Kirby Macon, GA

KIRBY

My name is Kirby. I enjoy cold beer, heavy music, long walks on the beach, and tattooing your mom ⸺ What is your creative process like? I prefer to draw alone because I’m easily distracted. I’m also a bit of a night owl, which suits my creative process well. I typically spend most evenings with my family. Once they’ve gone to bed, I’ll sneak outside to get properly motivated, if you know what I mean. *wink wink From there, I will typically spend 4-6 hours in my office drawing and refining. I always hard-line my drawings on the day of appointments so that I’m able to look at the image with fresh eyes ⸺ Who/where do you get your inspiration from? I often find myself looking to counter-culture for inspiration. Its rebellious nature, coupled with its unrelenting pursuit of freedom, has always resonated with me since my early adolescence ⸺ What did your family and friends think about you getting into the tattoo business? I was met with mixed emotions, honestly. In the beginning, most of my friends and family saw this as more of a pipe dream rather than a lucrative career. However, once it came time to start tattooing, my father was kind enough to purchase my first set-up. This still remains the kindest gesture of my career and, quite possibly, my life ⸺ Have you ever had a bad tattooing experience, and what was it? Absolutely! I was tattooing a symmetrical design on a very difficult area at a convention several years ago, and after my first line, I wiped away the entire left side of my stencil. From there, anything that could go wrong did. I spent most of that session in the bathroom, trying to keep myself together. I still have nightmares about that experience ⸺ What would you say is your favorite part of the job? Tattooing. It’s like a drug that I can’t ever get enough of ⸺ What is the most important advice you can give someone new to the art of tattooing? Be patient. Focus on the technical application first and foremost. The rest will fall in line with that ⸺ What advice would you give to someone about getting his or her first tattoo? (A tattoo virgin) Relax! It’s not going to hurt nearly as much as you’ve worked yourself up for in your head ✕