Aaron Coleman: Tattooer/Artist
by Armando Ortiz
I met
Aaron a few years back while I was going around selling art books. It was in Phoenix, Arizona where I began to hear from other tattooers in that city that I needed to go to Immaculate Tattoo and meet Aaron. In my mind I
figured that it must have been the place to go if you wanted to get some really
good custom work done, I mean, if other shops were referring me to that shop then there must have been something there in the first place worthy of other’s
respect and referral. I got to meet Aaron on my last day in Phoenix, and he did buy some
books. After that I got to see his work on other people and after a couple of years of traveling and meeting many tattooers I became aware of the
respect that he has garnered all across the country. When you meet Aaron, he
does not seem like a guy that is highly respected in the industry that he is a
part of. He comes across as a nondescript guy that really likes drawing and enjoys rock
music. He's been tattooing for almost two decades and has been drawing and painting all his life. When you talk to him you really don’t know that you are talking to one
of the more accomplished artists in the tattooing community.
His
work is prolific and his output is outstanding. He has self-published numerous
art books, or what tattooers call flashbooks, and seems to have a never ending
flow of ideas and drawings. He’s been an inspiration to many people, and a challenge
to many others. His work speaks for itself and with his modesty it seems
that he will only keep on getting better and more work will be coming out from
him in the near future.
The
idea of the interview came about a few months back. I wanted to interview some
of the people that I met during my travels and time as an art book seller.
There are only a few artists out there that have the work ethic that he does,
and even fewer people that have the modesty that he has, so why not show case
his work and get to know more about him via a different avenue that isn’t
tattoo related. Here is the interview. I hope you guys find it informative and
insightful.
-Me: Are you
willing to do a mini interview? Mostly about your art and paintings.
-Aaron: Sure,
hope yer well. Good to hear from you. If you wanna send me money and books that
works. I’m going to Rome in 4 weeks.
-Me: Rome,
wow…..cool. When in Rome do as Romans. Let’s start this interview on line. It’s
better, clear and to the point. Do you recall your first time drawing or
painting?
 |
| Pushead |
When I
got into my early teens, around 13, I remember drawing skateboard graphics a
lot and re-drawing a lot of the images of the first Suicidal Tendencies album
cover.
-Me: Were there
any particular artist in that field that got your attention, in terms of their designs?
When did you start doing watercolor work?
-Aaron: Early on,
I really liked Mad Magazines, skateboard art, Pushead is a stand out and Punk
Rock art. Shawn Kerri and of course I always was into comics on some level.
Kind of dorky kid, music and art always interested me.
 |
| Ralph Snart |
-Me: Are there
any comics in particular that stand out? In school did you take any art classes
or get the attention of other classmates or teachers with your art?
-Aaron: There was
a comic called Ralph Snart that I really liked. I was always a huge fan of Mad
and Cracked, then when I was 17 years old or so I got heavily into Zap comics
and discovered R. Crumb, Robert Williams, S. Clay Wilson, and all the
underground stuff which led to guys like R.K. Sloane and Greg Irons and tattoo
stuff. It’s all connected.
-Me: Did you ever
take any art classes? I have an S. Clay Wilson book and inside there is a nun
getting tattooed and above that image it says, “Immaculate Tattoo,” was her
referring to your shop? If so, how did you manage to get him to draw that?
 |
| S. Clay Wilson's Checkered Demon |
He told
me some cool stories about him hanging with William S. Burroughs and shooting
guns and drinking with Shane Macgowan. Interesting guy, interesting life,
interesting style.
-Me: You got to
work at Tattoo City? That must have been a great time for you as a tattoo
artist. Interesting that you mention S. Macgowan. A few weeks back a local band
here in L.A. covered some of their songs. I am not that familiar with Punk Rock
or their scenes. I know that in some cities the scene was quite big, how about
in Arizona? Was there a big Punk scene while growing up?
 |
| Back piece. |
-Aaron: Punk Rock
was one of the biggest influences while growing up. It shaped a lot of my views
at the time, and exposed me to a lot of art, artists, and even to tattooing. I
think in a lot of ways it was the last meaningful music movement as far as the
first late-70s early-80s wave of it. Punk Rock now isn’t really Punk Rock. I
was really fortunate to catch the very tail end of it in the early and mid-80s.
I definitively think its part of what influenced me to take the path I did. It
definitively introduced me to a lot of the things that I still visually enjoy
as well as listen to.
I’ve
always been fortunate enough to work with really talented tattooers. It’s been
a really great ride so far and I hope this is just the beginning.
-Me: Tell me a
bit more about some of the things about Punk Rock that influenced you besides
the art. Can you give some other examples?
-Aaron: I always
liked the do it yourself, fuck you, part of it all. Back in the 80s if you saw
some other kid wearing a Black Flag shirt you kinda just knew that they were into
the same shit. You had a weird connection, shit was a lot rarer and it was kind
of like you were superior, like you knew about something that was cool and
other people were oblivious to! And most people that were tattooing were like
that in the beginning too. There was a
connection and you were aware of something that was great and everybody else
was oblivious to. Tattooing was like that in the beginning as well.
-Me: I once saw a
poster that you had done at some shop. I am not sure if it was for a show or
what but it was pretty cool. How long do pieces that size take to do? Tell me
about your comic/cartoon that you once mentioned.
 |
| Robert Crumb's Mr. Natural |
I
always loved comics. Got into the Zap Comics stuff when I was in my teens, and
it blew my mind. I wanted to be an adult comic artist, writer, illustrator like
Greg Irons or R. Crumb and I loved S. Clay Wilson. Those things blew my mind. I
did a comic with a friend of mine, Dave Leamon, who’s a great illustrator out in
L.A., he has a website, check it out, but tattooin’ is my true love, once I
went down that road everything else got set to the side. I’ve talked with my
friend Tim Lehi about doin’ some stuff. Him and Jeff Rassier were doing a comic
called Bucks Nort U Want to Do. That kind of thing is just hard for me to
allocate the time these days.
-Me: Just for
clarification, you wrote that the comic is called “bucks nort u want to do.” I
once saw a painting that you made, I think it was yours, where Bush, Osama and
Hitler are sorta emerging from the same source. How did you come up with that?
-Aaron: It was a
last supper painting that kinda just came about around the time of the whole
Osama Bin Laden/Bush was. Same shit different dictators. I guess it’s kinda out
dated now.
-Me: How has the
economy affected you as an artist? What does art mean to you?
-Aaron: The
economy hadn’t really affected me too much, thankfully. Art is how I make my
living and hopefully will for a long time.
We have come to the end of the interview. If you are
interesting in knowing more about Aaron visit his website at www.immaculatetattoo.com. There you
will find shirts, books and some more photos of his work. You can contact him
directly at:
1454 W. Main Street, Suite #1,
Mesa Arizona 85201
(480) 668-4940
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