Tattoo artist Maiko Only on her micro-realist designs and inspirations

I first got into tattooing eight years ago through pure love for it. How cool is the concept of art just casually chilling on your arm or leg forever? There are endless possibilities to express yourself, and every piece has a different story, idea, composition, or colours.

 I love colour, colourful clothes, lipstick, and earrings. I always needed a pop of colour. So that’s what inspired the style I do now. I actually like to mix the dark style and themes with sweeter colours. You could call my style micro realism, but recently I’ve started doing bigger pieces after years of shoulder injury. 

 Originally I am from a city called Wrocław, in Poland. I moved to the UK nine years ago. My husband’s mum moved first for work, and after visiting her a few times we decided that we would like to stay here too. I retired from my previous career in dancing and moved to Nottingham to start tattooing. 

 I never attended any art schools, just practised on my own. My family is quite artistic – I have a ninety year old auntie who used to be an art teacher and she is an amazing artist. She showed me some techniques – what to use and what to do.

There are plenty of other artists who I admire. From the tattoo industry definitely Deborah Genchi – from Bari, Italy – she’s an incredibly talented soul. Giulia Marotta from Milan is one of my favourite people I’ve met so far in the tattoo world, she is so talented and genuine. Other inspirations for me are Joyce Lee, and my new obsession with ShouXin’s cat drawings, they are absolutely insane. I love the way the artist shows dynamic movement – emotions with just a few strokes.

 The process of each tattoo starts with a general idea from my client. I am only opening my diary twice a year, so between the email and the actual appointment it is roughly six to eight months. 

 Closer to the date my client will receive the sketch of the idea – changes and adjustments are done on the day before the appointment. On the day we discuss the colour palette, size, placements options, and from there the only thing left is to ‘needle it’. 

 It is hard to say how long each piece takes, as it all depends on the size, details, colour versus blackwork, etcetera. My usual full day session takes around six to seven hours – it is hard to focus for longer, in my opinion. After the tattoo is done and protected it is in the hands of the client. The aftercare is important.

 I would love to do some sort of exhibition of my work. At the moment, Lush cosmetics and I are planning a workshop about tattoo prep and aftercare. Heather from Hallo Ceramics and I are also working on volume two of our collaboration. 

@maiko.only