This article was originally published in the Bodies issue of Kaleidoscope. Read it in its original printing here or pick up a magazine at UAB Student Media’s office.
A tattoo is a contract of trust between a client and an artist written in permanent ink. For tattoo artist Aaron Hamilton maintaining that trust is what the industry is all about.
Hamilton is cofounder of Sanctum Tattoos & Comics with Wess Gregg. Hamilton handles the tattoos. Gregg handles the comics. It is an unusual setup that allows for the two to blend their mutual loves of tattoo art and comic books into one storefront.
The shop is small. Beyond Hamilton and Gregg, there’s one other artist, a part-time employee who mans the front of the shop and small apprenticeship under the artists.
Hamilton has been tattooing for over a decade. As a child, he was interested in art. He wanted to be either a painter or comic book artist. Hamilton even tried his hand at comic book art earlier in his career but quickly gave that up.
“I figured out that I can’t draw the same face twice,” Hamilton said. “And static images are really better for me.”
So, Hamilton found himself in tattooing. It was something he was quite familiar with.
“My dad’s a biker, so I grew up around a lot of tattooed idiots. And it looked interesting,” Hamilton said.
As one might expect from the hundreds of comics lining the front of the store, Hamilton is inspired by comic book art. Recently, it has been the Silver Age art of comic book artists like Jack Kirby that have inspired him.
Despite that personal interest, Hamilton’s preferred art to tattoo is whatever the client prefers.
“My style is pretty versatile,” Hamilton said. “I would hate to get stuck in a rut and just do Japanese stuff or American traditional stuff.”
That versatility helps Hamilton as he deals with customers. He is not the type of artist to turn away an idea he does not like.
Hamilton is no stranger to a regrettable tattoo. Hamilton’s got his first tattoo at age 18., a small Tank Girl on his calf. That tattoo has been covered up many years ago by a large Spider-Man logo. That kind of correction is one that Hamilton tries to help his clients avoid.
He would rather “persuade you to get in a cooler way or something that’s not going to look bad over time,” Hamilton said.
The personal connection that forms between an artist and a client can be a personal one. With the amount of time spent on one part of a person’s body, you get to learn them more intimately than a person normally would. That tattoo becomes a recognizable mark. Even if Hamilton forgets a face, he remembers the tattoo.
“To put [a tattoo] on their body is an intimate thing. And it feels good to actually work with somebody to make their idea come to life, make them happy. If it’s something on them, it’s gonna last forever,” Hamilton said.
