Interview With Ace Connell Co-Owner Of “Regenerates Tattoo Studio”

What made you decide to focus more on the wildlife stuff?

“I love animals. I always have. It’s always been my aim to move towards doing animal art exclusively and I’ve been lucky that I’m now able to do that. My art training and mentoring was with Samantha Youssef, who is an ex-Disney animator. From the initial training we were working on gesture and movement — trying to capture the illusion of life on the paper. The best artist that ever lived was Mother Nature and I try to capture as much life and movement in my tattoos as possible.”

How has the COVID-19 situation affected tattooing?

“To be honest, we haven’t had to adapt as much as some other businesses have had to. Infection prevention was already number one for us and we already had extensive measures to stop blood-borne pathogens and cross-contamination. Everything we use is disposable and single use. It sucked having to close down for 4 months, but we managed and I was still making art every single day to stay sane. Selfishly, the lockdown came at a great time for me because my youngest daughter was born at the end of January, so I got to see her develop from a tiny little newborn to a full-size scream machine.”

Is the money good in your profession?