Today we’d like to introduce you to Kira Bishop.
Hi Kira, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always loved art. When I was little, my grandparents were very encouraging and would sign me up for art classes and get me all kinds of art supplies. I’ve always drawn a lot, especially in school when I should have been paying attention, but never thought I’d be good enough to be able to do anything with art for a living. I still wanted to do something creative, so I went to beauty school and I did hair for six years. I specialized in vivid hair colors, which was fun creatively but I was starting to get burnt out on being a hairstylist. My husband Chris is also a tattoo artist, and I had told him that I’d always wanted to be one too but never considered it seriously because I didn’t think I’d ever be good enough artistically. He told me that he’d teach me about tattooing and help me get better at drawing.
In 2015, I got an apprenticeship in my hometown of Saint Clair, Pennsylvania at a shop called Skin Art. The shop owner Jim and Chris both taught me how to tattoo. For my first tattoo, Chris let me tattoo a (very questionable looking) grim reaper on his calf. After that, I moved on to my friends very bravely volunteering to let me practice on them under supervision. I started out doing American Traditional but slowly began leaning towards a more “Lisa Frank” type look. I’ve always loved vibrant colors and sparkles (except for in my wardrobe).
So, this is the part where we started moving all over the place. After my apprenticeship, I went to visit Chris while he was working on his band Crobot’s album in Austin. We both loved it, so a few months later we moved to Austin and started working at Dovetail Tattoo.
We stayed for about a year, then moved back to Pennsylvania for a couple of years. We worked at Abaddon Studio in Pine Grove. I did a lot of walk-in tattoos while I was there, so I was tattooing a lot more which really helped me with my technical application. I also learned a lot from Watson and Chuck.
I ended up doing the Literary Ink convention in Chattanooga TN, where I met Jeff Barnard and he offered me a job at his shop Golden Yeti. I wasn’t in Nashville long, but everyone at the shop was very supportive and I made some great friends there!
Every time we moved, I basically had to start all over, even though I had been tattooing for a few years already. Building a clientele in a new place was difficult, but the internet has helped a lot with getting more exposure, and I had regularly done guest spots in Austin in the years we were away. Thankfully Wendi and Brian (the owners) welcomed us back to Dovetail Tattoo East. Wendi even let me use her station until there was one available for me. I’m so glad we came back but we didn’t have the best timing-we moved right before the pandemic. I worked for one week and then the shop was shut down for about three months.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
At first, I was trying to balance continuing to work as a stylist since that was my main source of income and learning how to tattoo, which was very stressful. I wasn’t making much money as a stylist, and tattoo apprenticeships are unpaid and very time-consuming. Eventually, I was tattooing enough that I could phase out working as a stylist. When I was apprenticing, I was pretty stubborn and insecure about my work so whenever anyone would have a critique for me I’d always take it personally and want to argue (thankfully I’ve mostly grown out of that-with tattooing at least). It also took me a long time to develop a style and figure out which direction I wanted to go artistically, and eventually it just sort of became what it is now.
We’ve moved around a lot since I started tattooing, so it always felt like I was starting all over again, but we’ve finally decided to settle in Austin permanently. Moving so much was overwhelming but I learned a lot from every place I went, so it was worth it.
A week after we moved back to Austin, everything got shut down. As tattoo artists, we couldn’t work from home and had no source of income. I remember wondering if we’d ever been able to go back to tattooing, and I missed it. That was the most stressful time of my career so far.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I specialize in bright, colorful tattoos with bold outlines. One of my clients called it “Bubblegum Traditional” once and I loved it because I never knew how to explain this kind of style. I use a lot of pinks, purples, and teals, but a lot of times I end up using almost every color in the rainbow. I also like to do a glitter effect using multicolored dots. I feel like working with vibrant colors on hair for so many years has helped me develop an eye for what colors look good together.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I just try to be open to learning new things and asking advice from artists I admire. I’ve worked with and continue to work with a lot of talented people and I feel like I’ve learned something from each one.
Contact Info:
- Email: kirabishoptattoo@gmail.com
- Website: www.kirabishoptattoo.com
- Instagram: @kirabishoppp
