Today we’d like to introduce you to Jay Cardenas.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jay. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Well, my passion for the arts started when I was a teenager and is deeply rooted in the street art scene. A few of my friends were able to just come up with beautiful script lettering with all sorts of fancy flourishes and swirls that used to really catch my attention. I used to be so amazed of how clean their lettering would be. I was hooked. I started practicing my letters every single chance I got, instead of paying attention to my teachers I would be doodling away on binders, notebooks, textbooks, tables, shirts etc.
Basically, anything I could touch, 😂 I was definitely popular in school and not in a good student kind of way. A lot of bad choices eventually led me to being put in a position where I had no choice but to either lose myself in my art and really move forward with it or get lost in life like all the people that were around me. I started sketching images instead of words and putting the pictures in my head on paper. The style of art that attracted me the most was realism which is basically rendering images as realistically as possible.
I ordered books online and studied them every chance I could. Books on human anatomy, on perspective, on light sources. Eventually I had a friend who asked me how come I didn’t take up tattooing and that he would be willing to let me tattoo him. I laughed at him crazily and told him that I didn’t know how to do that shit lol. He insisted though and finally convinced me to tattoo him. Needless to say the resulting tattoo was horrible but he couldn’t have been any happier ! And ever since then, I have been fully dedicating myself to this amazing art form.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Definitely not. There were so many countless times where I doubted myself and would beat myself up over how a tattoo ended up being. I can honestly say I quit on 3 different occasions because I felt I truly sucked. Somehow though I always picked the tattoo machine back up and dedicated myself more.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
More than anything, I like to say I specialize in Black&Grey realism with an emphasis on religious-related images. I feel blessed by God every time I tattoo something in honor of him. Being in the industry I’ve come to realize that a lot of my peers are rude, pessimistic or just plain unwelcoming to clients and when dealing with people.
I am the complete opposite and I take pride that my customer service skills are amazing. I am truly a people person and I love meeting new people from all walks of life. I go above & beyond to ensure my clients feel comfortable, are having a good time and just feel super relaxed throughout the process.
What were you like growing up?
I was a good kid growing up. Outgoing. Friendly. Definitely curious. Sometimes too curious for my own good lol. They used to call me The Satellite because they said I would always be listening to everyone and everything around me.
Contact Info:
- Email: jay.king.cardenas91@gmail.com
- Instagram: Www.instagram.com/prettyboytatt
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
