Paul Clavé

First of all can you introduce yourself and tell us where you work?

My name is Paul Clavé, I was born on 26/12/1978 and I work at Lab Monkey Tattoo Studio in Stirling, Scotland with Soap.

Can you remember when you first starting being aware of tattoos and what lead you to wanting to become an actual tattooer rather than someone who gets tattooed?

I don’t think I ever thought much about tattoos until I got my first one on a whim when I was 16 and instantly fell in love with them! By the time I was 22, I had two full sleeves and a back piece and in my heart I always knew I wanted to be a tattooer but couldn’t imagine
myself actually doing it because it seemed so unobtainable.

How did you become a tattooer, did you follow the traditional route of having an apprenticeship?

The guy that had tattooed my back opened up his own shop in Glasgow in 2004 and I started there as the shop assistant. I practised drawing and was given a few pointers on tattooing from the guys that worked there and eventually did a few tattoos but it certainly couldn’t be called an apprenticeship. I left there in 2007 and Soap very kindly offered me a job at Lab Monkey. That was the real start of my tattooing and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to thank Soap enough for giving me that chance, for being so helpful and for introducing me to so many amazing tattooers!

Which tattooers do you feel have had the most impact on you in terms of style and design?

My 3 favourites have always been Alex Binnie, Thomas Hooper and Duncan X. For me, their work never fails to delight, inspire and challenge me but as much I admire their work I never want to copy it so as much as possible I try and look else where for inspiration. I am also a huge fan of Jondix, Guy le Tattooer, Yann Black, Nick Horn, Thad Ritchey, Genko, Dan Sinnes to name but a few…

Outside of tattooers, what other artists do you draw inspiration from?

Everywhere… Albrecht Durer, Robert Fludd, Francis Bacon, Alphose Mucha, Guillermo Del Toro, Darren Aronofsky, Lynd Ward, Hans Holbien, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Ian Curtis , Antony Hegarty, Alexander McQueen, Alien Sex Fiend, George Orwell, Nikos Kazantzakis, Cormac McCarthy, the Revelation of St John the Divine, Mad max 2, Hellraiser, Frank Miller, Mother Nature and my own imagination…

For people who don’t know much about your work could you describe your preferred style of tattooing?

I would describe my style as Apocalyptical. I’m fascinated (and haunted) by the idea of the end of our modern, artificial world and the natural world coming back different and stranger… and then making this into tattoos - lots of black ink, lots of lines and dots and lots of trees, leaves, roots, veins, skulls, animals, monsters and chaos…

What do you think led you to develop this distinctive look to your tattoos and artwork? Was it a conscious decision or did your style just develop this way naturally?

Both! It was definitely a conscious decision to try and make my work distinctive because that’s the kind of work I love - I have always been a big fan of blackwork and art brut tattooing so there is definitely an influence from there but my style has also just developed naturally over time with the same themes and ideas constantly niggling away at me and with my wife’s continued love and support – I couldn’t have done any of this without her help!

Are there any tattooers out there who you’d like to get tattooed by?

I haven’t been tattooed By Duncan X, Jondix or Guy le Tatooer yet so I need to sort that out soon and would love more work from Alex and Thomas. I’m also looking forward to getting my chest finished by Stewart Robson this summer and to get more tattoos from my friends Nick and Thad.

Lab Monkey has attracted its fair share of guest artists such as Valerie Vargas, Chad Koeplinger and Thad Ritchey; do you feel working with these tattooers has helped you develop as an artist at all?

It has been invaluable because I wouldn’t be the tattooer I am today without all the knowledge, advice and criticism that I have been lucky enough to receive from all the incredible tattooers that have guested at Lab Monkey since I’ve worked there.

Finally, where do you see yourself heading in the next few years and have you got any plans you’d like to tell us about?

Well, providing the events of 2012 aren’t too cataclysmic then I would like to move to London with my wife Lou and my dog, Frank – it’s been a plan of ours for some time now and we would like to do it soon, keep developing my style and do as many interesting tattoos on as many interesting people as possible and continue the ancient quest to find the tree of life. But if the world does end and there is nothing left then so it goes…

Paul Clavé will be working at Liverpool Tattoo Convention at the Lab Monkey booth on the 14th and 15 of May 2011.

You can check out Paul’s Blog here:  http://kingofbones.co.uk/