Today we’d like to introduce you to Drew Blood.
Drew, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I always wanted to be an artist by trade and from a very early age, I knew that tattooing was the direction that I wanted to pursue most. Just after high school, I was offered a position to clean a tattoo shop on the south side of San Antonio.
I lived pretty far but it was the only shop that would give me a chance. For an entire year, all I did was clean and try to look over my shoulders while the artists worked.
The tattoo industry was much different at this time, mind you, this was 18 years ago and it was extremely competitive due to the nature of advertising challenges at the time, since social media was just budding.
Because of this, artists seldom wanted to share their trade secrets with anyone, as you could become their competition someday. The owner knew I wanted to tattoo and he saw some of the work I did in my free time outside the shop, so he decided to give me a shot and move me to their Nacogdoches location, which was much closer to where I lived. I was tattooing there on a probationary period, and the artists there certainly made sure I understood that. After working there for nearly 8 months, the owner sold the shop and all of us had to move to new shops.
Everyone else had enough experience and connections to find work, but I was nobody so I was forced to quit tattooing for the time being.
I got a job working as a pharmacy manager and due to the nature of comfort in a steady income, I became complacent and stayed there for nearly 8 years. Company-wide layoffs came and it was a blessing in disguise. I got a job working as a bouncer for a local rock bar, Zombies. One of the regulars there heard I was an artist and said he would give me his tattoo machines his wife had bought him to learn if I would tattoo him. So we would meet up at my place after my shifts and I’d practice on him and myself, which is an ethical “no-no” in the tattoo community. But I had limited resources and was dead set on pursuing my childhood dream.
After a year of practice and remembering how to tattoo, I was fortunate enough to have been noticed by an old friend in the tattoo industry, Carlos Lemon, of Derma-stain Tattoo. He gave me a shot to work for him and learn more about the craft. It was there that I met artists Cruz Foster and Corin Gilbert, who would later open the shop I currently work at, Crooked Crows Tattoo. Being around so many talented artists drove me to work long hours, sometimes I’d be at the shop drawing until 2 am only to be in the next day at 11 am.
I worked as many days as I could, I wanted to be just as amazing as all the other artists I worked for. Pushing my style into a neo-Traditional direction, really helped me to learn what I know now, which I can apply directly to every one of my anime pieces. It wasn’t actually until two years ago, my 4th year of tattooing, that I finally got into anime tattoos, which is now my primary style of tattooing.
The people I’ve met along the way, are the primary reason I am the artist I am today. If it wasn’t for the constant inspiration and community that the tattoo industry is today, I just couldn’t imagine where I would be. I love what I do, and I’m so thankful my journey has taken me here.
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?
It truly hasn’t been. we all have a story, and it usually includes speed bumps or even epic crashes. I think some of the hardest hurdles I’ve had to cross weren’t even in the tattoo industry. The main issues have been either financial or mental health-related.
It’s important to take time to help yourself, and all I did was push constantly and didn’t even take a second to breathe. I’ve always had problems with anxiety and panic disorder. To this day, it still affects my success as an artist, and it’s absolutely devastating to social interactions.
I’m sure this is relatable to many, the important thing to remember is life isn’t linear, we can take breaks. We can take different paths at any moment. I’m proof, I didn’t truly get into my dream job until I was 30!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a tattoo artist at Crooked Crows Tattoo. I have been tattooing for 6 years and I have loved every second of it. I specialize in Anime tattoos, which is a subject matter I am absolutely enamored by. I would have to say I’m most proud of overcoming mental health issues that have previously made it impossible to further my career.
I’m not fully over it, as we never are, but I’ve come a long way. And that’s really the most I could ask for from myself. In an industry constantly full of blossoming artists and amazing peers, you have to try your best to be different in your own way.
I like to take the bold lines and solid colors from anime and make it more dynamic. I want people to look at my work and see depth, movement, and super bright colors!
We love surprises, fun facts, and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
That I am incredibly antisocial, to a detrimental level. On my Instagram stories, I appear much more outgoing and interesting when really, I’m just a shut-in who loves to draw and watch anime with my cats.
Contact Info:
- Email: drewbloodtattoo@gmail.com
- Website: crookedcrowstattoo.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/Drew.Blood
- TikTok: @Satanic.Senpai
- Others: Twitch.tv/Drew_Blood
