Today we’d like to introduce you to Sky Rockenbach
Hi Sky, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I decided to invest in myself as an artist at a young age. I’ve always had a natural inclination toward drawing, and growing up in a creative family deep in the Pacific Northwest Cascades really nurtured my imagination. The time spent outdoors sparked my creativity and helped shape the path I’d follow in life. This led to countless opportunities to refine my skills in drawing, painting, and photography, both as a teenager and into adulthood.
Navigating the working world wasn’t easy, though. I struggled to find a job that allowed me to utilize the skills I had worked so hard to develop. By chance, tattooing entered the picture as a potential career, and with a clear vision, I sought out the mentor I knew could help me take my work to the next level. After much persistence, I was lucky enough to land an apprenticeship in his private studio.
I spent five years under his mentorship, and eventually, I realized that the next phase of my journey required stepping out of the private studio and into a more public space—so I moved to Austin.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As a small business owner, one of my biggest challenges is balancing my workload with the never-ending demands of building a brand and maintaining a social media presence. The ideal day for me? Painting or tattooing. But instead, I spend hours glued to my computer and phone, juggling content creation, marketing, and website management.
Maybe one day, I can hire someone to handle this for me, but for now, I wear two hats: artist and marketer. It’s a one-person circus, and honestly, there are too many monkeys.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
When I was younger, working on my own drawing or painting projects, it felt like creativity flowed effortlessly. But as life gets more complex, the creative well doesn’t always run so deep. What you need then is time and space to nurture that spark of inspiration. And when that’s not always available, you hit what’s known as “creative block.” That’s when a real creative process becomes essential.
Tattooing, oddly enough, has been key to helping me grow as an artist. It forced me to establish a process that’s efficient and reliable—everything from drafting to executing. Working with a live canvas, tattooing may be the only art form where time is truly of the essence. That sense of urgency helped me develop a system that I now use for all my creative endeavors—whether it’s designing t-shirts, album covers, or murals. It’s my way of breaking through creative blocks and staying productive.
In this way the thing I am most proud of is perseverance. Building a career as an artist is a constant uphill battle. Over the last decade, I’ve had to grow both as a person and as a professional to make it work. There have been countless crossroads where I’ve had to ask myself, “Is this the path I want to keep walking?”
I’ve taken on extra work in other fields to support my career as an artist. But it all paid off. Taking extreme risks—sometimes failing, sometimes succeeding—has been the key to growth. And I’ll keep taking those risks because you don’t move forward unless you’re willing to put yourself out there.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
There are definitely easier paths in life—jobs where you can clock in, clock out, and be done. But choosing a creative field is choosing a life full of rejection and uncertainty. It’s why I love watching interviews with comedians: the ones who make it are the ones who bomb and still get back up. Can you keep putting yourself out there, again and again, even when it feels like you’re failing?
You’ve got to be willing to take risks. If you don’t, it means you didn’t try. But if you do, at least you’ll have a life of integrity—and the freedom to be your authentic self.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://skyrockenbach.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skyrockenbach/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bestinkcosmetics/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/skyrockenbach/
- Twitter: https://x.com/Bestinkcosmetic
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/best-ink-cosmetics-hutto
Image Credits
All photos are either of, or taken by, Sky Rockenbach and her paintings/tattoos
