21 Questions :: Lefty Colbert
21 Questions
Lefty Colbert
Name: Lefty Colbert
Studio Name: Infamous Ink
Email Address: leftycolbert@gmail.com
Website: http://leftycolbert.com
Preferred Tattoo Style: black and grey
How do people book you?: email or website
Who is your favorite tattoo artist?: My all-around favorite tattoo artist is Matt Valles
Who is your favorite artist outside the tattoo world?: My favorite painter is Roberto Ferri. He is a postmodern impressionistic Italian painter
Where do you get inspiration for your work?: What inspires me most is my family and the time I spend alone in nature getting lost in what was created without man’s influence.
About how many tattoos do you do a day?: I generally do 1-2. I like to do bigger pieces and fit in as much detail as I can. Quality over quantity.
How long have you been tattooing?: I've been tattooing professionally for 26 years, since 1993
Ever tattooed anyone famous?Who?: I've done a few tattoos on Koe Wetzel recently. He's a great dude. Riggs from White Zombie. Lacey and Pat from Flyleaf. Jacoby from Papa Roach. I've had the opportunity to meet and tattoo a lot of rad people in my career.
Any "nightmare" tattoo experiences? Tell us about it!: Nightmare tattoo experience was when I had a hard-core gang member bring in a girl to have property of his name tattooed large across her stomach. I was young and early on in my career and it was a sketchy situation to tell him no and stand on it. Lol
Craziest tattoo or tattoo location?: Craziest tattoo location was inside of a woman’s asshole. Also early on in my career she wanted a serpent coming from inside her ass hole wrapping around her, with the tongue tattooed onto her clit.
Favorite part of the body to tattoo?: Favorite tattoo location is definitely leg sleeve. It's a great surface and you can really pack a lot of detail in and tie a whole concept together.
Least favorite tattoo location or type?: Least favorite is neck.
How long have you followed Texas Inked Magazine?: I've followed Texas Inked since ya'll started. It's great to see someone come up with something to bridge everyone in our industry together
Do you listen to music while you work? What kind? Fave artist?: I listen to everything from country to death metal to opera. There is really no boundaries to my musical preferences
What is something other artists do that makes you cringe?: Something I've noticed a lot lately is that people are too focused on being technical. There's this big pressure of good tattoos but it's not art. So I think that's the next surge in our field is the important of true art in tattooing and what that's going to lend to a whole generation
Do you have any other artistic abilities?: Beyond tattooing I also work artistically and metal blacksmithing as well as oil painting and architecture
Won awards for your work? What one is the most meaningful to you?: I've won a lot of awards over the years. One that really means a lot to me was from Hell City 2019. Gabe Londis and I did a collaboration back piece on my good friend Sam who I've done a leg sleeve and lot of other work on. It was an incredible experience working on the back piece at the same time. I've done collaborations before, but not like this and it will always be meaningful to me
Who do you hope to tattoo one day?: Someday I would like to tattoo my wife.
Favorite tattooed model?: Ashley Michelle. I met her a few years ago and tattooed her, and started a WIP with Jamy Carreno on her last year. She's a great model and really passionate about coaching other girls. And she poses crazy as hell lol
Hobbies outside of the art industry?: Always with my family. I also always have project cars or motorcycles
Tell us something only a few people know about you?: Something few people know about me is I hate smalltalk. Best conversations with me are either brief and to the point or something very in-depth and intellectual. I hate smalltalk to the point that I can’t listen to podcasts because it is the ultimate torture listening to someone else’s smalltalk. Lmao
What other tattoo style would you want to learn?: I came from a background of traditional. There was no real fine art in tattooing when I started. The most you could hope for was good application of pigment in the skin, and hope that it would stay. Over time it's gone from that to composition and flow and light source being necessary. Two decades into tattooing I was very technical tattooer, application was no issue. But I found myself with no art training and lacked understanding that that's necessity. Everything cycles. We are in the renaissance of art. We need to look at the master of art and pay attention to what they did and learn from it. Fine art is so important to understand and become better at tattooing. That's what I'm focusing on and trying to bring into my tattoos
Which of your own tattoos means the most to you? Who's the artist?: Most important tattoo on my body is the memorial tattoo for my dad underneath my right arm done by Cody Hennings
See some of Lefty’s work:
