

ABOUT MATT
Ever since I could experience memories, mine are of drawing. I was born in Australia, being brought to California that same year.
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I've spent my entire life drawing, painting, capturing something in my head or in nature - the energy - and trying to illustrate it. Tattooing was the pinnacle of this idea for me; during my time in the US Army I started learning how to draw and paint tattoo flash -buying magazines and recreating that stuff. My buddies would have me draw pieces that would get turned into tattoos, and I was in love with the medium. Ten years after getting out of the Army, I was fortunate enough to begin tattooing. That was in 2001. I've never stopped being a student, never stopped learning. When I tattoo, or when I draw or paint... I'm always trying to capture a certain energy, a certain vibe - something old that never was. Maybe it existed as something here, or in an alternate universe.
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My wife and I moved to Yucca Valley in 2023, where I'm now basing all operations. I travel as my work dictates, always coming home to recharge and reset.
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In the last 23 years I've been able to work with some truly amazing tattooers, artists, and they become friends for life. Coming from the shops I've worked in, I'm very appreciative to be where I am now - to have slowed down my pace a bit and hone in even more. To get closer to this focal point that I can't even imagine, because I can't see it, and wouldn't recognize it if I did see it. The whole trip is a journey, the destination is the end. I'm not there yet.
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-Matt