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August 22, 20228/22/2022 It's been a long while since I made any updates, but I wanted to share my first ever Stop Motion animation. I illustrated everything, cut it all out and pushed the paper around to make this music video in collaboration with my good friend Joey Henry. This project took about 250 hours to make, and went to a few film festivals around the United States. It was a dream of mine to be an animator when I was a child, and I am grateful I had the opportunity to make this.
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May 03rd, 20185/3/2018 Just wanted to update you on some tattoo news! |
| You can find my pins through the link below, or in person at Tattoo Boogaloo in the heart of North Beach, San Francisco! | A wonderful client of mine recently asked me why I started my pin business. So for those who don't yet know, I started a second business selling enamel pins, that will hopefully open up to other products if you all like my stuff. I gave her a few reasons for starting it up, but none that seemed large enough to motivate me to go through all of steps of opening up a second business and all of the work associated with that, so I sat back and have been reflecting. I answered that it was something that combined a lot of the skills that I enjoy doing. I went to school for graphic design and I missed designing in a more technical way. Making products and packaging that is a reflection of your brand, or of you really, is an exciting journey. I also like photography, and the challenge of trying to grow a business. I also wanted pins and projects that reflected what I would want to wear. I design tattoos for other people for a living, a job that I adore, but there is something truly special about designing something without the constraints of other peoples ideas. I feel like my aesthetic is very much the balance of light and dark. So I wanted pins that were shiny and playful, but with a darker twist. I have plans on eventually adding a watercolor ward and a visitors ward to the shop as well. Probably the most important reason for setting up shop, was that I wanted a platform to try and do a little good in the world. As part of my business model, %10 of the proceeds from my first line of pins will go to anxiety and depression resources. The amount of people in my life who struggle with one or both of these things is almost unbelievable. I’ve seen too many people I love with anxiety that sabotages their intentions or who become paralyzed by depression, many of whom don’t really have access to help. I never know how exactly to help, so I decided I wanted to help the helpers in the world. I myself struggle a bit in the winter with my mental health, so my first line of pins are a little moody and cynical, but hey, some of the bests in the world are those things to! All of those answers were %100 true, but still didn’t seem to be the whole answer as to why I started up a pin shop. While reflecting, I had a flash back to a Siggraph (Computer arts) conference with my Dad when I was a teenager. Every year they gave out conference pins, and boy oh boy they were a huge deal! People collected them every year and wore them proudly. People would trade them and cherish them, I had honestly never seen adults so into something. I think that’s what I found so mesmerizing, that someone could cherish a little piece of metal so much, that it could be so important to them and express a little something about them. I wanted to make something that people would love just as much! I can only hope that my little pins will be worn that proudly! -Deanna Wardin- |
Tattoo Requests
7/25/2017
With my request form opening back up soon for tattoos, I wanted to give a little insight on what kinds of pieces I am likely or unlikely to take on.
In the past I have gotten far more requests than I could possibly take on, and I have to choose what to take on, and what to turn down. This is a process which is very difficult for me, as I wish I had the time to work with everyone. This year, I wanted to give a little glimpse into some of my thought process behind how I choose. This will help let you know what I’m most interested in, and also what kind of work I will not do, so you know if I am a good fit for you as an artist.
Custom work:
I do pretty much all custom work and love to design original artwork! I am not a huge fan of doing art recreations of your art, of famous art, or of commercial art. This is for a few reasons. I am not particularly great at doing them, and there is a lot of copy-write law pertaining to artwork that I don’t have a lot of interest in messing with. I love drawing, that’s what I want to focus on!
Large Scale pieces:
I am very interested in large scale work. Sleeves, back pieces, torso pieces, even larger if you are willing. I am also very much into tattoos that use multiple body parts for one tattoo. To the left are a few examples of sleeves that also utilize the ribs or chest. This kind of work is my absolute favorite.
In the past I have gotten far more requests than I could possibly take on, and I have to choose what to take on, and what to turn down. This is a process which is very difficult for me, as I wish I had the time to work with everyone. This year, I wanted to give a little glimpse into some of my thought process behind how I choose. This will help let you know what I’m most interested in, and also what kind of work I will not do, so you know if I am a good fit for you as an artist.
Custom work:
I do pretty much all custom work and love to design original artwork! I am not a huge fan of doing art recreations of your art, of famous art, or of commercial art. This is for a few reasons. I am not particularly great at doing them, and there is a lot of copy-write law pertaining to artwork that I don’t have a lot of interest in messing with. I love drawing, that’s what I want to focus on!
