Ryan Willard

I was born and raised near Detroit, Michigan and owe a lot of my interest in tattooing to Terry “Tramp” Welker, owner of Eternal Tattoos and Matt Jones of Kleen Sting Tattoo. I have always enjoyed all types of creative outlets. When I was younger, I drew comic books and all kinds of art projects for fun. I played music all through school and I still play and write songs. When I was 16, I got my first tattoo and I saw a way to make a living drawing pictures. That idea stayed with me and after working as a short-order cook, landscaper, and house painter, I decided to try tattooing for a job.

I started in Grand Junction, CO in 2007. I am pretty much self taught, but I understood composition and with some good advice from two fantastic artists, I was able to start to hone my skills in the art of tattooing. Art has always been a passion in my life and now that art is my job. I couldn’t be more satisfied with my life. One aspect of tattooing that I really enjoy is that I have to practice all different types of art styles in order to be good. Exploring all different styles is very satisfying to me.

My main goal in tattooing is to translate the idea of the client into a tattoo piece that will look beautiful on skin and will be an original piece of artwork. I also want to insure that the piece will hold up over time. I love what I do and each piece is special to me. The other goal that I have is to make the experience of the client a very positive one. For someone to choose me to tattoo a permanent piece of art on their body is a big responsibility and an honor and one that I do not take lightly.

Art is a part of my life through different mediums, like drawing and painting. Many talented artists inspire me and not just tattoo artists. My work is extremely important because it is a representation of me as an artist and a representation of the ideas and personality of the client. Having a personal connection with clients and making their vision become real makes this process very rewarding and I feel very fortunate to have found tattooing as a career. I look forward to new opportunities to translate peoples’ ideas through the medium of tattooing and expanding myself as a person and an artist.