What have our artists been up to during lockdown - here's a sneak peak!

April 4, 2020 Thomas Mcmillan

Just like the rest of New Zealand (and a lot of the global population) our artists have been self isolating trying to stamp out the spread of the virus COVID-19. However, instead of watching Tiger King like the rest of us they’ve been putting in WORK creating new flash, painting and creating (ok, they’ve definitely watched Tiger King too). Here is a little sample of some of the goodness that has come out of the isolated minds of our talented tattoo family!

Our super talented American traditional artist Milky has created this insane COVID-19 inspired mind trip. He’s also been painting flossy apocalyptic realness flash, which you can view on his instagram.

Magali has been on lockdown with her partner Miles and baby boy Akira. She painted this gorgeous piece aptly called “Akira’s room”. Magali has been enjoying painting a lot more since being on a small break from tattooing while on Maternity Leave, and we are loving her Akira inspired softer artwork. For more paintings and designs, check out her instagram.

Our Ta Moko apprentice Fern Ngatai has been in isolation for longer than the closedown due to a trip to Australia to display her artwork as part of of the “Haiveta” boat project for Biennale Sydney. She’s been painting A2 and A0 originals, including this stunning red number called “Mahuika”. For more work, please visit her instagram.

This closedown has been really hard on the creative community, so if you can support local artists anyway through buying a print, commissioning a work or even interacting with them online to show your appreciate what they’re up to that’s awesome. We wish to extend our gratitude to all of our clients and friends for your support and kind words through this tough time. We can’t wait to be back in action, hopefully sooner rather than later, bringing you awesome tattoos, whether custom ideas or flash!

If there is a concept you’ve seen from one of our artists that you’re interested in getting tattooed, please drop the studio an email. We are still taking enquiries, and organising online consultations when required. We’re exciting to reopen with a bang as soon as we’re given the official word. Our sunny central Auckland studio specialises in Japanese, Maori, Western traditional and black work tattooing, and would love to help you out with any requests.

CONTACT:
www.sunsettattoo.co.nz
info@sunsettattoo.co.nz
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Let's talk about tatts, baby! Lockdown with Tom Tom - Sunset Tattoo’s owner and founder.

April 3, 2020 Thomas Mcmillan

It wouldn’t be an interview series without talking to the Sunset Tattoo owner and founder, our very own boss dog Tom Tom! Tattooing for over 15 years, Tom has a vast knowledge of the tattoo industry both in New Zealand and around the world from pre-social media days right through until now. Always developing, creating, improving and levelling up, he doesn’t stay comfortable for long. For great advice, hilarious stories and straight up honesty, Tom Tom is a one stop shop. Hey Tom - Let’s talk about tatts, baby!

Sunset: Hi Tom! Can I ask you a few questions for our new section?
Tom Tom: Hard out!
What is your name, how old are you and where are you from?
My name is Thomas McMillan. I was born in a house in Grey Lynn in 1984.

Have you lived elsewhere apart from Auckland? If so, did you tattoo overseas while living there?
I was in London and Europe for a year or something when I was little, like 16. I’ve never really properly lived anywhere else other than a solid 4 months in Perth. Shout out to all my awesome friends in Perth! I tattooed there and it was such a sick place to work because the mining industry meant there were a bunch of cashed up working people living it up and getting tats. Other than that I’ve travelled and tattooed throughout Asia, Europe, the US, Aussie, but I never stayed still long. I used to skip the New Zealand winter and just travel.

