Stuart is drawing up the perfect career
Welcome to the latest instalment of the Our People series. This week
Mark Pirie speaks to East Kilbride tattoo artist Stuart Clark
Award-winning artist Stuart Clark founded Ruby Tattoo Collective four years ago.
The Westwood Square-based studio came from owner Stuart’s passion for drawing – despite his early career looking set to launch into a very different profession.
However, his obsession with the ink eventually took over.
“I was an engineer before this but I got tattooed quite a lot,” says the former Murray man.
“I always liked that kind of work, and I’ve always drawn as well. I’m not very academic – most of the stuff I learned from being an engineer was the drawing side of things. I kind of fell into it!”
Stuart continued: “I always had a design background. I got tattooed and thought ‘that looks really cool’ and just liked the vibe.
“There came a point where I finished my apprenticeship in engineering and I thought I want to go for this.
“I got the shop in 2012 and I’ve just built it up from there.”
Stuart – who was named among the best small colour designs at a convention in Blackpool last year – has now seen people from across the country flock to the studio to get their own customised design, something Stuart admits he didn’t expect when he first opened the doors.
“We don’t just tattoo people from East Kilbride,” he insists. “We have people coming from all over Scotland and sometimes England. “That’s a pretty cool thing for us.” The Westwood shop specialises in custom designs – focusing on giving everyone who walks through their doors their own individual art.
Stuart added: “We get people who would come in with, say, a rose and a pocket watch, which is quite popular just now.
“Someone would come in with an idea or a design and we will make it our own. We customise it and that way you get a better tattoo out of it.”
Self-taught Stuart gained experience through pals in the industry and thanks them for all their support in getting to this stage in his career.
He said: “I learnt off people who I was tattooing and had help along the way – I believe if you want something enough you can do it yourself.
“I’ve had a lot of brilliant friends and had a lot of people who let me tattoo on them so I had that chance to realise I was okay at this!”
He believes that the perception of the job is that you are enjoying some kind of rock and roll lifestyle but he says that isn’t his experience at all.
“It’s not a job where you can go home and not think about it,” he continues.
“You go home and you literally think about it a 110 per cent.
“People message you at about 10 o’clock at night asking what you think of tattoo ideas and you book it in and try to think of new ideas. You are always trying to keep yourself current.
“People think it is a mad rock star life – it’s not! It’s coffee, energy drinks and drawing.
“If you’re not drawing you’re tattooing and if you’re not tattooing your drawing.”