Yari Hercules Charlotte, NC

My name is Yari Hercules; I was born and raised in Honduras, Central America, and traveled to the United States in 2009. I started college but dropped out after two years. I began to work decent-paying jobs: office clerk, house cleaning, waitressing, and construction. My passion for art started in kindergarten when the teacher made me draw and use crayons. Throughout my school years, I kept trying to do realism (I didn’t know the term at the time). I kept drawing until I could draw the exact image myself. I signed up for an independent after-school academy and assisted with and started doing sculpting, book printing, breakdancing, piano classes, sketching, oil painting, and photography. I even had an exhibit at the Betchler Museum of Modern Art in 2012-2013. The idea to start learning to tattoo was given to me by my family, so that became my new year’s resolution for 2021. I kept researching on YouTube the stuff I needed to buy; I kept adding stuff to my amazon cart, but I was procrastinating and didn’t actually jump on it until March of 2021. I got my first certificate in a studio two months later, and ever since then, I finally LOVE WHAT I DO and just keep trying to learn every day! I want to be a well-rounded artist, capable of executing whatever tattoo style the client desires ⸺ Who/where do you get your inspiration from? I get my inspiration from my friend and mentor, Manny @sirtinta; he is a great artist and a great person overall! ⸺ What advice would you give to someone about getting his or her first tattoo? (A tattoo virgin) There is a lot of advice that I could give, depending on many factors. But the ones I never miss are telling the clients to start moisturizing their skin area, to drink lots of water, and to eat before their tattoo session ⸺ What would you say is your favorite part of the job? Definitely tattooing; the days can turn miserable and extremely boring sometimes when you don’t get to tattoo. But also, learning from my friends at the studio, I learn a little from everyone around me every day! ⸺ Who are your favorite artists? Frida Khalo, Vincent van Gogh, and Salvador Dalí. ✕