Large Scale pieces:
I am very interested in large scale work. Sleeves, back pieces, torso pieces, even larger if you are willing. I am also very much into tattoos that use multiple body parts for one tattoo. To the left are a few examples of sleeves that also utilize the ribs or chest. This kind of work is my absolute favorite.
I like smaller tattoos as well, but with the watercolor tattoo style, the design has to be fairly large and simple, to properly show off the blends that make it look like it should. So if it is small and too detailed or too many elements I will most likely say no.
Style:
I have a pretty distinct style, and like to do tattoos that are within that realm. I do mostly watercolor tattoos, but I also really like, graphic, geometric, and dotwork tattoos. I am most happy when I get to do a combination of those styles.
Also in terms of style, a lot of watercolor tattoos do not have any black in them. I will not do any tattoos without a significant amount of black in them. This is for longevity reasons, and I will not bend on this. (Tip… If I’m going through my request forms trying to narrow my wait list down, and someone sends only references with all really light watercolor tattoos with no black in them, I assume that is what they want, and I wouldn’t be the right artist to do that, so I turn them down)
Subject matter:
I love creative ideas! I love tattooing things I’ve never done before. I also love nature, flowers and animals. I like images that look like collages or mixed media work. I even tend to like inanimate objects, like televisions, chairs and toasters. Additionally, I want to do more faces, but only in a large and stylized manner.
Subject matter that I do not particularly like; Mostly pheonix birds and dragons. I think these can make beautiful tattoos, but I personally struggle drawing mythological animals. I would happily draw a unicorn, because it’s pretty much a horse with a horn, but it’s hard for me to communicate with clients and properly draw what they are imagining with most other mythological creatures.
Another thing that sometimes happens, is that I will get multiple requests for the same subject matter. For example, last year it was humming birds. I believe that I had over 30 requests for them. It’s really hard for me to to choose who to take on when the requests are nearly identical, so sometimes I will take on one or two, or sometimes none at all if I can’t decide.
Lettering:
I love lettering that is incorporated into a tattoo in a meaningful and artistic way. See below. However, more often than not, I believe that text takes away from the imagery of a tattoo (I have text on my own arm, and I adore it, but I’d rather be tattooing artistic images rather than technical ones… besides, there are a ton of artists out there that do lettering better than I do) Also, text has to be done fairly large to age well, and can become really overwhelming. So unless it strengthens the design and is incorporated in an artistic way, I will probably decline to do lettering in your tattoo.
Cover-ups and re-works:
I am not likely to take on your project if you are wanting to add color to existing tattoos, or have me do cover-ups. Not because I don’t want you to love your tattoo again, but because I don’t have a ton practice covering them, and matching styles to another artist can be very tricky and those are areas that I am not fully confident in my abilities.
Well I think that should about sum it up. I certainly don’t think that I’m too good for any of your tattoo ideas, but I do have to narrow my list somehow and I want to focus on designs that we can both be excited about, and that I know I am capable of doing well! I apologize in advance if I can’t get everyone on my wait-list, but thank you so much for your interest in my work, it really does mean the world to me!
Style:
I have a pretty distinct style, and like to do tattoos that are within that realm. I do mostly watercolor tattoos, but I also really like, graphic, geometric, and dotwork tattoos. I am most happy when I get to do a combination of those styles.
Also in terms of style, a lot of watercolor tattoos do not have any black in them. I will not do any tattoos without a significant amount of black in them. This is for longevity reasons, and I will not bend on this. (Tip… If I’m going through my request forms trying to narrow my wait list down, and someone sends only references with all really light watercolor tattoos with no black in them, I assume that is what they want, and I wouldn’t be the right artist to do that, so I turn them down)
Subject matter:
I love creative ideas! I love tattooing things I’ve never done before. I also love nature, flowers and animals. I like images that look like collages or mixed media work. I even tend to like inanimate objects, like televisions, chairs and toasters. Additionally, I want to do more faces, but only in a large and stylized manner.
Subject matter that I do not particularly like; Mostly pheonix birds and dragons. I think these can make beautiful tattoos, but I personally struggle drawing mythological animals. I would happily draw a unicorn, because it’s pretty much a horse with a horn, but it’s hard for me to communicate with clients and properly draw what they are imagining with most other mythological creatures.
Another thing that sometimes happens, is that I will get multiple requests for the same subject matter. For example, last year it was humming birds. I believe that I had over 30 requests for them. It’s really hard for me to to choose who to take on when the requests are nearly identical, so sometimes I will take on one or two, or sometimes none at all if I can’t decide.
