ARTIST SPOTLIGHT - JACOBO AMADOR

1 — Tell us a bit about who you are, where you work and how your first contact with the tattoo world happened.

I'm Jacobo Amador, I'm 32, an artist and tattooer, and I work in my own studio, Happy House, in Valencia. I got my first tattoo at 15 — three honestly horrible sessions. I've been tattooing for 11 years, but that first tattoo back in my teens, done with very basic machines, made me develop a deep respect for this world.

2 — At what point did you feel your style started to have its own identity?

Because I took a long time deciding to start tattooing (about 6 years), I trained and worked as a designer and illustrator. That made me experiment with shapes and ideas that didn't come from the foundations of tattooing, and I think that's what helped me find a personal language in my work.

3 — Your work stands out for its vibrant, striking use of colour. How did you develop that palette? Where does the psychedelic influence in your designs come from, and what inspires you outside of tattooing (art, music, film, travel)?

1960s poster art and the skate world have influenced me a lot. I think the psychedelia in me was born watching the film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas — it really marked me and got me much more interested in that whole lysergic world of mental and sensory liberation that I try to bring into my work. These days my influences point towards Asia — I travelled to Thailand, Japan and Mexico, and that touched something in the way I create.

4 — What role does improvisation play in your sessions?

Too much! I love it — it's how I enjoy myself. Lately I don't spend as much time preparing designs 100%; I let them build themselves during the tattooing process. Honestly, I don't like following rules or norms.

5 — Do you think the psychedelic style in tattooing is booming, or is it more of a niche?

I think it's niche, even though I see more and more people trying new things.

6 — One last question: what do you love most about tattooing?

I think being able to travel and meet new people is vital to growing as a person. That, and being able to do it with music, is what I'm crazy about.