Tattoo Talk: Owen Paulls Discusses His Life as a Tattoo Artist

It’s not often that a tattoo artist becomes world-renowned, but most tattoo artists aren’t like Owen Paulls. Paulls is a highly regarded black and grey tattoo artist from the South Coast of England. Now residing in Seattle, he has become known for his unique blending techniques, detailed structures, and a European-influenced style. His vision is unique, marrying together traditional designs with a realistic, detail-oriented approach. Paulls began tattooing actively in 2012 and is now sought after internationally for his outstanding work. He regularly visits Italy, where he has won several awards. Over the years, he has been featured in numerous publications like Inked Magazine, Things & Ink, Freshly Inked, and Global Tattoo Mag.

Before focusing mostly exclusively on tattooing, Paulls spent nearly two decades as a touring musician. Between 2008 and 2013, he was a mainstay on the Vans Warped Tour. But it was tattooing that was his real calling in life, as evidenced by his international reputation. While he primarily tattoos in his home city of Seattle, Paulls is a frequent traveller nationwide. He is a frequent visitor to tattoo conventions, and he teaches seminars on his signature black and grey style.

Considering his occupation and accomplishments, what better guest for Tattoo Talk than Owen Paulls? Today, he joins us to discuss how he got into tattooing, his personal artistic style, technological advances in the industry, and more.

Owen Paulls tattoo 1

Hi! Thank you for joining us. Do you have an art background or professional training in tattooing?

Owen Paulls: “I don’t! But I wish I had tackled a little of the formal art training side before I started, as it could have saved me a lot of time down the road! I focused on application and image transferring for a large part of my career and then started working around more art-motivated tattooers when I moved to the States.”

When did you know you wanted to get tattooed/get into tattooing?

“When I was younger and still playing music, I’d been asked to work on a few of my bandmates’ tattoos, as they’d seen a few of my band merchandise designs. They gave me the task of putting together a sleeve and a few smaller flash-style tats, and I was so excited to see them actually become real tattoos. They were tattooed by a local artist and got me thinking, well, I wonder if I could be the one to do the next ones?!”

What style of tattoo do you feel closest to? What drew you to it?

“When I started tattooing, I was chasing the old traditional style of tattooing as I’d always heard it was best to cut your teeth on learning the classic styles before progressing into more complex designs, and they were totally right! After a few years, I started moving more towards black and grey realism, and that’s where I ended up today. I like the way it ages and that my work can be built into sleeves or larger pieces without the gaps between pieces that come with the traditional style.”

Owen Paulls tattoo 2

Who are some of your favourite artists?

“Without being too namedroppy, I’ve got to give a shout-out to Boris. His application, designs, and creativity are second to none. I don’t think that guy can miss!

“Another would be Sivak (I can see him eye rolling now!) because again, his approach to tattooing and unique style are just unbeatable.

“One more would be the main man himself, Nikko Hurtardo. Who has not only shown me some insane healed works but has come through for me so many times and elevated me as an artist.

“I’ve seen older healed works by all of these guys that look brand new!”

How would you describe your personal artistic style?

“I think my style right now is somewhere between Hollywood golden age cinema photography and smoothed-out realism. It’s a hard one to put in a box, but the easiest description is black and grey realistic tattooing! Style comes from what you surround yourself with, and in the past few years, I’ve been trying to improve my classical painting chops and studying a lot of animation design.”

Owen Paulls tattoo 3

What’s your greatest passion?

“The arts in general? Am I allowed to say that? I know that’s a massive range to cover, but it’s hard for me to give the top spot to just one thing! I love tattooing and being creative. And I also love painting and getting to create outside of the skin!

“I’ve played music my whole life, and it’s how I got my start in tattooing through my bandmates. I still have a big passion for drums and actually (recently) sat behind the kit with an awesome LA band called Aliblis on their West Coast tour. There’s a lot going on in my life!”

Have you had anything covered up? If yes, what was it and why?

“Oh yes! I’m trying to think of which one I should mention! I had a budget version of Princess Mononoke on my wrist from an apprentice, tattooed before I started tattooing myself. I could tell he messed up the face, and I always hated showing my sleeve because of it! I’ve since covered it with a Steamboat Willy (early Mickey Mouse) and his shoe has made a ‘blast over’ style of her wonky face!

“Another would be more of an addition than a cover. I had a piece started on my ribs where the artist had to stop to tell me that he’d made the design too small and would have to stop before finishing it. I was horrified at the time, but after a couple of laser hits, I decided to just leave it as is and add a cartoon cat above it to make what was left look like cat scratches instead.

“If you can beat ‘em, maul ‘em, I guess! And it makes for a funny story.”

Owen Paulls tattoo 4

Have you seen any fans with a band tattoo from the bands you played with? Anything crazy memorable?

“Never any from the groups I played with, but of other bands and signed portraits of singers, etc. I’ve seen plenty! I love getting to work on musician tattoos. One of my favourites has been a slash portrait on the calf. Guitars are so fun to tattoo on as they’re so techy!”

Where do you feel the biggest tech advances are coming from in tattooing? Say, compared to a decade ago or even 20 years ago.

“I’m sure everyone by now is more familiar with rotary machines (the quiet ones). These were really coming into the market when I started tattooing, so I got to learn on traditional coil machines and then change over to rotaries as they took over the industry. I can totally see the merits of both in particular styles, but for the length of time I tattoo for each session, I’m thankful to have a lighter machine that travels better than the older versions.

“The latest thing for us in 2025 is the ability to use technology to help create complex stencils, save the clients’ skin and make it all around safer to get a tattoo. I’m so thankful that we are in such a creative stage and the focus is on how to best heal the work!”

If someone is thinking about a career as a tattoo artist, what’s the most important advice you could give them?

“Study! And don’t try to specialize too quickly. Dip your toes in the ocean before deciding if you want to surf or water ski. Your style will develop out of your interests and the people you surround yourself with, so just focus on doing clean work that the customer loves before committing to just one style and getting boxed in.

“That’s the best advice I can give! Thank you so much for asking me these awesome questions! You rock!”