Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Lopez.
Hi Hannah, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been an artist as long as I can remember. In my younger years, my focus was photo realism, specifically portraits of people and dogs. It was a like a competition I had with myself to see just how close I could get my drawing to the reference photo I used. Up until my early 20s, I never considered tattooing as an obtainable career. It felt like a far off dream. Since I was a little girl, I always had a fascination with tattoos. The concept of wearable art you could keep forever was amazing to me. I was introduced to a tattooer when I was 19 and I picked their brain about the details of their apprenticeship. They advised me to put together a portfolio of my best work and show it around to any and every tattoo shop I could find. At the time, I lived with a coworker in Echo Park. Her house was just down the street from El Clasico Tattoo, a shop I’d always pass on the way to and from my retail job in Glendale. Every time I’d pass this shop I’d look in and fantasize about what it’d be like to tattoo there. I walked into El Clasico Tattoo one afternoon and showed Adam Padilla my portfolio. That same day he offered me the apprenticeship. Life got in the way and I didn’t pursue tattooing right away after my apprenticeship. I decided to try to make the 9-5 office job thing work and it made me miserable. The depression that came from feeling out of place in an office environment lit a fire under me to really give tattooing my all. I tattooed from home to build up a portfolio so I could get a job at a shop. And now I’m back at El Clasico Tattoo, where I got my education about 10 years ago, as a full-time artist.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Not having the full support of my parents at the time of my apprenticeship was frustrating. They told me that after high school I have to be in school full-time or work full-time if I was going to continue to live at home. To my parents, a tattoo apprenticeship did not count to them as school. I ended up moving to Simi Valley to live with my grandparents, who gave me their full support to pursue tattooing full-time. The beautiful thing is now my parents are my biggest supporters, and I’ve since tattooed them both. My dad, who was so anti-tattoo in my youth, now has a total of 5 decent-sized pieces that I’ve tattooed on him.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in Fine Line tattoos and I’m known for my illustrative style. I’m proud of how far I’ve come in my Fine Line Journey. When I first started working at El Clasico, I was not into fine line at all. I wanted to focus on developing a style in Neo Traditional tattooing. My coworker Jesse pulled me aside one day when I tried passing off a walk-in that wanted a Fine Line tattoo. He encouraged me to try something new and gave me great advice so I’d have confidence going into the piece. I fell in love right away. There was something therapeutic in the tedium of the tattoo. The fact that this has become my specialty still trips me out. To be honest, every day I’m still learning, and I don’t think I know what sets me apart just yet. But I’m excited to figure that out.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
So many things. My work, I feel so incredibly lucky that I can make a living doing what I love most. Connecting with my clients, I’ve met some amazing people and their love and support mean everything to me. My goofy ass cat Mitsos. I wasn’t a cat person until him. The learning curve was challenging but extremely rewarding. Quality time with loved ones that is my love language.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @hannahdarkheart
Image Credits
@bobflowers @lovesquish @pinchekid