When did you start tattooing, did you do an apprenticeship in the classic sense?
A pirate named Doctor Damian Roberts OHMS asked me to learn one day. I got my first tattoo from him, then we kinda got along and would smoke weed together and stuff because I had an art studio next to his tattoo studio. I was working at a cafe called Alleluya down the road, one day he got super stoned then came in and asked me if I would be his apprentice. At the time it wasn’t like a really cool job yet or a solid career, but a few people encouraged me to say yes, so after a few days I went back and said accepted the job. I had no idea what I was getting myself into! Tattooing was a very strange industry back then.
So I started in 2004 as an apprentice, and maybe started tattooing full time for money in 2006. The first two years I would come in after work, watch him, make needles and run a few dodgy errands and stuff for the boss, haha. I would say it was kind of a straight up apprenticeship but I didn’t really learn a lot of technical or artistic stuff in that shop. I learned to hustle and talk to people. To deal with all the crazy motherfuckers that would come through that door. It was more like being thrown in the deep end to a very underground and weird scene. That world doesn’t really exist in tattoo shops anymore. I later moved to a shop called Illicit, and that’s where I was exposed to tattooers who were really going to push me as far as technique and design.

As well as being a tattoo artist, you paint too. Did you ever have any formal training in the arts, at any level? Could you use any of these skills towards your tattoo career?
I’m a terrible painter hahahaha it kills me. I only know how to do tattoos.
I could never really do school. I clocked out of the education system basically at age 16. At age 20 I did like 2 months at animation school, but then my first child arrived. So I quit school and got a full time job so I could raise my kid. I have a really artistic family which I guess kind of gives you a base to leap from, but mostly I learned from all the fucking awesome rule breaking subcultures like graffiti and skateboarding. These free and anti establishment forms of expression were what forced me to try to make things or be creative and always look to develop and push forward.

What inspired you to start focusing on Japanese tattooing, is it something you've always been interested in?When I first got in to tattooing, my boss showed me this book of Horiyoshi II. At the time there was no social media and all the magazines fuckin’ sucked, so it was really hard to see really truly great tattooing. When I saw that book I was like oh there is more to this than I thought. Those Japanese artists from the 19th and 20th century were just so far ahead, not just as amazing craftsmen but in the depth of their tradition and their prolific output. I was drawn to it immediately. Once you start studying it, it’s pretty hard to stop because it’s near impossible to master, so you just keep learning. I’m drawn to the idea of constantly progressing, and the challenge of Irezumi keeps me having to improve constantly until the end.

You mostly do large scale work, do you ever miss doing smaller one shot tattoos?
Yes. I like the fun of meeting new people and love the satisfaction of doing one shots. That’s why I love our Sunset flash days so much. You get to do like 20 one shots and get it out of your system.

What would your advice to someone who wants to get tattooed, and has never been tattooed before - is it best to go big, or start small?
Obviously it comes down to taste, like you have to get what you want. So if you just want a small, hidden tattoo that you don’t want anyone to see - then that’s your choice, it’s not my business.
But if you are say starting to think about tattooing and it is large scale Japanese tattooing that you want - then go big straight away. Go straight to the back. Do your back piece first and then do the arms and everything. Everyone I know who does Japanese tattooing wishes that they could go back in time and just get one bodysuit. It’s just by far the best way to do it. Most people with a large amount of tattoos, if you look at their whole body as one, they look like a toilet wall of scribble. Nothing matches, everything is dated and aged differently and the styles all clash. A really good bodysuit is something that looks amazing forever, and comes to life as it ages on you. This can apply to western traditional too, if you get the balance right with your one shot traditional tattoos, it can look incredible. That’s just an aesthetic opinion though, people should just do whatever they want. But yeah, make your first tattoo a full back piece and you will only have good tattoos forever.

How do you mentally and physically prepare for long, full day tattoo sessions? For example, lining up a large scale tattoo, like a back piece. Is it physically exhausting doing this daily?
My prep is mostly around making the client comfortable. I put every effort in to making sure that they know how they should be sitting, they are relaxed, and that they are mentally prepared to last all the way to the end of each sitting. If my client is chill and not struggling then my job is just so much easier. I often notice this is something tattooers don’t understand, that successfully doing a large scale tattoo as quickly as possible is so much about understanding the psychology of the person who is lying in pain for hours on end letting you do your art. That’s why you see a lot of unfinished sleeves and people tapping out early, because the tattooer didn't prepare them for the seriousness of the process.
It can be super hard on the body and mind for sure. But I love full day sessions because you make so much progress. It’s awesome being able to bang out a sleeve in a matter of weeks by doing these big sessions.

