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

Hi McFarland, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Various kinds of art have always been apart of my life. My mother is a classically trained pianist and my father collects paintings, maps, books, sculptures, really anything he found interesting. Our home growing up was just about hoarded with art. So my family was supportive of my endeavors as long as I kept them as hobbies and focused on my schoolwork. They wanted me to be a psychiatrist, but obviously that didn’t stick. I held customer service jobs while I did illustrations at anime and comic book conventions on the side. Art is always the thing I swing back to, the constant, so when given the opportunity to make a career at it, I jumped.

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.
I have to say I didn’t take easily to tattooing. It took years of experimentation and study to settle on a style that I love, and am comfortable with, whereas you have a lot of people who walk into this and seem to have their style locked and loaded from the beginning. There were a lot of doubts back then. I was in my late 20s; is it too late for me to learn? Could I make a living off my skill, let alone make a name for myself? I was a self taught artist who found herself in a world of people who had actual schooling in art composition, color schemes, design, so I had a crash course not only in commercial art in general, but this entirely new medium. I overthought everything. Since then, I’ve channeled my anxiety in the right direction, and found I have a talent for operating under pressure. Transitioning to a walk in shop where anything can come through the door will do that to you!

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?
The DFW area is filled to the brim with fun things to do for people interested in art, and that’s always where I start. Deep Ellum is vibrant and has plenty of award winning tattoo shops. The Dallas museum district has been a lifelong favorite of mine, and has the family friendly Perot or the enormous Dallas Museum of Art. There’s an amazing diversity of cuisines, you can get anything from Japanese to German to chicken fried steak. Food and art can make or break a city for me, and for a lot of people!

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?
I owe a lot to the various mentors I’ve had through the years, people who believed in me enough to let me in. Daniel Brockett offered me my tattoo apprenticeship in 2012, with the blessing of Aces shop owner Rick Murrill. Wes Brown and Emma Barrett taught me consistency in my art, and determination with my career. In the few years I spent at Rebel Muse, I was lucky to meet national and international names in the industry. Of course, my husband Cody Brooks is a huge inspiration. He’s been my rock through everything, from exhaustion to debt to pandemics!

Website: Www.mcfarlandtattoos.com

Instagram: @mcfarlandtattoos

Image Credits
Chelsey Smith, aka Painted Lady Photography

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