Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Kundell.
Hi Jason, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I grew up in Southern California from a very artistic family and was very involved in the graffiti and skateboarding subculture of LA in the 80s and early 90s. In the early 90s, I moved to San Francisco and was doing a lot of art in a very cool time of the city. Then in 95 I moved to San Diego where I was originally born and started tattooing out of my house while trying to figure out how to not mess people’s bodies up permanently. Shortly thereafter,
In 1997 I moved back to San Francisco where I tattooed for about 16 years, while doing a lot of traveling and working in other countries like Japan, Spain, Italy.
In 2002 I started my tattoo shop Art Work Rebels with a partner. Then in 2009 I moved with my family to Portland Oregon to open up Art Work Rebels up here and I have been here ever since. There have been a few different incarnations of Art Work Rebels and now it is a solely private studio for me and my clients.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Starting over with something like tattooing is never easy when you move to a new city/state. It took a while to build a clientele and steady following.
My biggest obstacle was when my tattoo shop exploded from a natural gas disaster in October 2016.
It was far and away the most stressful moment of my life.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I have been tattooing now for over 30 years and I’d say for the majority of that I’ve specialized in large Japanese tattoos. I worked off and on in Japan for five years and have studied the artwork extensively. I’ve dedicated my life to this artwork and craft and 100% of my effort goes into my clients custom projects, which can take years or decades to complete, in the case of a full bodysuit.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I’d say it’s too difficult to narrow down to one childhood memory, but my favorite memories were probably as a teenager, skateboarding and doing graffiti in Venice Beach with my friends
Contact Info:
- Website: https://artworksrebels.com
- Instagram: jason_kundell_awr
Image Credits
All images by me, Jason Kundell
