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Do you believe in fate? Chris O'Donnell seems to be one of those rare individuals whose path is clearly predetermined, beginning with his tattoo journey which began before he even left high school. While hanging out with local skater punks in the Richmond, VA area, he was given the challenging task of designing tattoos for them on a regular basis. Impressed with his skills, local tattooers got him a spot as an apprentice at USA Tattoo under the tutelage of Nate Drew and Gary Childress. In 1992 and '93, during his senior year, Chris apprenticed at the tattoo shop after a full day of school and a regular job, eager to learn all he could about the art and mechanics of his new vocation. He quickly earned a full-time chair at USA doing the typical service tattoos that shops of an earlier era were well known for, yet another fortunate step in Chris' career. By tattooing in this high volume environment, he would quickly learn the basics that have sustained him all these years and provide the foundation of ALL good tattooers: clean line work, solid color work, long hours in the chair, building and maintaining good client relationships. Wanting to refine his artwork and forge a greater custom clientele base, however, Chris migrated to Absolute Art in '94 to work with Jason Hobbie and Jeff Eden. During this time, there was wide speculation that Timothy Hoyer was soon coming to town to stay. The rumors were true.
When Timothy moved to town, everything finally clicked. Chris and Timothy quickly struck up a close and long-term friendship that thrives to this day. In 1997, the two opened Alive Gallery in Richmond wanting to focus more on the large-scale, custom, design work both have become famous for. It was during this time that Chris started traveling more and ultimately fell in love with New York, calling it his favorite place on the planet to this day. The call of the city could not be ignored forever, so in 2000, after a long period of reluctance, Chris left Alive behind and took a seat at Lori Leven's New York Adorned studio in NY City, a still relatively young studio in the newly legitimized New York area. Chris' noticeable talent and dedication meshed well with the extremely high expectations already anticipated by anyone visiting NYA. There, his artwork would evolve even further, working alongside the likes of Chris Garver, Troy Denning and Mike Rubendall. To further emphasize this virtually blessed career, (I don't sound jealous, do I?), as he continued to travel and guest spot nationwide, he would work alongside and hang out with legends such as Ed Hardy, Chris Trevino, Eddie Deutsche and Mark Mahoney; each of whom has contributed something revolutionary and lasting to the art of tattooing.
It's easy to see why Chris O'Donnell is one of the most sought after tattooers today, not only in New York, but worldwide. His work is powerful in its simplicity of style, flawless in execution, and continues to push the boundaries of the art form to new levels. Be it traditional Japanese or more Americana tattooing, Chris adds his own flair of uniqueness to every subject matter he attacks. He has earned a reputation as one of the most professional and gracious tattooers today.
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 Painting by Chris O'Donnell. |
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 Tattoos by Chris O'Donnell. |
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Well, I think it's obvious which tattooers had an influence on you; virtually every one you've ever worked with has had something exceptional to offer the tattoo trade. Who do you credit with having the most effect on your artwork?
Hmmmm... that's really hard to say; I think Eddie Deutsch first and foremost, and Timothy, of course. Eddie so far as visually and style. Timothy taught me just about everything about machines, mixing inks, how to draw... all of it. He had THE most influence on me.
What in particular stands out now about what he taught you?
Timothy showed me early on how to tune my machines like he does [a very long stroke with a soft hit]. I was fortunate to learn that. The ink goes in very easily and it's more similar to painting that way. I used to have him tune my machines constantly to learn how to do it right.
You guys still have an extremely strong friendship today, right? Despite your decision to leave for New York...
Yeah, it was hard to leave... it probably took me a year to actually do it, but I love the city, and I grew up in Richmond; after traveling so much I just wasn't happy there anymore. Besides, I'm trying to convince Timothy to move up here now anyways. I think it's working, he's starting to feel it. (Laughter).
He visits NYA quite often anyway, doesn't he?
Yes, and I go down there a lot to work too; at least a few times a year we work together.
