Today we’d like to introduce you to Monica Motta.
Monica, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’m 32 years old, I’m a tattoo artist, painter and illustrator, born and raised in Brazil and nowadays I live in Brooklyn, New York.
My first contact with art was through my older brother, he always drew, painted and started tattooing when I was 15, he has always been my biggest source of inspiration. When I turned 16, my brothers (with the help of my father) opened a tattoo shop in the city where I was born, in Brazil. My older brother was already tattooing, so I started working with him at the tattoo shop, I was at the reception, serving his customers, taking care of his schedule and all the needs of the shop, I learned a lot about tattooing processes in that time, along with high school I started to take a drawing course at an Art School. When I turned 18 my brother took me on as his tattoo artist apprentice, he was my master for two years until I was ready to get my tattoo artist license, at the age of 20 I started working as a professional tattoo artist in our tattoo shop.
At 22 I got pregnant, but I never stopped working, I continued working until a week before she was born. I’m a single mother, and today my daughter is ten years old. When my daughter turned five, with my mother’s help, I was able to start traveling to do guest spots in other cities, connecting with other artists and participating in projects such as painting exhibitions and illustration partnerships with some Brazilian national brands.
In 2017 I came to the United States for the first time, I stayed in New York and met all the people at Fleur Noire Tattoo studio and we became friends. I continued coming from time to time, expanding my contacts with the studios and artists here. In 2020 I was invited to move to the USA and be a resident tattoo artist at a tattoo studio in Massachusetts. At the time, I talked to my boyfriend (who is now my husband) and we decided to come, bringing my daughter along. We got married, and then the three of us moved to Massachusetts. I worked in that shop for 1 and a half years when the invitation came to move to New York and become a resident tattoo artist at the Fleur Noire studio where I work until today.
I am very happy to live here with my family and have the opportunity to work with what I love most, art. Art is what moves me, motivates me and fulfills me and being able to raise my daughter doing what I love most is a privilege.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I can say that I was lucky to have my brother as my master’s and teacher. He always did his best to teach me everything I know today and prepare me to be a good professional, with love but hard enough to keep me on track and make me practice drawing every day. On the other hand, it is rarely easy for an artist to work in Brazil, I came from a small town, humble family with almost no access to quality supplies to work with, and when we could find them, they were always very expensive. After I became a mother, it became even more difficult as I had to deal with my job, my house and raising my daughter alone. It definitely wasn’t easy, but I always had the support of my family and my passion for my profession, all of this is what keeps me going until today.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a tattoo artist, I do my creations and custom tattoos, I also paint watercolors and do digital art. In tattooing, the style that most inspired me when I started was the Traditional Old School, with time I learned about other styles, other cultures that also have the traditional style, like the traditional Japanese. Today even though I have a more modern job, my roots, sources of inspiration and techniques used for tattooing all this comes from the style of traditional tattoos. I look for inspiration in ukiyo-ye (ancient Japanese paintings, woodcuts) and also in books by artists I admire. I like to do works with a lot of black, contrast, solid lines and sometimes with elements in red in the composition, with each piece I create, my main objective is to seek and maintain my identity. This identity, which by nature, differentiates me from others.
What matters most to you? Why?
The most important thing for me is never to lose interest in life. If you have the will to live, you will always have the strength to deal with other important things in life, such as professional life, family and personal well-being, etc. And professionally speaking, I would say that the most important thing is my will to always improve my work and also the trust and satisfaction of my clients.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monicamotta/
Image Credits
Ozan Sapso Aldous Heaven
