Parkhurst artist creates international waves with his needle

A tattoo artist from Parkhurst received 14 000 likes from tattoo fanatics after being featured on Inked magazine’s Facebook page.

Thuys Uys (36), a cancer survivor and father of one, said a client he had tattooed posted the sleeve on the magazine’s website.

“It was pretty cool, I didn’t expect it. I didn’t aim for it or anything.”

Inked is a tattoo lifestyle magazine published in the United States and has a huge following.

Uys worked in the film industry as a focus puller (1st assistant cameraman) until 2009. He lost his job when the company went under and from there he started drawing sketches at a tattoo parlour. Today, the family man together with his wife, own Fallen Heroes, a tattoo parlour in Parkhurst, which has been in existence for five years.

“I’ve been a tattoo artist for about seven years. Ever since I can remember I used to draw, that was always my thing.” He will soon be travelling to Colorado Springs where he will be opening a new tattoo parlour.

The talented tattoo artist said he had seen a significant increase in the number of people getting inked and that designs and styles were reflecting the changing times.

“What people are doing now is black work, accompanied by sacred geometry, the mandala [representing wholeness] and lacey kinds of tattoos. That’s a very big thing,” he said.

Uys said tattooing had evolved so much that any art was possible on the skin.

“If there’s an art you like, chances are the artist can make it happen,” he added.

A few things to look out for when choosing a tattoo and an artist:

• Find what you want to get done, then find the best artist for it.
• Visit Pinterest, a social network platform where users share videos and images and browse what others have pinned, and see what people are doing.
• Cleanliness: If you see an artist set up, check if the areas of their station that will be involved in the tattoo process are covered, and that the tattoo machine is wrapped, if it’s exposed, the artist is probably touching the machine with bloody gloves. The tattoo machine can never be 100 percent clean, therefore, it’s best that it be covered.
• Ensure the tattoo parlour has a sterile room.
• Use Bepanthen, a nappy rash cream to keep tattoo moist and to prevent cracks.
• Once the art has healed, always use an SPF 30+ sunblock.

Details: Fallen Heroes. Twitter. Facebook.