Meet Dave Regan

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dave Regan.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Tattooing captured my attention at a time when it’s power and popularity had yet to be realized. As I grew into my teen years, tattooing found its way into the collective sphere, but it was still challenging to get one’s foot in the proverbial door. As I finally found a place I was able to work and learn, starting from the ground up. I went through a jagged apprenticeship, and then onto working seven days a week split between multiple shops. I have always had a strong propensity towards both American and Japanese tattooing, which is my main focus these days.

Tattooing has given me my life, my career, anything I’ve ever owned, and a drive I couldn’t have otherwise found. It has taken me all over the world, opened my mind to all manner of art and music, helped me to learn new languages, experienced more cultures than I could imagine. To illustrate that point (no pun intended), as I write this, I am sitting in a traditional house in Asakusa, Tokyo.

I hope to continue to further my education and pursuit of art, music, writing, and namely, tattooing. I am currently focused on large scale projects, but I am just as happy to create smaller pieces and provide a calm and welcoming atmosphere for my clients. I have a large number of clients who travel from out of state to get work, and I am always keen to accommodate.

Please tell us about your art.
I am a multidisciplinary artist. I am a multi-instrumentalist, a painter in a few mediums, and a writer. I focus on all aspects of the arts in my day to day life, including publishing a few new books, and releasing albums across a few different projects. Tattooing is my main focus, and I take the responsibility of what I do very seriously. Creating a peaceful atmosphere in my work environment is very important to me, both for my client’s sake, as well as my own.

I believe Japanese tattooing is the highest evolution of tattooing as well as the most challenging. It requires immersive study, and it can never be mastered thoroughly. The humility and discipline of the Japanese culture is reflected in the tattooing as well as every other aspect of life. I hope to continue my studies in language and culture, and in doing so, hope to inspire others to do the same.

I am very fortunate to be able to have the clientele I do, and I hope that they take away from it the ideals of respect and reciprocity. Bodysuit tattooing requires an immense commitment, as the wearer suffers for it to some extent. I have almost completed my suit and I can relate to the experience of my clients, which offers them a compassionate ear. It is an expensive, painful procedure, but it helps the wearer gain a deeper understand of themselves as they venture further and further.

Do you have any advice for other artists? Any lessons you wished you learned earlier?
The best advice I have is to keep an open mind and retain as much as you possibly can. Drop your ego, drop your attitudes, and recognize that you can learn something from everyone. I don’t wish I had learned anything at any time other than when I have, because I, just like all of us, am who I am because of the sum of my experience, and I do not wish to change any of that.

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
Instagram is the most current way to view my tattooing, and I can be found @Dutch raven. My website is about to be overhauled, but can still be viewed at https://traditiontattooing.com, and for listeners that are curious, you can find my main project at https://soundcloud.com/offields. I am available for painting commissions as well as tattooing, and I may be reached at traditiontattooing@gmail.com 

Contact Info:

• Website: Traditiontattooing.com
• Email: traditiontattooing@gmail.com
• Instagram: @dutchraven
• Other: https://soundcloud.com/offields

Image Credit:
All photos are my property and I do not release client names

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