Renowned tattoo artist Chris Vennekamp insists that kicking himself in the ass everyday is what makes him better at his craft. This, no doubt, the result of a rough-and-tough, small-town childhood that in many ways prepared him for the life of success in the face of adversity he would later lead. Growing up in the outskirts of upstate New York, VenneKamp reflects, "Small towns are just like people say... everyone knows your business and so on. There used to be this one kid named Jimmi that had failed three times and was twice my size. He used to find it funny to kick the crap out of me. He actually helped me in over coming my adversities. Keep getting beat up by a bigger kid... pick up a stick and hit him with it. Works every time."
From New York VenneKamp moved to another small town in North Carolina, where the burgeoning artist once again found himself at odds with his peers and immersed himself in art as an escape mechanism. "Imagine that, the skinny little northern boy thrown to the wolves," he says about those years. "Yeah, it was fun. I was (and still am) really into horror movies and the likes of. Needless to say, I was the weird kid mixed in with a hooplah of jocks and rednecks. Art was my escape and I swam away in it. I really hate that place. Even the people I used to hang out with werent really friends. Then I became a vampire. I fought werewolves in my free time. But back to the business at hand you learn really fast that most people are just out for themselves."
Now based in Georgia, Chris VenneKamp has been tattooing for nine years and is feeling comfortable with his place in the world, though adversity still rears its ugly head from time to time. "Even among artists, people will hate you for being more successful than they," he says. "But, angst ridden expletive them! They don't pay my bills. Anyway, I have been tattooing for almost nine years now and I am just finding my place or at least starting to find myself a little more happy with the art I am producing. I work now with the most talented group of individuals you could put under one roof and it's paying off for us all. Everyday Im trying to kick myself in the posterior to get better. I will keep doing so..."
Today, VenneKamp works out of All or Nothing Tattoo and Piecing Studio in Atlanta, Georgia, a studio that has been featured in more tattoo magazines than any other shop in the world. You can check out his work by visiting his InkedNation profile here. The following interview consists of InkedNation user submitted questions...
Chris May: If the game Warhawk was a sandwich, how many would you eat?
Chris V: [Laughs] I would probably eat enough of them to piss off my wife Chris. I always wanted to be a fighter pilot as a kid, so Warhawk is about as close I'll ever get to that.
Deeks: Of all your work, which piece are you most proud of?
Chris V: Probably the vampire on my buddy Tasha. It was the piece that changed everything.
Deeks: Which one would you do over if you could?
Chris V: My old ladys arm bro. It's not a horrible piece, but it's something I did years ago and I hate it.
Brandond: Who is you're favourite non-tattoo artist?
Chris V: Probably Marc Silvestri. He also puts out some really good comics like The Darkness. Yes, I am a 34-year-old man that still reads comics. I also have a bad habit of collecting toys with my two sons. I don't think any kids in history have ever had as much dope shit as they have.
Jennifernewby: What's you're favourite thing to listen to while doing a tattoo?
Chris V: I'd have to say that Queen is definitely the best music to listen to while working. I am a pretty big fan of old-timey country and blues as well.
Noranotorious: Oooh! I've got a good one!!! If you could have any super power, what would it be?
Chris V: Either x-ray vision or immortality. That would be a hard call. To be a perv or be impervious to harm, which do you choose?
Nora: What would you say is the biggest misconception about tattoo artists?
Chris V: People think were cool.
Americanparlour: Of all the things and mediums you could have worked in, why tattooing?
Chris V: I ask myself that on a regular basis. Sometimes I wish I could just paint, but then again nothing is as challenging or rewarding as pulling off something dope in the flesh.
1dharna: I would like to know how you feel about mandated, continued education courses/training for already licensed artists, state to state. Good idea or not?
Chris V: That's kinda tricky. Each and every artist should have a more than thorough awareness of a safe and sterile work environment. If you have all the formal training required, things haven't changed.
Jean-Francois Laverdiere: Do you currently work solely out of a studio or do you enjoy traveling?
Chris V: I definitely enjoy getting out on the road and seeing everyone as much as possible. [There is] nothing like actually being able to put a face with an artist you admire. Home is cool too though, being an artist takes away a lot of valuable time that I should be spending watching my boys football games and such.
