Today we’d like to introduce you to Madison Lipe.
Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, how did you get started?
I am a young tattoo artist who started a year and a half ago. I had been passionate about art my entire life. My dad, an artist, taught me everything I know starting as early as I can remember. Everyone thought I would pursue a career in art in some way, shape, or form, but I took a different route and began my journey in the medical field, which was later cut short. During the pandemic, I realized that being a medical student did not match my lifestyle, which is when I picked up tattooing, and I have flourished in the business ever since. I specialize most in black and grey surrealism and microrealism. I am moving to Austin, TX, next year and am working on building as much media exposure as possible before I journey down to the beautiful city that I’ve heard nothing but great things about!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road; I found my passion and career path much later than I hoped. But either way, I’m glad I did. I’ve also been pushed my entire life to pursue college and get a degree, which I feel only held me back and added more stress than needed. The moment I started college, I knew it wasn’t for me, despite trying to ride through it for two years while seeing if it would get any easier. Living in a small town also did not help, as my style is much more popular in urban areas. I’ve been told by numerous people in the industry that I won’t make it specializing in the style I do, and being a young girl doesn’t help either since it is a male-dominated industry. However, I’ve pushed the odds to the point where I’m becoming successful early in my career. I am only building positive relationships with those in the industry who see my potential and aren’t holding me back.
Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your work.
I am a tattoo artist as well as a fine artist. While I don’t draw and paint as much as I used to, I’ve taken on a new medium of tattooing while doing the same style I’ve always loved. I mainly specialize in any subject matter that is out of the ordinary that you wouldn’t usually see in real life. Such as a bat with human eyes, for example. I also like high contrast black and grey; the dramatic values make the tattoo look like it’s 3 dimensional. I am most proud that I found my style and perfected it so early in my career, and it is now what I am known for. What sets me apart from others is that I don’t want to stay in a small town doing walk-ins forever. I want to create a big name for myself that people will travel for.
Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I did take a major risk with parting from college and starting in this industry. It wasn’t definite that I would make it, and at least if I have a college degree, I can still make something out of myself. But that wasn’t good enough; I want to be successful in something that I’m great at. The risk paid off, as I can handle my weight in this industry.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: madisxoart
- Other: madisonlipe on instagram (personal)
