Today we’d like to introduce you to Trent Valleau.
Trent, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I am a tattoo artist from Los Angeles, CA. I grew up in the beach town of Venice. I had creative parents who encouraged my artistic and musical talents. Unfortunately, I got swept up with the wrong crowd and started running the streets by the time I was 14 I was selling drugs, writing graffiti, and eventually would drop out of high school and get kicked out of my house. I hit a low, luckily, I found my wife who helped me build on my graffiti art skills and get accepted to honors level art classes at a local community college. I got so heavily involved in school I would be there 12-15 hours a day, even staying after class with my teachers to draw and learn more. I got a 4.0 GPA and got a scholarship to a top art school called OTIS.
I dropped out again after a failed attempt as a gallery artist in the Downtown LA arts district, I got depressed about my art and figured I would never make it. I had a kid, moved to TX on my last dollar, and got a career started at a recycling plant. It was kind of the easy road so if figured it was worth another shot at art, I picked up a tattoo machine and never looked back. Since then I’ve been lucky enough to meet tons of my tattoo hero’s, get featured in Magazines, win awards, and travel around the world to many countries and create my art. I’m so lucky to have jumped into the renaissance of tattoo art with a style many seem to appreciate, and I’ll always be able to say I chased my dream and made it a success. In the end the success is short lived, it’s the connections with other artists and my clients that will have an ever-lasting impact on my life and becoming a better person. I hope that I can encourage others to life a life they love no matter the challenge at hand it’s something you CAN accomplish, and if you don’t, at least you tried!
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I am a realism tattoo artist, focusing on portraits and animals, mostly black and grey but I dabble with color as well. I am inspired by many artists to come before me, such as Rember, Arlo, Mumia, Josh Duffy, Jak Connelly, and Tony Mancia. There are hundreds more but these are the god fathers of the creative realism style I know and love so much. I think to me that just making a copy of a picture is impressive, but it doesn’t show the reflection of the artists soul like a creative piece does.
It’s taking it to the next level, experimenting and making mistakes as well as creating masterpieces that spark inspiration in thousands of other artists. This movement is becoming such an integral part of the world and our self-expression, art is not going to die, but it will grow and morph and change forever. Einstein said change is the only constant, and I think it applies to art, and tattooing. We get bored so we want to do new ideas and bigger and crazier projects. Giving an artist freedom to create will leave you with a piece of art from their mind instead of limiting your body art to your own ideas. In the end it’s art we are wearing, it’s not like a giant computer we get to just print whatever we want on ourselves. If that’s what you choose than I can respect that too, but for artists like myself we prefer to play with ideas and get creative. That’s how progress is made in this world of Tattoos and art.
Artists rarely, if ever pursue art for the money. Nonetheless, we all have bills and responsibilities and many aspiring artists are discouraged from pursuing art due to financial reasons. Any advice or thoughts you’d like to share with prospective artists?
Money will come later, artists usually don’t care about money until it arrives, that’s what makes us artists. If you want guaranteed money become a banker/ Doctor/ lawyer/ bitcoin investor haha! For real, money should be the last thing on your mind, if you show your capabilities as an artist the money will come without a doubt. It takes many years to develop your talents and brand yourself in this world, so be patient!
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
Visit our website it’s me and David Vega. www.DevotionTattooStudio.com We have our private studio above Lake Travis in Austin, TX. We have at least one or two clients per week driving in from Houston as Austin seems to be a bit more saturated with creative realism artists. So, we are lucky to have people supporting us from TX and around the world. Also check out our Instagram pages: @TrentValleau @David_Vega83
Contact Info:
- Address: Oasis, TX
- Website: www.TrentValleau.com
- Email: trentstattoos@gmail.com
- Instagram: @TrentValleau
Image Credit:
Portrait photo by Kelli Ham: Tattoo photos by Trent Valleau
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.