Is it the same for ongoing work?
Once you get to shading it gets easier for the client and the tattooer for sure, although it’s still pretty taxing!

If someone was interested in getting a bodysuit, have you got any guidelines on how they should approach this?
Now that I have been doing it for a little while, and over more recent years been lucky enough to make some really good friends with tattooers from Japan of whom I can ask lots of questions. I’ve realised that two things make a really good body suit:
1. Simplicity. The less different you put in in the suit, the better.
2. Subject matter. Get advice from an artist who knows what things go together - flowers, warriors, creatures, water, cloud - all these elements are used for a reason.
After that if you are really patient, start on the back and not the arms, especially if you aren’t going to do the whole thing at once. The arms complement the main piece which is the back.

You get a lot of overseas and out of town enquiries for large pieces, is it possible to travel to Auckland and get a sleeve in a few days? Do you have rough ideas about how long things will take or is it impossible to tell?
I pretty much have been completing sleeves in bang on 4-5 day sessions every time for a while now, so yeah you CAN do a sleeve in a week if you really want to, but it isn’t a good experience and you may have issues with healing or not being able to finish due to the pain.
I do tattoo a lot of people from out of town or overseas and usually I try to just give them a really good amount of time each time they come to Auckland, and it works well.

Do you have a favourite subject matter to tattoo?
I have always been and always will be in love with Japanese background.

What is the best piece of advice you've been given?
Be more patient.

When did you open Sunset Tattoo, and why was it important to you to open your own studio?
I opened it late 2014. I had been overseas for months travelling, working and seeing all the good and bad ways to run a shop, then came home and found the space that is now Sunset. Originally I was going to open in Grey Lynn but this crazy old run down place on Cross Street came up, and even though it was super run down I could see how great and unique a place it would be for a shop.
As for why - I just wanted to do something fun. I had worked for others all my life and had learnt so much about what to do and what not to do from my colleague and employers, that I felt I could run a shop without coming across some of the problems I saw other owners having. A lot of the old timers can get overrun with greed and selfishness. I wanted to try to create a structure that wouldn’t encourage this type problem.
So we opened Sunset with a really pro artist, pro expression, pro creativity philosophy and put the idea of profit being last on the list of importance. Everything decision about what we do here we run through a filter of questions: Is it ethical? Is it fun? Is it good for the art form? Does it enhance our workplace and the wellbeing of our artists? And so on.
By doing things that we know is good for the art form we love and good for all the people we represent, we have created a highly successful model. The artists all get really good deals and are pretty free to express themselves how they want. Now I’m happy every day to get to work and honoured to share the space with some of New Zealand’s best tattoo artists and amazing guest artists from around the world.

What are your hobbies outside of tattooing?
My hobby is also tattooing. I have 4 children so in my downtime I have to do house work, haha!

What have you been doing with your lockdown?
After the initial carnage of having to close down the studio and all the stress and anxiety that went with that, I’ve mostly been spending time with my family. I’ll start making art tomorrow. It’s been nice. I know this is an ultra weird and stressful time and my heart goes out to all the people who are having a hard time, but I have to admit I’m noticing the good things about everyone just stopping capitalism for a while. The air is clear. People are being kind. People are making things and looking after themselves and others, instead of grinding to make money all day. I’m enjoying running on the road with no cars.

When did the fish obsession start?
My friend Lucas got back from doing a guest spot at this ultra fancy shop in Switzerland, and he was like “yo, they had fish tanks in the tattoo booths!” I thought it was a cool idea to have a fish tank that my customers could stare at. One of the guys in the shop gave me his old one, and I got way to into it hahahaha. I soon realised the crappy little one I had wasn’t good enough. So within months there were two big tanks in the shop. Then three. Then I starting breeding discus fish hahahahaha.
Now I’ve sold all tanks and have one crazy 750 litre marine aquarium in my station because having three tanks in the studio was too much up keep. It’s such a fun thing to do and the clients seem to love it!

