine Arts in 2008 focusing on printmaking and photography. After 10ish years tattooing I opened Ritual and Union in South Minneapolis with my pals Emily and Matthew Berglund.
My tattoos reliey heavily on line, shape, texture, value, space and composition. I enjoy making playful, weird (in the best way) designs, that tell stories. Sometimes the story is just that “this looks cool” and sometimes the story is a specific memory or feeling.
I currently reside in the Twin Cities, with my crazy ass cat Stella. I dig riding motorcycles, snow boarding (though its been a while) and painting and woodworking.
MY PREFERRED STYLE IS BLACK WORK ILLUSTRATION FOCUSING ON
BOLD DESIGN, TEXTURE, AND INTEGRATING GEOMETRY AND PATTERN.
-
BLACK WORK ILLUSTRATIVE
In this piece an illustrative approach is used to represent the figure. Line work is used heavily to define shapes of the object, as well as movement throughout the piece. When rendering tattoos, the image will not be photo realistic, or cartoon like, but will look like a drawing of the subject matter.
-
GEOMETRIC PATTERN
In this piece a blackwork illustrative fox has been paired with geometric pattern. The pattern work is used throughout the tattoo as well framing the image. This creates balance between the subject matter and the geometry. This is also an example of using color as a design element.
-
DOT SHADING
In this piece a blackwork illustrative approach has been paired with geometric elements and dot shading. The figure has dot shading in the facial features, and dot work is used to create some of the geometric elements throughout the piece. Varying line weights also bring detail to this piece.
