Meet Hector Valenzuela

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hector Valenzuela

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Growing up as a kid I always loved to draw. Any chance I got, I would get away and sit for hours drawing anything I could. There was something about creating that connected with me and others would feel that same connection when they would see a drawing I spent so much time on. I also loved sports and spent a lot of time playing soccer, baseball, wrestling, and football. When it came time to graduate high school I had a difficult decision to make. My art teacher at the time told me that in order to go to a quality art school there would not be the opportunity to play sports. I was offered a football scholarship and made the tough decision to play collegiate sports instead of pursuing my passion for art. Even though I laid aside art for a short time, the passion was always there. A few years after graduating from college I decided to take my passion for art seriously. I took some classes, started studying on my own and even reached out to other artists for advice. I was fortunate enough to get hired as a firefighter for the City of Tucson and that gave me even more of a chance to pursue art. The schedule of a firefighter can have a large amount of time off and this was just what I needed to focus on my art. Tattoos had always been an attractive medium for me and I decided that was what I wanted to pursue. I tried to get an apprenticeship for some time with no luck. When I thought that there was no hope for me I stumbled upon a tattoo shop from Toronto, Canada called Chronic Ink. They had recently put out an online workshop for tattooing called Inkworkshops and it was just that start I needed. I started learning from the online material and created a relationship with the manager of Inkworkshops. This relationship allowed me to have the opportunity to travel to this world renown tattoo shop and shadow one of the lead artists. I was able to learn some of the foundations to become a great tattooer.

Please tell us about your art.
The styles of tattoo I pursue are Neo-Traditional Asian and Blackwork Fine Line Detail. In order to grow in this passion, I spend a lot of time drawing in graphite and charcoal. When I paint I love to use watercolor and oil. There is a lot of time spent behind closed doors creating a tattoo. There are numerous revisions and a lot of research that goes into the smallest and largest design. All of this hard work comes from a passion to connect and create something that a person will connect with for a lifetime.

Do you have any advice for other artists? Any lessons you wished you learned earlier?
If I could give any advice away it would what I learned during my time at Chronic Ink. Be a learner and a teacher always. There is always enough to go around, so if you have been given anything, be quick to give it away because more is always available. Being open to critique can be hard but if you embrace it you will never stop growing as a person or an artist.

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
Currently, you can see a lot of my artwork and tattoos through my social media, especially my Instagram account @Tattoosbyhector. I am in the process of launching my website and I a few short weeks I will be opening my own tattoo shop.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 5204719836
• Instagram: tattoosbyhector
• Facebook: tattoosbyhec

Image Credit:
Hector Valenzuela

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