Featured Artist: Oscar Hove
Oscar Hove, co-owner of Ondo Tattoo in Barcelona, is a blackwork tattoo artist that we've been following for a while. We showcased one of his prints as our first blackquisition, and now we're privileged to have him as our first featured artist. We did a quick Q & A with Oscar to pick his brain about art and how black plays a role in what he does.
B: Thanks for taking the time to talk with us. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, your history and what you do?
O: My name is Oscar Hove and I'm an artist based in Barcelona. I got into art when I was about 12 years old, specifically in graffiti. That lead to my career in graphic design and more recently tattooing, which I started in 2011.
B: We know a lot of your tattoo and artwork consist mostly of black. Why do you think working with black or neutral tones is appealing to you?
O: When I started tattooing, i thought that I needed to make them as detailed as possible in order for them to look good. But I got bored with that and quickly discovered that style wasn't for me. I realized that I prefer clean, simple tattoos that you can look at and digest right away, so there's no distractions with unnecessary details. I find more enjoyment in the simplicity of a piece.
B: Do you think working with just black hinders you or allows for more creativity?
O: Even though working with black seems simple or easy, it can be quite complex and challenging. Giving something shape or depth with a single black line is always hard. It makes every line deliberate and important, and it forces each one to be beautiful by itself.
B: Your lines are why we love your work so much. Does black play a big role in any other facets of your life? Clothing, home decor, other art?
O: Haha, yes! I used to wear black only. Now I might throw in brown or white on a occasion, but black is definitely my color, no doubt!
B: We agree with you on that, black all day. Are there any future projects of yours we should be looking forward to?
O: Yes! I'm working on a new project that will be released early next year. I'm really excited to share it with everyone but I don't want to give away any details quite yet.
B: Fair enough! Well, thanks again for taking the time to share some insight with us. Is there anything else you wanna say?
O: Thank you, thank you, thank you to everybody that has pushed and supported me, to everyone that enjoys and buys my work, and to all those who have liked, commented and followed me on social media. I feel so blessed right now!!
For more on Oscar, head to his website and follow him on all social media platforms.
