Talking Permanent Ink With the Tiger Man
photo: Golpe Marino!
Hobbies: Collecting books, records and drinking Campari.
Music currently listening to: Gold Kids and Runes
Books: HP Lovecraft stories
Describe yourself in 3 words: Old, Nice and Kind
The combination of his sharp claws and creativeness will leave some permanent distinctive stripes on your skin. Uomo Tigre takes what’s best from old- school Traditional American designs, and embarks on a artistic journey across your limbs that you won’t see anywhere else.
Your probably wondering who this Tiger Man is—translation for Uomo Tigre. The name of the Italian from Cagliari is actually Alessandro Melis, tattoo artist and owner of Dagger Tattoo.
So how do you become a tattoo artist? In some occasions it is drawn from inspiration. For Melis it was ten years ago, when he was surrounded by that environment.
“Since I’ve always been close to loads of tattoo artists…my friends Davide Ragazzo and Francesco Toreno both helped me a lot and pushed me to make it happen! God bless them,” says Melis.
The self-taught artist began his artistic endeavors at the age of six, constantly pushing himself until he developed his own technique. Not only becoming a tattoo artist and designer but also a respectable businessman.
“I’ve been designing since I was really young, cartoons always inspired me and so did comic books! There are plenty of other artists who have inspired me as well. I also keep studying all my subjects and draw 
almost every day when I have the opportunity,” adds Melis. “I’ve been working on loads of bands lately, designing their merch among other collaborations, so that really gives me loads of satisfaction. I love working for the music scene in general. Usually people in bands are proper, nice and cool to me! Awesome feelings.”
He admits that the pain of a tattoo wasn’t as bad as he expected when he got his first ink job back in 1996. What actually made him uneasy was using a tattoo gun for the first time. “I was really nervous, ‘cause they gave me a tattoo gun and nobody had told me how to use it. What a mess!”
Now, his extended limb has brought along some memorable moments, and some odd ones, like tattooing a tomato filled sandwich for one and designing out of all things, a fork.
“I did a fork once, one of my friends that’s in a band called Gold Kids. They were touring Europe, and they never found a fork for dinner that time so, they decided to get one. I was drunk and the tattoo came out rad anyway.”
photo: Uncle Jeffe Photo
Although tattooing may seem like an entertaining and laid-back job compared to sitting in a cubicle all day, don’t let it fool you, it is quite strenuous just like any other and requires many hours of hard work and patience. Alessandro shared that he once spent five hours on someone’s chest piece, tattooing a ship surrounded by sharks and roses.
He continued on by giving advice on what to look for, in the person that is going to lay ink on you: “the tattoo artist has to be clean and serious. They need to look for their own style and they need to have a clear idea of what they wanna get.”
If tattooing is something you genuinely want to pursue, Melis proves a valid point from his years of experience: “Just become a tattoo artist if you really feel it. Forget about the money/job thing, do it only if you love designing. It’s cool if you learn
yourself, but if you have someone that can help you out, someone who’s been tattooing for a long time you should definitely take all of his/her advice. Draw as much as you can. Don’t forget it’s a life style not just a trend.”
Even if he sets shop in Italy, Uomo Tigre continuously collaborates virtually from across the globe. If you’re interested in a few designs, some art work, merch services or are just curious to see what this Tiger can offer, hit him up.
Email: familiadagger@yahoo.it
http://daggertattoo.tumblr.com/
http://www.facebook.com/daggertattoo
