Gennaro ‘TheWriter’ – A Skilled Artist in Dark Realism & Storytelling Ink

How did you discover your passion for tattooing, and what inspired you to make it your career?

I discovered my love for designing and creating when i was a little boy, but the idea to become a tattoo-artist came way later, after being in IT for almost 10years :D Back then my brother in law, asked me if I wanted to work at his shop hence he had a lot of work and he knew I was pretty creative and handy. So I stumbled on it by accident sort of speak.

How would you define your tattooing style, and what makes it unique?

Hmmm difficult question, I would say dark realism, because that’s the style I like lot and get naturally drawn to the most. I try to keep it interesting for myself, cause I get easily bored and when it’s to much rinse and repeat I have the feeling that I’m dying. So I approach every project with a fresh intent, keep honing my skills, that way my customers always get an original piece, placed with the latest techniques and newest insights.

Which artists or styles have influenced your work the most?

The legends themselves, like Victor Portugal, Paul Booth, Robert Hernandez, Guy Aichinson but also David Jorquera, Anrijs Straume, Carl Grace and Neon Judas

What’s the most meaningful or challenging tattoo you’ve ever done, and why?

That has to be the angel-sleeve I finished up in 2023. First of all It was a super challenging piece where I really wanted to push the contrast and keep the readability high. Second it was made during the most challenging and dark period of my life… Personally I was losing all faith, hope and self-respect, I was on a path of self-destruction.

But that customer kept talking into me and dragged me trough that dark period and has become a good friend… Someone I could trust and be open too… Plus this piece took way longer than anticipated :D and also… been sober ever since, never felt better! Turning point in my life!

How do you handle the emotional connection between a client and their tattoo?

I try to get the full story about the tattoo, asking a lot of questions, getting the details right beforehand, This can help a lot with the design process.

It's also nice to further explore the subject or matter whilst the client is on my chair. It makes for a good connection between us. And people like and appreciate it when they can share their story, elaborate on it … this can sometime lead into a healing process or a empowering one... I'm happy to be a part of that!

What is your process for designing a custom tattoo for a client?

When clients come to the consult, I take a lot of pictures from the body part where the tattoo has to come, so I have something to work off, also helps with the fear of white canvas. :D Then I go hunt for references, this can be pictures, drawings, paintings, whatever brings me closer to the feeling I want to deliver with the piece. After the hunt I make a couple of loose sketches over the body part-pictures to get the flow and placement right. When I'm happy with the flow and rough framework, it's building time, using the references to construct the piece along the sketch I made earlier... When the layout is done,  I go deeper into the piece... adjusting color, contrast of each separate part, adding details here and there, blending stuff out, adding and subtracting things, making sure the overall piece blends nicely together... and if I bump into any cool ideas, I lay them aside for possible later use.
When I reveal the design to the client, I'm still open to suggestion and change, this is an important part of the process for me. Because I want the client to be absolutely satisfied with his/her future tattoo, otherwise in my mind, I failed as as a tattoo-artist. I don't want to force my opinion upon the the client,  I can only guide them and give advice but they have the last word … I usually show the 'bumped into ideas' while revealing the piece and thought-process, often times they end up in the piece or even become the main center of the piece, funny... and interesting how that works. ;) 
Then, with the final touches in place and their consent, we start up the magic-wands.

 What’s your take on how the art of tattooing has evolved in recent years?

Well I can't actually tell you a hell lot about this, cause for a long time I locked myself up in my little own echo-chamber to work on my tattoo-technique without the influence of the outside. I broke out of that chamber last year, when I started to go back to conventions, and get my work out there. 

What I noticed is that there is a huge inflow of new artists here in Belgium, to the point that it's a little saturated over here. With it being so saturated , you really need to stand out, you really have to push to be better then the average Joe's and Susanna's, cause there are a lot of them now... I personally find it's a rough time to be a tattoo-artist but also a great opportunity to really get granular on your own growth and try to stand out.

Growth is key now, not only as an person, artist and tattoo-artist but also as an entrepreneur, marketeer and salesperson. The decks are being reshuffled, industry is going to rapid changes, shops are getting bigger and bigger, whole teams are rising and everything is getting super professional. Not the most fun thing to hear, but it is what is.

What advice would you give to someone considering their first tattoo?

Go online and do some research, what you want, where you want it,... what's your budget? Then search for a good artist, check their portfolio's...

Go meet the artist, see if you get a connection with him/her. Are you at ease around them and the shop they're in?  
Tattooing is a trust-thing, you must have trust in the person who's gonna give you a tattoo for life.

If you have a good feeling about your artist and the consult was a nice, you're golden. Enjoy the proces!

What tools or techniques do you prefer to use, and how have your methods evolved over time?

I mainly use curved magnums and shaders for my work, to finish off, liners to get the details in... More recently I started to use more stippling and dot-technique to get those micro-realism details in my pieces.... also pushing more and more the contrast and use of black in my pieces... why? Because “Black is the secret” :) 

I notice that I'm slowly transitioning more and more into a blend of realism and black-work... which feels good... like a natural transition....

What are your goals or future projects as a tattoo artist?

Goals for this year are getting my work out there by growing my social media presence, cause I've been neglecting this for ages.... Wanted to tune out of this but as a business you obviously can't :D also... turning up the dial on exploring different techniques and mediums...

And there is a new project in the pipeline but it's still in the draft-stage... This project is going to get a lot of people out of their comfort-zones, including and especially me :D Really looking forward to this... Follow my socials to stay up to date!