Meet Emily Gregg | Tattoo Artist and Painter

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

Hi Emily, is there something you can share with us that those outside of the industry might not be aware of?
Tattoo artists, and artists in general are very emotional people-we get in our heads over certain things very easily. When you’re in the headspace to create it’s difficult to separate yourself from the piece you’re making, and especially when creating for someone else in a way that’s intimate like tattooing is, you tend to fall into overthinking and self-criticism on a massive scale. One thing goes wrong and you feel like your skills are completely null. An artist I look up to once told me “If you don’t have imposter syndrome you aren’t doing it right”.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My favorite motif to draw and tattoo has always been faces, and recently I’ve begun to dive into a gorier, horror-inspired style full of bright bold colors and provocative imagery that captures the eye. It has definitely been a bumpy journey to get to where I am now-I went through a 2-year apprenticeship process which humbled me greatly in order to build me back up. Now I am confident in my abilities and spend my time searching for ways to elevate my art and solidify my personal style. My goal ultimately is to use tattooing to travel the world, working conventions, guest-spotting at new shops, meeting artists from different backgrounds and gaining experiences that I can call upon when I am creating. I work in many different mediums but oil painting has quickly become a staple favorite for me, and I hope for the future I can create pieces that will be displayed in museums and art galleries all across the globe.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I may be biased because I live here, but Deep Ellum has a scene that you can’t truly grasp the energy of until you experience it. My go-to spots to bring friends traveling to the area would have to be the Dallas Museum of Art (which has free admission by the way), hit up Three Links and It’ll Do for some music and dancing, and of course Artistic Encounter so they can get some tattoos to memorialize their trip.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My mentor Billy Jack Gunter has been monumental in the projection of my career. He took me under his wing and taught me the ins and outs of the trade, as well as introducing me to a culture and lifestyle that I ultimately fell in love with. I bother him with pretty much any questions I have big or small and he always takes the time to explain to me that which I might be having trouble understanding, or troubleshooting the difficulties every tattooer inevitably runs into on a day-to-day basis. Thank you Billy Jack, I wouldn’t be where I am today without you.

Website: https://aetattoo.com

Instagram: @dollsketches

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