Meet Scott Kulikowski | Tattooer & Painter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Scott Kulikowski and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Scott, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I realized making art is what I enjoyed doing the most. I chose tattooing specifically because then I not only get to make art basically everyday, but I get to meet all kinds of people and be able to bring their ideas to life. Often times those ideas are subjects I wouldn’t be thinking to draw in my own free time, so I really love the ability to learn about and draw those new ideas for my clients instead of doing the same thing every day.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I guess what might set me apart is my preference for a more old school way of creating. I definitely prefer drawing on paper over my iPad, not that it isn’t a great tool for a tattooer. With tattooing I do a lot of tattoos where I draw the design directly on the skin with markers. Thanks to a lot of drawing practice sometimes that feels easier to make things fit someone’s body as best as possible.

I’ve been tattooing now for a little over 10 years and it’s definitely come with a lot of challenges. I think when you’re an artist you’re constantly critical of your own work and sometimes that can be more detrimental when it should be helpful. I think a big way I’ve overcome that and something I’ve learned is to share my work with my peers and ask for their opinions and not rely solely on myself because sometimes I think we as artists can be harder on ourselves than we need to be and hearing out another point of view can be very helpful.

I think a big thing about how I go about tattooing is that I am here for my clients. I wouldn’t be able to have the privilege of doing this for a living if I didn’t have such amazing and wonderful people who have gotten tattooed by me. I feel so lucky when someone wants to get one of my own drawings or gives me the freedom to create an idea for them, but at the end of the day I’m very happy to draw the things my clients ask me to draw for them and bring their ideas to life.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Charlotte has quite a lot you could do in a week depending on what you’re into, but I’m going to shoutout some of my favorite places. Food wise some of my favorites would be Eddie’s Place for breakfast. I’d probably take them to Optimist Hall or Urban District Market for lunch where there’s lots of options. Intermezzo is a great dinner spot and then Lang Van is maybe the best restaurant in the city. The people who own it and work there are so incredibly nice, it’s always the best time. Snug Harbor or Workman’s Friend are probably my favorite favorite places to grab a drink near the shop. I like going to the art museums occasionally or Abari is always fun if you like arcade games. That’s really a fraction of the things you could do though

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d have to say my daughter Hope. I think a big reason I chose to pursue art and tattooing was to be able to show her that she can do something she loves and enjoys as a career when she’s older. There’s also so many amazing tattooers I’ve met in my time in and around this industry that have always been incredibly supportive and helpful in growing as an artist. Troy Johnson, Alex Santaloci, Tom Michael, and Graham Beech would be just a few, but there’s really too many to list and I’m very thankful for all the help and guidance I’ve been given over the years by the tattooers I’ve looked up to.

Instagram: @scottktattoos

Other: Threads @scottktattoos
TikTok @scottktattoos
Email [email protected]

Image Credits
For the main photo the credit goes to @smoked.shot on instagram