Monday  Jun 27, 2005

INKEDblog Interviews Mitch O'Connell

Mitch O'Connell's work is almost ubiquitous in the illustration world, and has appeared everywhere from Newsweek to MTV. He’s down with drawing traditional newspaper comics, but is just as comfortable submitting work to publications like Deadline and Juxtapoz. He published his first graphic novel, ‘The World of Ginger Fox’ in 1986, and followed that with two collections, ‘Good Taste Gone Bad’ in 1993, and ‘Pwease Wuv Me!’ in 1998. He has recently been concentrating on tattoo designs, which have been bolstered with the debut of his Tattoo Flash package, ‘Done While Drunk in 2002’.

INKEDblog: Mitch, how did you first get into tattooing?

Mitch: I always loved and admired tattoo flash. When I look at a sheet of old school flash I can actually feel a tug in my gut. My attraction to tattoos wasn't something I had to think through, it's a physical reaction. So, since I liked 'em so much, I incorporated designs in my commercial (and "fine art") work all the time. Along with that I started to get photos from folks who were having my illustrations tattooed on 'em. It floored me. You can't get a much higher complement that having someone permanently engrave your stuff on their flesh. I draw for a newspaper, it's thrown out the next day. An illustration for a magazine might stay on the coffee table for a couple of weeks (unless it's at the dentist's office where it'll hang on for years) and a gallery show is only up for a month, but a tattoo... that's gonna be the winner for hanging in there! The folks who liked my doodles started pushing me to put out my own flash. They didn't have to push too hard. I went back and studied the masters like Sailor Jerry, Tats Thomas, Owen Jensen, etc. (And again I was knocked out by their skill. Old school tattoos are like, to me, something so solid and classic, like a 100 year old oak tree, a hand sewn Revolutionary war flag, carnival banner or Mount Rushmore). I realized this is a whole different art form where I'd have to adopt to fit the guidelines. Technically I wanted to keep the designs as trouble free as possible for the tattooist. Once I worked up some line drawings I mailed 'em off to tattooists I knew and admired, and also visited local shops to get feedback. I especially wanted to learn the tattooing process and what type of designs moved. I didn't want my sheets just looking pretty but gathering dust on the wall, I wanted 'em to be popular. If some one isn't getting tattooed with my designs I don't think they count as flash. I know that years ago (since the tattoo community has a history of being a closed shop) I might not have been given the time of day. But since many folks had heard of me and could see that I was sincere, I got a lot of very helpful suggestions (O.K. some people did tell me to drop dead, hey, there has to be a little truth to stereotypes!).

INKEDblog: But interestingly, you yourself don't have any tats, do you?

Mitch: I've been working up a design of my wife for my arm for years but still can't get it right. So at the risk of being roundly booed by all your readers...I have no tattoos. But, hell, I'm well groomed... doesn't that count for anything?! We all (Me, my wife Ilsabe and the young 'uns Leo and Kieran) set up at the HellCity Tattoo Convention a couple of years back to unload some flash. I was quite happy it was chilly so I could wear a long sleeved turtleneck so at least people might think I was tattooed. I had visions of being tarred and feathered if I went swimming in the hotel pool and my secret was discovered. Anyway, I didn't fool anyone. They all had tattoo radar and could figure it out pretty easily. No tar and feathers were involved that weekend but I did get many offers to have my first tat.

INKEDblog: So what's your favorite tattoo of all time?

Mitch: Anyone who has been tasteful enough to get one of my doodles inked on 'em. They're all a #1 tie.

INKEDblog: Anyone in the tattoo industry that you're giving props to at the moment?

Mitch: Any tattoo shop that's been good enough to display my flash is, of course tops in my book. Artists I know and/or admire working now include, Daniel Higgs, Seth Ciferri, Marcus Kuhn, Eric Maaske among many, many others. Also, the tattoo magazine editors have been extremely generous in giving me favorable press in their magazines.

INKEDblog: So who;s the most interesting person you've worked with, and whom would you like to work with in the future?

Mitch: Why that would be the lovely Mrs. Ilsabe O'Connell. She helps me figure out how the computer works and puts together my website. You can read all about her and her music career at www.ilsabeoconnell.com

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