What is your dream creative project?
My actual art project is the studio itself, not tattooing. This is going to be a bit cryptic, but the Sunset Tattoo building is an art project about how we can run work places without top down capitalism. I grew up with and around a lot of people with strong social consciousness and political views, but who also do absolutely fuck all with their time to actually help others, so when I opened my own business I kind of realised that to truly create good outcomes for humans takes a lot of work, planning and following through with ideas. Unless you want to sit still like Buddha and do nothing at all, you better get to work to make things better. Can we run organisations that aren’t exploitative and work for all the proper inside them equally? Can our work place enhance our lives and not just be a filter to make one or two people rich? It’s a slow project but one day I’ll finish it, and then I’ll talk about how I did it. It’s going to take a while.

Final question, who does the best burgers in Auckland?
Burger Burger does the best cheeseburger in town, but I also love Katsuman burger! And “that burger” from Corner Burger! Fuck! I love burgers! I can’t have a burger because it’s lock down!! What kind of cruel question is this!!

Sunset: Thanks for that, that ended up being quite long.

Tom Tom: Haha, thanks! SO MANY QUESTIONS.

We are booking consultations with Tom Tom for large scale projects starting in the second half of 2020. If you’re interested in getting tattooed by Tom, please contact the studio. We are also able to do online consultations during the lockdown period.

CONTACT:
www.sunsettattoo.co.nz
info@sunsettattoo.co.nz
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Let's talk about tatts, baby! Lockdown interview with new mum, the extraordinary Magali Corpas.

March 31, 2020 Thomas Mcmillan

This week we’re talking to Magali Corpas, who was all set to make her comeback to the studio on the 1st of April. Magali’s signature black work tattoos, tribal tattoos, pattern work tattoos, floral tattoo and ornamental tattoos have been greatly missed during her absence. A small blip in the radar called COVID-19 has prematurely derailed this, however it hasn’t stopped the lovely Magali from painting, creating new flash and corresponding with clients while in isolation with her partner Miles (owner of the fabulous Crumb Cafe in Grey Lynn) and new baby boy Akira. We know Magali’s loyal clientele are desperate to have her back, so to ease the wait we thought we’d bring you a few words of wisdom straight from the horses mouth.. Magali Corpas - Let’s talk about tatts, baby!

Sunset: Hi Mags! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview with me. I wish we could do it in person, but this COVID-19 situation is keeping us all bunkered down at the moment. Hopefully this interview gives everyone sitting at home during lockdown something interesting to read.
Magali: I’m happy to!
What is your name, where are you from and how old are you?
Everyone at the shop says that I am a Russian spy cause of my accent but I am Magali Noe Corpas, born 1986 under the Gemini sign in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Where have you grown up? Have you lived anywhere else apart from Buenos Aires and Auckland?
I lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina before turning 24 when I moved to New Zealand on a working holiday. I lived in Wellington where I met my ex, which is the reason I ended up staying. Also in Queenstown where I did my apprenticeship. I miss Buenos Aires, it is a really vibrant and cultural city.

Where else have you worked besides Sunset?
I apprenticed at a very busy street shop in Queenstown, and when I moved to Auckland I worked briefly with the awesome team at Black Cat Tattoo before being asked by Tom if I wanted to join Sunset.

How long have you been tattooing?
I did my first tattoo in May 2015, it was a Wu-Tang Clan symbol on one of the Moko artists. But I feel like I really started at the end of 2017 when I joined Sunset.

Black work kiku/chrysanthemum by Magali Corpas.

