Skin Deep – August 2019

SKIN DEEP MAGAZINE • 63

you want to tattoo. Is that still the
case and how do you explain that?
Unfortunately, I haven’t painted in 7 or 8
months due to back problems. But I definitely
find painting more relaxing and satisfying
than tattooing because there is no pressure
when I paint and the final outcome doesn’t
affect anyone else but myself. I could paint
a dragon with 3 dicks on its forehead and
nobody is going to sue me. I can’t do that with
a tattoo. Some of what I want to paint cannot be
achieved on skin because certain paintings contain
a lot of details. Not all of them, but a selected few

have a shit load of stuff going on, which looks ok on paper

but not as tattoos. I refuse to do overly detailed tattoos these

days because I want it to age well. Excessive details will

crumble over time. It’s been tested and proven. Trust me. 

We were talking recently with Filip Leu about the

short lifespan of the tattooer’s creation. How does

the artist you are feel about it? 

We spend a lifetime building sand castles and watch them

fall apart as the tide rushes in. Death is inevitable - very emo

sounding but true right! - I try my very best to photograph

my work. But looking at a tattoo in real life is definitely a

hundred times more interesting. It’s like comparing a mu-

seum catalogue to the actual artwork on display. 

...not some elaborate nonsense that has to be

touched up every 2 years. That’s fake tattooing

Pascal Bagot