Jean-Francois Laverdiere: What's you're favourite vacation spot?
Chris V: Holland. Amsterdam is the best place ever. I foresee a Cannabis-Cup trip in my future.
Jean-Francois Laverdiere: What are you're thoughts on all the fuss about tattooing going mainstream?
Chris V: I really try not to be that guy. I just want to do my thing and if you like it cool and if you don't I won't loose any sleep.
Jean-Francois Laverdiere: If I say, favourite food, what's on your mind right now?
Chris V: This little, single slice pizzeria down the road from my house in New York when I was a kid. Which in turn reminds me of the Fatboys and Kurtis Blow.
DMFT: What's you favourite time of the year?
Chris V: It would be a tie between Christmas and Halloween. I actually had a few younger trick-or-treaters this year who were too afraid to walk down my driveway. They each just stood at the top of the road and cried.
DMFT: What's the most absurd thing people ask you as a tattooer?
Chris V: Yo man... how much is a tattoo? I don't walk in the grocery store and ask the clerk how much are some groceries are gonna be. It depends on what I buy, right?
DMFT: So what are you into the most at the moment?
Chris V: That ones easy -- digital art. My computer, Photoshop and my Wacom
tablet make me happy. All the glory of a paintbrush or airbrush with
no mess -- I love it. It's bright new world out there and I intend
to shine in it. There are several new paintings in the works so look
out for them. I am spending a lot more time now again with my art and
can't wait to share some of the things in my head with the world. You
will hear here-and-there artists knocking on this media as an
art form but, you can believe me, this shit isn't easy. If you can't do
it with a paintbrush or an airbrush you damn sure can't produce it digitally. The further you can take you art outside of tattooing, the better you can be as a tattooer, for sure.
Vinniedonuts: What's the one thing you're dying to do you haven't got to do yet?
Chris V: Some ill ass, Star Wars shit... I do have General Grevious coming up soon, but I'm a big fan. I am actually working on a series of Star Wars inspired paintings, currently, that I 'm really stoked about. Keep an eye out.
For more information go to www.chrisvennekamp.com and www.allornothingtattoo.com
From New York VenneKamp moved to another small town in North Carolina, where the burgeoning artist once again found himself at odds with his peers and immersed himself in art as an escape mechanism. "Imagine that, the skinny little northern boy thrown to the wolves," he says about those years. "Yeah, it was fun. I was (and still am) really into horror movies and the likes of. Needless to say, I was the weird kid mixed in with a hooplah of jocks and rednecks. Art was my escape and I swam away in it. I really hate that place. Even the people I used to hang out with werent really friends. Then I became a vampire. I fought werewolves in my free time. But back to the business at hand you learn really fast that most people are just out for themselves."
Now based in Georgia, Chris VenneKamp has been tattooing for nine years and is feeling comfortable with his place in the world, though adversity still rears its ugly head from time to time. "Even among artists, people will hate you for being more successful than they," he says. "But, angst ridden expletive them! They don't pay my bills. Anyway, I have been tattooing for almost nine years now and I am just finding my place or at least starting to find myself a little more happy with the art I am producing. I work now with the most talented group of individuals you could put under one roof and it's paying off for us all. Everyday Im trying to kick myself in the posterior to get better. I will keep doing so..."
Today, VenneKamp works out of All or Nothing Tattoo and Piecing Studio in Atlanta, Georgia, a studio that has been featured in more tattoo magazines than any other shop in the world. You can check out his work by visiting his InkedNation profile here. The following interview consists of InkedNation user submitted questions...
Chris May: If the game Warhawk was a sandwich, how many would you eat?
Chris V: [Laughs] I would probably eat enough of them to piss off my wife Chris. I always wanted to be a fighter pilot as a kid, so Warhawk is about as close I'll ever get to that.
Deeks: Of all your work, which piece are you most proud of?
Chris V: Probably the vampire on my buddy Tasha. It was the piece that changed everything.
Deeks: Which one would you do over if you could?
Chris V: My old ladys arm bro. It's not a horrible piece, but it's something I did years ago and I hate it.
