The Thrill of the Permanent

Gone are the days of rockers, bikers and pirates being the only groups to frequent tattoo parlours. We talk to three female tattoo artists making a permanent mark on their industry.
By Nakita Ardern

Nadine Bryant– The Queen of Ink
 
Nadine Bryant was your stereotypical British heavy metal-loving motorhead, and in her youth tattooing seemed like a logical career to move into.
“In Crawley, England I took my art portfolio into a local tattoo shop, made myself available to do an apprenticeship and ended up working there for five years,” she says.
In 1995 Nadine immigrated to New Zealand with her husband and son, and the following year opened Skinks Tattoo originally in Fairfield, Hamilton.

Unlike a traditional street shop where you pick something off the wall, Nadine runs a custom shop where each tattoo is designed specifically for the person. Occasionally the team will have a walk-in when one of the artists has a free spot, but Nadine prefers her clients be completely sure of the decisions they make.
Throughout her career Nadine has won over 100 awards including the Logan Ink Off three times.
“Now I consider it a better achievement to make the client happy. There isn’t so much emphasis on competitions now thanks to the Internet and the popularity of tattoo magazines. Your work can get a lot of exposure without having to compete. Besides, art is based more on what you like, which isn’t a fair way to judge.”

Nadine remembers her first large piece; a character made up of bones down a man’s wrist. The eight hour job was not only a big ask for the client, having to sit still in pain, it took an incredible amount of concentration and physical stamina for the artist.