Kat Von D
She is one of the most respected and well-known tattoo artists in the world – Kat Von D had a huge hit when she appeared on the US TV show. Miami ink and then he did his own show, LA Ink after fighting with fellow tattoo artist Ami Jones. The 30-year-old artist, model and TV celebrity was asked to join Miami ink temporarily after artist Darren broke his arm. But the sexy 30-year-old caught the audience’s attention with her looks and skillful artwork, especially her detailed black and white portraits. Mixing with the rich and famous and partying hard, he managed to bag big names in ink, including Ryan Dunn, Bam Margera, Steve-O, and Green Day, to name a few.
Kat’s early years were greatly influenced by her grandmother, a professional pianist, who introduced her to some of the great classics. One in particular was Beethoven, with whom Kat immediately fell in love. This inspired her to learn more about other musicians, sculptors, and painters of that time. Many of these have still left an indelible mark on his work today. However, it was the discovery of punk rock that altered Kat’s life forever. She became more immersed in all the culture around her and at the age of 14, she managed to get her first tattoo in the shape of a letter ‘J’ on her ankle, which represented a long-lost love. It was tattooed by a friend and it was he who suggested that Kat make him a tattoo, knowing his artistic abilities. This was the moment when Kat realized that tattooing was something she would pursue and when a job landed on her lap, she accepted the challenge and followed it. Not long after this, she got a Misfits rockers skull logo tattooed on her friend. Although it was illegal to get tattooed or tattooed at age 16, she had many willing friends who wanted to get tattooed and this was an ideal learning curve for young Kat. Ironically, he would later end up tattooing one of the original members of the Misfits gang. Only a few years later, at 16, she began working in and around Los Angeles at various tattoo shops and it was at True Tattoos in Hollywood that renowned tattoo artists Chris Garver and Clay Decker chose her to appear in the Miami ink Show. Now, under the watchful eye of television cameras and other artists, she blossomed into a professional tattoo artist with incredible work.
Kat’s family is originally from Argentina but with her parents’ missionary work it meant time to travel to other countries and it would be Nuevo León in Mexico where she and her siblings would be born. She readily admits that the years she spent in Mexico definitely influenced her work. As a child, the whole family moved to Southern California and this is where Kat has more or less stayed. The two cultural differences of Mexico and California are there to see in his work with fine, detailed lines and shades of gray originating from a Mexican prison style. His gangster graffiti style and low-riders could only have come from downtown Los Angeles.
‘I REALLY HATE TATTOOING MYSELF. I’M NOT GOOD WITH THE PAIN
Interestingly for a woman in her profession, she confesses that the tattooing process is something she hates and doesn’t handle pain too well, but she loves the finished work.
She openly reveals that there was friction between certain individuals in Miami ink, especially involving herself and the store owner Ami. Off-screen they rarely spoke unless it was work related and this was visible on screen, but Kat thinks it gave the show a bolder drama and a real life about it. “He is very stubborn and it shows in the series,” he says. He also goes on to say that he tried to get along with Ami and do his best to make the ride a little smoother. Her closest friend on the show was Chris Garver, her former boss when working in Los Angeles, so she never felt completely alone. Kat Von D certainly bought a sexy item with her and a much-needed dose of estrogen for the show with all the testosterone flying off other male entertainers. With rival tensions and more consequences with Ami, Kat left the show and made her own spinoff series. LA Ink in it just opened High voltage tattoo studio, which premiered on August 7, 2007. The show ran for 84 episodes until 2011 when the TLC showmakers announced the cancellation of the show despite this conflicting with the version of Kat she revealed on Twitter, which she chose not to continue. with the series. Today, Kat still owns and works at High Voltage, where she employs fellow tattoo artists Adrian Gallegos, Camila Rocha, Dan Smith, Dennis Halbritter, Jack Mosher Fujisaki, Jeff Ward, Kevin Lewis, Khoi Nguyen, and Nathan Michael Fierro.