Your work is really difficult to define; it's traditional in subject matter, but you have such a flair for detail and composition it stands out amongst similar tattooers. I've been a fan of your work for quite a while now. What aspects of tattooing do you find most challenging?
Thanks. Learning to draw well, I guess, is the hardest thing. Like, say, drawing traditional Japanese subject matter and not overdoing it and fucking it up. To draw it correctly and more refined. That's the hardest thing for me. And technical stuff, like machine stuff, is hard for me, but you can figure it out. Drawing on a dragon sleeve is by far the most challenging aspect right now. Anyone can put in red solid or whatever, so it's all in the drawing.
What kind of library do you have, and are there any particular books that you lean on more than others?
I have a million books! It's essential. But more and more I'm noticing that I don't use a select few. My main focus right now is Japanese stuff and there's a great Japanese bookstore up here, and they have everything you could ever need. I can't stop buying books. I don't think that I ever draw anymore without references. I CAN draw certain things without reference, (laughing), but I almost use it to do something different every time. Half my room is books. (Laughter)
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 Tattoos by Chris O'Donnell. |
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What was the attraction to the Japanese style that intrigued you most?
Ha... really, I started doing that kind of work because I didn't want to be pegged as a "Timothy-wanna-be" and I knew that could easily happen. So I intentionally went in a direction that he wasn't working that much in... of course, now he's all into it. (Laughter) But my stuff was always simpler, more traditional, in style.
What goals do you have artistically for yourself over the next few years?
I want a new book, y'know, a new portfolio, full of larger scale Japanese designs: sleeves, backpieces, chests, bodysuits. If I could do nothing but dragons and tigers for the next six months, I'd be happy. They're so simple, but so challenging at the same time; you can do so many subtle things with them. I like to photograph stuff; it gets me psyched up. Trevino calls them his "trophies" (laughter). New York is so perfect for that kind of stuff, too... everyone wants Japanese stuff, and they want it done correctly too, not adding stupid stuff to it that would fuck it up.
What do you mean?
The hardest part of that type of imagery is to understand what it all means, y'know, what all the elements stand for and how they all work together to tell a story. I don't really know how New York went from being a new tattoo city, following the lifting of the ban here recently, to them being so savvy. Tattooing has been going on for years there, but the mainstream didn't get it at all. Now they're refined. And we're just building on what Garver started there, and Mike Ledger. They've been doing the Japanese stuff for a while now.
Anyone else have a big impact on your art? Or what inspires you to keep pushing it?
So many people... the usuals. Have you seen Chris Trevino's website yet? ( www.christrevino.com). He is amazing. All that finished, full-body, work. It's incredible. When I see something like that I get inspired for months to keep going.
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 Tattoos by Chris O'Donnell. |
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How much art do you do outside of your tattooing?
Lately, none, outside of tattoo designs. It's horrible cause I have all these paintings that I want to do, but I'm booked up for 2 months now so I can't break from drawing the next day's tattoos.
What mediums do you like to work in when you have the time?
Oil, charcoal... I'm trying to learn watercolor (laughing). That's really tough. It's almost harder than tattooing.
And almost as unforgiving.
It is. I did a series of charcoal drawings for a show recently -- I sent you a few of those pictures -- but that's about all I've had time to do.
How many days a week are you working now?
Five to six... I was working six to seven days a week, but I've been getting firm about not coming in on my days off anymore. Which is tough cause I'll start something cool and they'll call asking when we can get back on it, so I end up coming in on my off days to fit 'em in.
How much traveling are you doing now? Any conventions?
Not that many now... I still do the New York show, but really, I just don't enjoy them like I used to... and besides that, I'm so busy now it's hard to travel that often. I'm going to start traveling again soon, and I want to go to Japan as often as I can. Soon.
You can reach Chris O'Donnell at New York Adorned almost any day of the week. Leave a message and he will call you back... it just might be a few days. We're trying to work on some dates for an Atlanta visit this year so call Chris or email me if you want to make an appointment. Check out the NYA website at: www.newyorkadorned.com. In my opinion, it's one of the finest tattoo sites on the web with some of the best artists around.
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