Meet Aaron Stevens | Tattoo Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aaron Stevens and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aaron, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Starting my own business for me was, more than anything, about prioritizing my life. I started working solely for myself after my father passed away. It was a hard shake to our whole family, but it also brought a lot of positive changes through it. I saw a lack in attention I was giving to my family, my clients, and even myself. And that needed to be addressed. I needed to refocus and change some things around, get some fire back so to speak. Creating the space in my own business allowed me to have the time I needed to pay attention to the things that I care for most. My wife and kids. And in doing so I have found I’m more driven and focused for my clients in my tattooing. One thing I didn’t want to do was become stagnant or start feeling like I was going backwards, artistically, once I was out “on my own”. So focusing on making the most of my time and actually enjoying life, have made me feel more fired up to tattoo. And that’s what my clients deserve. And so do I.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The best way to describe my art is an ongoing collaboration with everyone I’ve tattooed and worked with over the last 16 years. Everyone’s styles, preferences, input, ideas, and opinions have all shaped what I do today. It’s in a state of constant evolution, or at least that’s what I’m going for. I love doing things with extreme contrast and texture. Dynamic images and ideas. I’ve had the opportunity to work with some pretty rad people over the years, too. Tattooing next to people that are driven definitely help to continue the growth. And having a few friends over the years that were sometimes more confident than I was when trying out new things. When I did my first color portrait, it was on my brother, Jimmy. I told him before we started, it was going to go one of two ways… Luckily it went a good route. But we were both unsure going into it. Not all of the new technique explorations went so well. But that’s just part of how it goes. And later on, you fix your mistakes if you can. Tattooing definitely hasn’t always been an easy road but it’s definitely been a ride I’m glad I’m on. It’s gotten me out of some rough situations in life. And now allowed my family and I to have the life we do. The last few years have been a roller coaster, but they’ve been just as motivating. I was awarded Best Tattoo Artist 2019 & 2020 by The Fort Worth Weekly, as well as being a member of the WorldWide Ink Magazine Pro Team since 2019. Can’t wait to continue the momentum from here.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well me and my best friend are a bit different! We would definitely spend some time around some sort of water. We grew up fishing together so spending some time fishing around Mary’s Creek, or fly fishing for panfish in Sycamore Creek. Maybe some time out at Lake Worth or Benbrook Lake. I personally don’t drink, but there’s always a good time to be had at Blue Bayou, especially when Justin Ross is playing. Other than that we would just be riding motorcycles or hanging out with the kids.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The people that deserve a ton of the credit are my clients. At the end of the day, without them I wouldn’t be here at all. Without the support of some truly solid people over the years constantly throwing out the name, showing off the work and showing up all hours and all over, my family wouldn’t have the life they do. I’ve had some amazing support from my parents throughout the years too. They’ve seen every stage I’ve had in this journey (good and bad) and still keep pushing me to get better and grow. Never Settle. Both my mom and my dad wear some of my first tattoos I ever did. I met my wife because of tattooing.It’s not just my job, it’s in every aspect of my life.. I’ve met some amazing people and traveled all over the world because of this craft. So to every single person who has ever passed out a card to gotten hours and hours of work done. Thank you!

Website: https://www.justinkdtattoos.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/just.inkd

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JustInkTattooCompany

Yelp: https://yelp.to/h88tuwnD4gb

Image Credits
Western Soul Photogrqphy