My name is Yomico Moreno, I was born and raised in Venezuela and started tattooing almost 15 years ago. I have always been drawing and painting and I knew art was my calling. One day, back in high school, there was a small tattoo shop opened for business in my hometown, Pureto Cabello, I discovered tattoo art. Since then, I stopped by the shop every day to check out their magazine collection, listen to the machines running and ask questions. That was the beginning of my curiosity for this art. However, back then, the tattoo industry in my country was really isolated; it was difficult to get someone to give you tips, so I started to collect tattoo magazines for the interviews inside. And in 2003, I started tattooing and made my way here.
In the beginning, I had to do all styles: lettering, stars, Japanese, traditional, everything. But one day, I realized that I really liked realism, with just photograph being my reference. It took me sometime to actually get a larger client base which approach me just for realistic tattoos, I had to sacrifice the other ones who came to me for stars. Not too long ago--- maybe like three or four years from now, I started exploring surrealism. A lot of artists like sticking with styles they have perfected, and respect them for that, but I wanted to create stories with my realistic tattoos. It’s not just a copy of picture.
Now I work in New York City, at Last Rites, surrounded by some of the best tattoo artists in the scene, and the legendary Paul Booth. It’s been inspirational working here and it has been the biggest step in my entire career. At Last Rites, all artists paint. There are paintings around all the time. Paul always insists that all artists have to paint; before coming here, I always considered painting as a hobby, but now I think painting keeps me in the art loop. If someday I get too old to tattoo, I will be painting and I will always be an artist.
Why I use Cheyenne
I like to use rotary machines, especially the ones by Cheyenne. The
HAWK PEN for me has been one of the best machines in the industry. Also, the cartridges made a positive change in the industry because five or ten years ago, I had to use five different machines. Now, all I need is one machine and five needles. It’s making my work a lot easier and it also improves the quality of my work, since I don’t have to change machines and make my clients wait longer.
