How did a trained painter become a tattoo artist? Meet our Lorena!

If you have spent any time at all on our Instagram page (@BlackLineStudio), you must have observed that Lorena is a master of colour, dot work, and geometrics. Her painting expertise and Fine Arts education has directly influenced her personal style. Lorena’s magnetic personality is reflected in her dynamic pieces – vivid, detailed, and organic.

As one will have it, making a living as a painter in Toronto is no easy feat. Lorena explored tattooing as a way to make art her living and found the medium to be wonderfully suited to her creative pursuits. In 2010, Lorena began her career in the tattoo industry, joining the Black Line Studio family to complete a yearlong apprenticeship. We welcomed her back in 2015, and over the last year, her signature style and work ethic has defined her strength as an artist.

While she still enjoys painting, Lorena’s love for tattooing has blossomed alongside her growing experience within the industry. Her repertoire of tattoo styles includes illustration, black and grey, colour work, traditional, and neo traditional. More recently, she has had the opportunity to refine her talents by creating mehndi and henna pieces, as well as geometric and mandala pieces (the more intricate, the better!). For Lorena, it is extremely important that each piece is exactly what her client envisioned his tattoo to be.

When asked about her favourite tattoos to work on, she explains, “I am a costume artist, which means I can elaborate on any kind of design. I’ve found that having a fine arts background in painting and academy drawing helps. I can also freehand directly upon the body.”

Now that Lorena has a few years of tattooing under her belt, she has been able to share her insight into popular summer styles, as well as the most common requests to come across her station as a Toronto tattoo artist, “It actually depends on what is trending...Usually I get a lot of young people—women looking for feminine, delicate lines. Some designs are simpler than others. Trends come and go, so each year is different.”

Coming up, Lorena has a few projects that she is excited about including some sleeves and chest pieces with plenty of color. She is also planning on working on some pieces with bolder line work, dot work, mandalas, and mehndi.

To keep up with Lorena and all of us here at Black Line Studio, your favourite Toronto tattoo shop, check us out on Instagram and Twitter at the handle @blacklinestudio.