When did you know you wanted to become a tattooer, and how did you first learn to tattoo?
I was coming back from a three day hike, and while driving on Glenorchy Road the idea popped into my head, maybe I should tattoo? At this point I really didn't know what else to do with my art as I couldn't commit to any one art form in particular. I went to the two busiest shops in Queenstown, one had a really old school guy who asked me weird questions and belittled me, the other one had a crazy motherfucker who didn't even look at my portfolio when I left it there for a week. That same shop got so busy within a year that they started looking for an apprentice/cleaner so I went in again and I got the spot.

Can you describe your apprenticeship?
My apprenticeship was a bit of a meh, I didn't have much direction from the person who was meant to be my mentor. So I took information from anyone I could at the shop and especially the guest artists. I probably did a lot of fuck ups figuring things by myself while nobody was watching me. Also Camo, one of the residents who had 20 years under his belt working in street shops, he was one of the most genuine, helpful and knowledgeable people at the shop. I did learn a lot of cleaning, sanitising and dealt with clients of all sorts. Most apprenticeships require doing all the bitch jobs! I was working sometimes months in a row without days off and having two other jobs to pay up the bills for over two years. I ended up leaving because Queenstown became claustrophobic and I felt I wasn’t going to go anywhere with tattooing other than making lots of money on walk ins there. It was worth it though, I would do it again but it was very tiring, but not as tiring as having a newborn, haha. More on that soon..

Can you talk about previous art training, and other forms of art you create?
I formally did fine arts right after high school. There I learned anatomical drawing, painting, sculpture and printmaking among other subjects. I also did jewellery, millinery, weaving and fashion (hated this one so I quit studying), but as I said nothing would stick with me or make me passionate until I started tattooing.

Do you think being trained in fine arts has helped you as a tattooer?
Absolutely, I really saved myself some time when it came to drawing and figuring out compositions and proportions. Also knowing art history added to the mix.

You're known as a very capable tattooer and you've experimented with lots of different styles of work. How have you developed your signature style? Is there a particular style you'd prefer to focus on, and if so, how would you describe it?
Am I? I am still searching for my style, I like so many! They say it could take about ten years to develop one, and you have to go through many to get there, which I am glad I did. So far I am wanting to do tattoos that people can tell what they are from a few metres away without squinting, haha. I really like ornaments more than anything, tribal, black line work, folk art, animals and flowers. Simple, timeless and long lasting. I don't think I have developed a signature style yet.

You've recently become a mother, congratulations! Has having a baby had any influence on your creative endeavours?
Yes it has profoundly. My brain has lost a lot of grey matter and I couldn't of think anything tattoo related for the past couple of months. All I could think of was what to snack on next and if it was ok to take a nap at 11am right after breakfast. I definitely feel that after having Akira I am not caring about what other people think about my art and I don't care about being the hot stuff within the industry. My insecurity disappeared, so my art became more naive and playful because I stopped judging it. At the end of the day art is relative and subjective and there is room for anyone.

Tui and kowhai flowers by Magali Corpas.

Do you think it's going to be a challenge being a mother who tattoos for a career? Both of those "jobs" take a lot of time and energy!
I am in a very lucky position cause I can go to the shop to work anytime and my partner is very supportive, he also works for himself and is happy to look after bubs. I am sure I will find my pace and make it work.

What is the best piece of advice you've been given?
Your pre-baby weight never comes back so forget about it hahaha.

What is your dream creative project?
I just made my biggest creation and his name is Akira. I hope I can always make a living out of art and being myself.

Can you please name 3 of your favourite or most influential tattooers.
Guy Le Tatooer, Valerie Vargas and Claudia De Sabe.

Sunset: Thank you Mags! We can’t wait to have you back in the studio soon.

Studio temporarily closed, requests always open!

March 25, 2020 Thomas Mcmillan

If you’re from New Zealand it’ll be no surprise to you that we are currently in a nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. It was collectively decided as a studio that we would completely close down business until it was deemed safe for society to operate as usual, for the safety of the wider community. A few hours later, our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that in 48 hours our country would be going into lockdown for 4 weeks and only essential operators such as health care facilities and supermarkets would remain open.

