Eric Anderson has been tattooing for 28 years and is placing these years of expertise to good use in Taos’ latest ink store, the eponymously named Anderson’s Tattoo Parlor, situated within the heart of Taos throughout from The Lounge by Rolling Nonetheless Distillery.
Initially from Columbus, Ohio, the 54-year-old made his approach to Taos within the mid-90s. After tattooing within the space on the now-closed Excellence Ink and opening up his personal store, Cool Hand, within the late 90s, he ended up transferring to Austin together with his companion and son for a quick stint earlier than coming again to settle in Taos in 2016.
Classically educated as an oil painter (one thing he nonetheless likes to do), Anderson’s love of artwork started at an early age. He took courses in elementary faculty and highschool, the place he attended a gifted arts vocational program. “It stored me at school,” Anderson stated of his love of artwork. “I used to be a soccer participant, so I had that holding me on. And going to vocational faculty half a day every single day was sufficient to maintain me going. I actually hated highschool.”
After commencement, Anderson attended Columbus School of Artwork and Design for a 12 months, then transferred to Cleveland Institute of Artwork, however shortly determined faculty wasn’t for him. “Getting out of formal training so far as artwork goes is one of the best factor I may have accomplished,” he stated.
An artist educated in many various types, Anderson stated tattooing appeals to him due to its adaptation to different modalities. “Tattooing is an artwork kind that always emulates different mediums. Someone would possibly need a tattoo that appears like a woodcut, someone would possibly need a tattoo that appears like a watercolor, someone would possibly need a tattoo that appears like {a photograph} … oftentimes, you might be form of making it seem like one other artwork kind.”
He stated this strategy to tattooing has helped him develop his personal distinctive fashion; one during which he does not pigeonhole himself and retains an open thoughts to his purchasers’ needs. As an early tattoo artist in Taos and through his youth in Austin from 2001 till 2018, he gained expertise in all features of his evolving craft.
Due to a wide range of walk-in tattoos, appointments and “bangers” – or small five- to 10-minute tattoos – Anderson has constructed up an enormous retailer of tattoo data over time. “I actually did my finest to form of get as many instruments in my field as potential simply so far as being various and doing, you recognize, completely different types,” he stated. “I can do my model of absolutely anything.”
The unique mix of types has helped him adapt to purchasers’ distinctive wants on the subject of placing a everlasting piece of ink on their physique. As a result of Anderson considers himself a positive artwork painter, he stated he doesn’t have a novel title for his fashion. That lack of a stereotype, he stated, is one thing he enjoys about tattooing. “You possibly can hand the identical design to 10 completely different artists. And you are going to get variations on the theme,” he stated.
One factor Anderson does pleasure himself on is his potential to cowl up or rework previous tattoos, one thing he sees a good quantity of. He stated masking up an previous tattoo carries a particular form of which means. “As a tattooer, you at all times work in these sorts of child steps; remembering no matter form of uncharted territory you are into in a given tattoo,” he stated.
Ultimately, he stated he will get satisfaction out of “making one thing higher than it was and leaving it higher than you discovered it.”
Nonetheless, he stated cover-ups have their limitations. “I’m doing what works, I’m probably not free-forming and doing my very own design,” he stated.
Relating to his personal work and unique designs, he stated he prefers to work on bigger, extra intricate items lately.
As with different artists who’ve settled in Taos, the place itself serves as inspiration. Anderson stated Taos has turn out to be a house to him like Columbus by no means was. “Taos has at all times represented a house to me that I did not actually really feel in Ohio,” he stated, noting Taos’ tight-knit neighborhood and sense of connectedness.
He famous the disproportionate quantity of tattoo expertise that exists right here in comparison with different small cities. “For the scale of Taos, there’s quite a lot of expertise. There’s fairly just a few good artists right here.” Anderson credit this to the truth that Taos has lengthy been often known as an arts city. “It simply is smart that with all of the artwork right here, there is a form of disproportionately massive variety of tattoo expertise right here as effectively, which I really like.”
He talked about the quantity of recent expertise that has entered the scene as effectively. “There’s quite a lot of younger tattooers in Taos, and all people’s at a special level of their evolution …” He stated the rise in younger tattoo artists has to do with the increasing new know-how and the broader social acceptance of the artwork kind. “It’s simply at the next level than it is ever been in historical past.”
Anderson lamented the lack of Daniel “Dano” Sanchez, who died in late September. He referred to as his dying “an enormous loss … He was a really central determine within the tattoo scene right here.” He referred to as Magical Tattoo, the place Dano used to work, “a powerful store.” He stated he hopes to see extra artists there start to make a reputation for themselves. Particularly, Anderson talked about Savannah Leigh (understanding of Magical Tattoo) and Sarah Purnell (who operates out of assorted retailers) as individuals to regulate.
“These are two younger ladies which might be doing actually, very nice work. And it is simply good. It simply provides to that variety,” he stated. Actually, Anderson plans to get his first tattoo by a lady within the subsequent week with Purnell.
After Anderson selected to relocate completely to Taos, he determined it was about time to open his personal store. Through the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, he determined to reap the benefits of the state of affairs. “When all of it got here down in 2020, I noticed this chance,” he stated.
In October 2020 he signed the lease on his present constructing, and in late February of 2021 he formally started seeing purchasers.
He stated he took the pandemic as a time to make one of the best of a not-so-great state of affairs, and stated it was his psychological fortitude that helped him by. “Should you apply constructive power in the direction of it, and also you apply onerous work, and also you simply keep targeted, you recognize, you’ll be able to’t be knocked over simply; you simply maintain transferring forward. You’re taking the dangerous issues as they arrive and simply maintain pushing by and attempt to keep constructive.”
Taos, he stated, is pretty much as good a spot as anyplace to journey out the pandemic. “Getting back from Austin, I really feel like I made the correct choice,” he stated.
After reassessing his objectives, he stated it grew to become “obviously obvious” that he ought to begin up his personal store. “I have been doing this lengthy sufficient that I simply have to do it my very own method.”
Whereas he admitted opening up a store in Taos throughout the pandemic wasn’t a simple feat, he stated he was backed with constructive help from the neighborhood he has grown to know and love. “I did not need to beg, borrow or steal something from anyone, I simply discovered individuals supportive of what I do,” he stated.
Because the pandemic continues on, Anderson stated he’s “attempting to simply form of trudge by this time period, and maintain my purchasers secure and do it proper.”