Lettering:
I love lettering that is incorporated into a tattoo in a meaningful and artistic way. See below. However, more often than not, I believe that text takes away from the imagery of a tattoo (I have text on my own arm, and I adore it, but I’d rather be tattooing artistic images rather than technical ones… besides, there are a ton of artists out there that do lettering better than I do) Also, text has to be done fairly large to age well, and can become really overwhelming. So unless it strengthens the design and is incorporated in an artistic way, I will probably decline to do lettering in your tattoo.
Cover-ups and re-works:
I am not likely to take on your project if you are wanting to add color to existing tattoos, or have me do cover-ups. Not because I don’t want you to love your tattoo again, but because I don’t have a ton practice covering them, and matching styles to another artist can be very tricky and those are areas that I am not fully confident in my abilities.
Well I think that should about sum it up. I certainly don’t think that I’m too good for any of your tattoo ideas, but I do have to narrow my list somehow and I want to focus on designs that we can both be excited about, and that I know I am capable of doing well! I apologize in advance if I can’t get everyone on my wait-list, but thank you so much for your interest in my work, it really does mean the world to me!
We received a really cool write-up!
1/14/2017
Artists you should know:
Chris, Deanna and Mez of Tattoo Bogaloo
What can I say? I am beyond flattered at this super in-depth feature of Tattoo Boogaloo from the always witty and hilarious Broke-Ass Stuart's website. Thank you Rae for taking the time and writing this, you are appreciated! Check out the article below:
Chris, Deanna and Mez of Tattoo Bogaloo
What can I say? I am beyond flattered at this super in-depth feature of Tattoo Boogaloo from the always witty and hilarious Broke-Ass Stuart's website. Thank you Rae for taking the time and writing this, you are appreciated! Check out the article below:
After countless hours of hard work, and a trip to Baltimore, Breaking Frames went off without a hitch. I meet with a wonderful group of Baltimore children. We exchanged drawings with each other in Mrs. Yoder's Classroom, and they were all smiles while they were walking around and seeing the different representations of themselves hung on the gallery wall. I am also honored to have met some of the generous artists who contributed to the show, and to see all of the amazing artwork in person. Breaking Frames art show and benefit was a great success! To learn a bit more, feel free to read the article below.
Time Lapse Painting for Breaking Frames
8/25/2016
I made this painting for The Breaking Frames Art Benefit. The Benefit a collaboration between students of Baltimore and artists from all over North America. My college roommate and I are organizing the whole thing and we are very excited about the upcoming auction. Please check out breakingframes-art.com for more info!
San Francisco Illustrator, Deanna Wardin, does new watercolor girl illustrations
I just made four new watercolor illustrations that are now available through my redbubble store.
http://www.redbubble.com/people/graphicward/portfolio
Tattoo Collaboration
11/1/2015
This year, Mez Love (who was my mentor) and I (Deanna Wardin) did our first ever collaboration. She specializes in portraiture and realism tattoos, where as I specialize in the more graphic, abstract or watercolor tattoos.
This was such a blast, and on a super tough and super rad dude!
We both want to do more projects like this, I am even leaving a few spots this year open for such things.. so if you are interested, hit us up!
We do require a few things for a piece to be successful:
Have part of the tattoo based off of a photograph, preferably a portrait, but animals, flowers, objects, ect, can work.
Be in an area that is fairly large, so we properly use all of the techniques to illustrate both styles.
Be flexible with the design. The whole point in collaborating is to step outside of our comfort zones, experiment a little bit, and make things we couldn't have made on our own, by highlighting each of our strengths.
If you would be interested in a collaboration, please send a email to both [email protected] and [email protected]
Let's make some magic!
This was such a blast, and on a super tough and super rad dude!
We both want to do more projects like this, I am even leaving a few spots this year open for such things.. so if you are interested, hit us up!
We do require a few things for a piece to be successful:
Have part of the tattoo based off of a photograph, preferably a portrait, but animals, flowers, objects, ect, can work.
Be in an area that is fairly large, so we properly use all of the techniques to illustrate both styles.
Be flexible with the design. The whole point in collaborating is to step outside of our comfort zones, experiment a little bit, and make things we couldn't have made on our own, by highlighting each of our strengths.
If you would be interested in a collaboration, please send a email to both [email protected] and [email protected]
Let's make some magic!
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Deanna Wardin
I am a Tattoo Artist, Illustrator, Sculptor and Painter based in San Francisco, California.
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