Although it was a very hard decision to make fo us all, it was a necessary one to do our bit in stopping the spread of this terrible virus. The PM making her announcement definitely reinforced that it was the right one. So here we are! In lockdown. No tattoos and no hanging out with our studio family for a month. Due to the wonder of modern technology (thank you, internet!) we are able to stay online and in correspondence with our wonderful clients. Our emails are open, so please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions regarding your future bookings, or any requests for tattoos you have when we reopen!

In regards to our artists, please keep an eye on what they’re up to via their social media platforms. The easiest way to do this is by following this news section, our instagram and facebook, where we’ll be sharing sneak peaks of new paintings, flash designs, large scale concepts and other creative quarantine pursuits our artists have. Roger Moore busted out this incredible flash sheet recently, if this is something to go by, we can’t wait to see what else our artists get up to!

Blackwork skull flash sheet by Roger Moore!

Stay safe & stay inside everyone, thank you so much for your ongoing support. We can’t wait to see you all again once this is over.

CONTACT:
www.sunsettattoo.co.nz
info@sunsettattoo.co.nz
@sunset_tattoo_nz

Studio updates, cool tattoos and more information regarding our COVID-19 policy.

March 21, 2020 Thomas Mcmillan

Say to say it’s been an absolute week here on Cross Street (and throughout the rest of the world). First and foremost, we would like to extend our gratitude to all of our wonderful clients out there for all of your support and understanding throughout this week. All of us in Auckland (and the rest of New Zealand) have been in a weird state of limbo wondering what’s going to happen with the Covid-19 crisis.

Luckily, we have been able to operate as per usual at the studio as a result of our extra stringent hygiene and cleaning measures, as well as the incredible cooperation from our clients, both walk ins and pre-bookings alike. Although we are a hugely social studio, our requests for clients to come in alone to appointments has been awesome. This is helping us keep our clients, artists and staff members socially distanced. So again, thank you so much! We are really hoping to be able to stay open and tattooing in our lovely central Auckland studio, and the only way we can do this is to do our bit to help “flatten the curve” as our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been talking about.

From next week, we are limiting our interactions even more to a one-on-one interaction only between clients and artists. We have a huge studio space, so are spreading our artists out so there is plenty of space between each artists station. Some of our artists are also working alternative hours to help keep numbers as low as possible. If you have a booking, please keep an eye on your inbox and phone for any correspondence directly from our artists if they need to reschedule your appointment by a few hours.

Now onto the fun stuff! Apparently all the chaos in the world is a way for our artists to do some super cool tattoos! Here are a few of our favourites from the last week or so.

Bernard Kwok did this insane custom cyborg wild boar for the lovely Kevin. Our artists love the trust their clients put in them - it’s the best way to get a great tattoo. Put your faith in them and they’ll deliver the goods!
That colour is mind blowing! Contact us to make your wildest dreams come true with Bernard.

Another fabulous custom piece from last week, this time by Lucky Felix. Thanks for the fun request, Heather! When Heather asked for a golden dragon from Lucky Felix we couldn’t wait to see the result. Felix’s recent colour palette is so gorgeous, we’re loving the warmer, earthy tones he’s been using recently. Felix is wonderful at accentuating the area of the body he is tattooing, so if you’re after a piece to flow beautifully with your natural shape look no further than Lucky Felix!

Another heater by our favourite milk man, Milky! For no-nonsense, bright and bold American traditional tattoos that will last a lifetime Milk is your boy. From absolute classic flash, to his own out the gate ideas from his brilliant mind you wont regret getting a Milky tattoo. Have we mentioned the hilarious banter!? For enquiries, get in touch!

For all tattoo bookings, requests, and further information about anything to do with the studio over the next few weeks please don’t hesitate to drop us a line. Our studio hours are Tuesday to Saturday 10am - 6pm, we’re here to answer any questions :) Look after yourselves, we look forward to seeing you soon!

CONTACT:
www.sunsettattoo.co.nz
info@sunsettattoo.co.nz
(+649)3763423