Meet Alexis Torres | Artist/Tattoo Artist/Ink Artisan

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alexis Torres and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alexis, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The most important factor behind my success and my brands success is staying true to the love i have for my craft.

I express the love for my craft by putting maximum effort in all the details that allow my final pieces to be as unique as the people that carry them.

I approach all my tattoos with a specific mindset. I refer to that mindset as the love of creation.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
When it comes to tattooing, the subject matter of my art is correlated to what my clients want to express. Many of my clients look to tie an emotion to their pieces. The process is a collaboration of endurance, patience and creativity. My process to create begins with listening. My clients express themselves and often tell me stories as to why they want a specific theme or image.
I really enjoy black and grey realism in tattooing. I enjoy playing with different textures to create a flow.
Often I’ll take references of flow from nature; Textures such as smoke, wind, flames etc.

From listening to their stories, my mind begins to piece images together. I take into consideration the movement and flow of the body as I believe the muscle structure and body is a thing of perfection with natural beauty.

Once I have a clear vision of the piece I would like to create, I begin looking for references that will satisfy my creative eye and fit my vision.

When it comes to my oil paintings, I would say I enjoy expressing emotion. I have always enjoyed painting portraits and figures. I love how much emotion can be portrayed from facial features and gestures.

I am most proud of the pieces I have created over the years and the relationships I have made along the way.
I can say I am very excited to continue to evolve and push the boundaries of my craft, and my current studies in academic arts have taken my tattooing to new levels.

This journey in the world of tattooing hasn’t been easy. It’s been filled with many obstacles, mostly internal battles. In my early years tattooing, I had to constantly battle thoughts of fear and failure. The fears would come from self doubt and not trusting myself enough with such a permanent form of art. I was able to overcome this obstacle with knowledge. The more I studied art and application of tattooing, the more confident I felt in approaching projects. Slowly but surely, I scaled from small simplistic pieces to larger more complex projects.

The most important lesson that I have learned along the way is trusting in my own process. Everyone has different learning styles. I realized that learning takes patience and an understanding of yourself. Trusting in my process allowed me to focus all of my energy on the creative aspect of my design and application.

I want for people to know that I am passionate about my craft and that I truly enjoy creating for the sake of creating.
My brand stays true to respecting the process of tattooing and taking design to new creative levels.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
First stop on the itinerary is Key Biscayne to experience my favorite beach in Miami, as it is a less populated beach, it feels less than a tourist attraction and more of a piece of paradise.
Wynwood Art District is definitely one of my favorite areas in the city. Plenty of restaurants and bars to chose from. Wynwood is a gem. One of my favorite restaurants in the district is Astra. Astra has a great selection of drinks and delicious food, not to mention an amazing rooftop view, and live music daily.

Another one of my favorite restaurants in the city is Caja Caliente, located in the iconic city of Coral Gables. Caja Caliente has a very unique Cuban/Mexican fusion of flavors and the most delicious recipe for octopus tacos.

Las Rosas is one of the funnest venues/bars in the city. Expect live rock music every week and an energized crowd every time.

The Brickell area is another one of my favorite places in the city. The nightlife in Brickell is very lively, and there is always something interesting to do in Brickell.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to recognize all of my art teachers, from elementary school to this current moment in time.

My journey in the arts has been deeply impacted by those whose art is to teach and have an impact on others.
Art class in elementary school was a flood of new mediums for me, it allowed me to see infinite possibilities. Mrs. Barker Lashley saw my passion for art from a very young age. She taught me so many things. From oil pastel to paper mache.
She helped fuel my passion.

My years in Middle school were filled with many uncertainties but one thing was very clear to me. Art was what i loved.
Maitejosune Urrechaga was a very influential artist and mentor. She taught me so many great things and exposed me to some of my current favorite artists, such as Alphonse Mucha. She saw my potential and helped shape me as an artist. From the music she would play in class to the art club that she would host. It was all amazing to me. Teaching wasn’t just a job to her. She is passionate and cares for her Students.

My years in high school were like the pages in my sketchbooks, some pages expressed beauty, purpose, planning and others were rough meaningless and distraught. Derek Wilson was my teacher for AP portfolio. A class designed to prepare a body of work to present to colleges. I learned many Things from Mr. Wilson, but the most influential thing that i witnessed from Mr. Wilson was a body of work that he put together in our class in honor of his mother, who had passed away that year.
I caught a glimpse at an artist in his purest form, Mr. Wilson was expressing his emotions the best way he could. Through his art. What resulted was amazing.

I am currently studying academic art at Miami International Fine Arts with Elkin Canas and Sonia Hidalgo.

I will always be extremely grateful for these amazing artists who have helped mold me into the artist i am today.

Instagram: @Ink.artisan