Tattoo Artist Jaks Engel

With a passion for creating custom lettering tattoos, we bring you Jaks Engel in our latests #TattooArtist feature. Get to know him in our interview below.
Brought to you by Zappa.

Full name: Jaks Engel

Shop: Art & Soul Tattoos

Years tattooing: 2 Years

Tattoo style: Custom lettering

Hourly rate: R2500 – Half Day, R4500 – Full Day, and starting price is R700

Give us some insight into your tattoo career and how it first started out?
It all started as soon as I could hold a pencil, I have always been fascinated and drawn to art. Started doing graffiti in my teens and I guess there I found my love for lettering, was given the opportunity to be an apprenticeship and took the step of leaving the corporate life behind and will never look back.

Where does your passion for tattoos stem from?
Definitely from my graffiti, doing the transition from walls to something more permanent on skin was the ultimate for me.

What style of tattoo do you enjoy creating the most and why?
I love doing custom lettering, just the freedom of shaping and bending the letters, creating your own unique piece.

What do you feel were some of the hardest techniques to learn when you first started out?
Definitely solid black, found that it wasn’t as easy as it seemed and you definitely don’t want to overwork the skin.

How would you best sum up the industry today compared to ten years ago?
I find it has grown tremendously over the years, everything is so advanced now with the technology we have today. Also the styles and quality of work being put out there is totally insane.

What do you like most about working out of Art & Soul Tattoos?
Where do I start, It’s home. Always felt welcome from the moment I put my feet into the shop. It always has a great atmosphere and never a dull moment. We are a family here at Art & Soul Tattoos

Which tattoo artists do you aspire to, and why?
Freddy Negrete has always been a big inspiration to me, his life story, how he got into tattooing and where he is today just fascinates me a lot!
Some of my favourite lettering artist are Edgy Letters, Weeeman32, Threeta2, Big Meas, Mr. Flaks etc., they are all just too good at what they do.

Given the opportunity to guest work out of any shop, which would it be?
I wouldn’t say there is a particular shop that I would like to go guest, but would like to travel and guest all around Europe and the US, there are so many incredible shops and artists there. I think that one can learn and pick up on their tricks of the trade much quicker than one would locally.

What advice would you give someone wanting to get their first tattoo?
I always advise to do your research properly, make sure you have a look at the work of the artist that you would like to book with so you can have a feel of their work and style.

For anyone wanting to book and appointment with you, what’s the nest step?
To book an appointment with me, you can email us at artsoultattoos@gmail.com or give us a call on 063 851 5988 and we will find a spot your you.

Art&Soul Tattoos
Contact: Tel: 081 269 6172 | Email: artsoultattoos@gmail.com
Address: 67 Van Der Walt Road, Dalview, Brakpan, Johannesburg.
Facebook | Instagram