It’s a good thing that Claire Reid didn’t pursue her university degree in sociology. I guess that’s bad for the world of sociology, but Reid’s desire to pursue art as her number one passion ultimately led to the tattoo world gaining an indispensable tattooist. That’s not to say however, that it was an easy path for her.
After finishing university with the aforementioned sociology degree, Reid opened her own contemporary art gallery, which specialized in the sale of paintings, ceramics and glass. While running the gallery she studied art and did her best to learn as much as she could from such artistic surroundings. Despite being very much a passion project, Reid’s art gallery simply couldn’t bring forth the sort of money that Reid needed to survive, and so she had to close up shop. In no time at all however, she found herself a job piercing in Luton Market. It was here that after much pleading with her boss, Claire Reid eventually began to learn to tattoo.
After numerous hours of study and practice and hours spent learning from tattoo artists across the world, Claire Reid has very much come into her own particular style of tattoo. Rich in colour and texture, Reid’s tattoos are alive with a painterly style, which makes perfect sense because painting is also a passion of hers.
“I try to think of the tattoo machine as an extension of the paintbrush, I’d love to achieve the depth, texture and shadings that are possible with oil painting; I try to aspire to the looseness and fluidity of painting in tattoo.”
– Claire Reid
In my opinion, Claire Reid has very much achieved such an extension with her tattoo work. I’ll admit that when I first saw her tattoo work, I didn’t know exactly what to make of it. It really was like no other tattoo artist’s work that I’ve ever seen before. But wow, the more that I looked at it, the more I really see the influence of painting and particularly oil painting. It’s a very refreshing style that certainly deserves to be noticed.