Brandond: Who is you're favourite non-tattoo artist?
Chris V: Probably Marc Silvestri. He also puts out some really good comics like The Darkness. Yes, I am a 34-year-old man that still reads comics. I also have a bad habit of collecting toys with my two sons. I don't think any kids in history have ever had as much dope shit as they have.
Jennifernewby: What's you're favourite thing to listen to while doing a tattoo?
Chris V: I'd have to say that Queen is definitely the best music to listen to while working. I am a pretty big fan of old-timey country and blues as well.
Noranotorious: Oooh! I've got a good one!!! If you could have any super power, what would it be?
Chris V: Either x-ray vision or immortality. That would be a hard call. To be a perv or be impervious to harm, which do you choose?
Nora: What would you say is the biggest misconception about tattoo artists?
Chris V: People think were cool.
Americanparlour: Of all the things and mediums you could have worked in, why tattooing?
Chris V: I ask myself that on a regular basis. Sometimes I wish I could just paint, but then again nothing is as challenging or rewarding as pulling off something dope in the flesh.
1dharna: I would like to know how you feel about mandated, continued education courses/training for already licensed artists, state to state. Good idea or not?
Chris V: That's kinda tricky. Each and every artist should have a more than thorough awareness of a safe and sterile work environment. If you have all the formal training required, things haven't changed.
Jean-Francois Laverdiere: Do you currently work solely out of a studio or do you enjoy traveling?
Chris V: I definitely enjoy getting out on the road and seeing everyone as much as possible. [There is] nothing like actually being able to put a face with an artist you admire. Home is cool too though, being an artist takes away a lot of valuable time that I should be spending watching my boys football games and such.
Jean-Francois Laverdiere: What's you're favourite vacation spot?
Chris V: Holland. Amsterdam is the best place ever. I foresee a Cannabis-Cup trip in my future.
Jean-Francois Laverdiere: What are you're thoughts on all the fuss about tattooing going mainstream?
Chris V: I really try not to be that guy. I just want to do my thing and if you like it cool and if you don't I won't loose any sleep.
Jean-Francois Laverdiere: If I say, favourite food, what's on your mind right now?
Chris V: This little, single slice pizzeria down the road from my house in New York when I was a kid. Which in turn reminds me of the Fatboys and Kurtis Blow.
DMFT: What's you favourite time of the year?
Chris V: It would be a tie between Christmas and Halloween. I actually had a few younger trick-or-treaters this year who were too afraid to walk down my driveway. They each just stood at the top of the road and cried.
DMFT: What's the most absurd thing people ask you as a tattooer?
Chris V: Yo man... how much is a tattoo? I don't walk in the grocery store and ask the clerk how much are some groceries are gonna be. It depends on what I buy, right?
DMFT: So what are you into the most at the moment?
Chris V: That ones easy -- digital art. My computer, Photoshop and my Wacom
tablet make me happy. All the glory of a paintbrush or airbrush with
no mess -- I love it. It's bright new world out there and I intend
to shine in it. There are several new paintings in the works so look
out for them. I am spending a lot more time now again with my art and
can't wait to share some of the things in my head with the world. You
will hear here-and-there artists knocking on this media as an
art form but, you can believe me, this shit isn't easy. If you can't do
it with a paintbrush or an airbrush you damn sure can't produce it digitally. The further you can take you art outside of tattooing, the better you can be as a tattooer, for sure.
Vinniedonuts: What's the one thing you're dying to do you haven't got to do yet?
Chris V: Some ill ass, Star Wars shit... I do have General Grevious coming up soon, but I'm a big fan. I am actually working on a series of Star Wars inspired paintings, currently, that I 'm really stoked about. Keep an eye out.
For more information go to www.chrisvennekamp.com and www.allornothingtattoo.com
erin_broadley:
Renowned tattoo artist Chris Vennekamp insists that kicking himself in the ass everyday is what makes him better at his craft. This, no doubt, the result of a rough-and-tough, small-town childhood that in many ways prepared him for the life of success in the face of adversity he would later lead....
corgan:
I've had the pleasure of meeting Chris a few times.. he is so talented. Everyone at all or nothing are incredible artists!