I’ve been a fan of Adriaan’s work for quite some time. I had the opportunity to interview him for {E-volved} when we first premiered back in 2012. Fortunately, we’ve recently had the chance to reconnect and I was able to catch up with him and talk art and magick.

As you can see Adriaan has a fantastic style, it can be described as neo-traditional or art nouveau. Neo-traditional is an evolution of American traditional tattoo art adding new elements like complex color palettes and more variation in line weight. Art nouveau was created by the Czech artist Alfons Mucha in the 19th century, he says, “I’m highly influenced by his art and color palettes and his esoteric hidden symbolism. I use mostly Copic markers and colored pencils called polychromes. Adriaan also experiments with acrylics, watercolors and oils but his favorites are always markers and colored pencils, as the results are strong and bold lines which make up most of my designs. Adriaan says “I can also incorporate magick symbols and hidden techniques that make the art unique like the golden section and Sanskrit words or esoteric and spiritual motives.”

Tattooing for over 15 years, currently, Adriaan lives between Germany and Portugal at the moment, and tattoos regularly in the cities of Hamburg, Berlin and Amsterdam. He shares, “I had the amazing luck to tattoo in some of the best shops in Europe like Salon Serpent in Amsterdam, The Black Mess in Hamburg, Stick and Stones in Berlin, Wolf & Dagger in Brighton, Cloak and Dagger in Londo - and I am really excited to guest spot soon in one of the best shops in Germany: Der Grimm in Berlin.”

“It’s been such an amazing journey, my passion for tattooing and traveling the world is as strong as ever. I have some regular clients that I’ve been tattooing for more than ten years now, they’re covering their entire body with my art. Wow, I’m so incredibly grateful to all of them, I’ve been a huge part of their journey as well. I am so grateful to have found the balance between tattooing in the city and being at the sea surfing and recharging in nature.”

As of late, Adriaan has been focusing on putting more meaning and spirituality into his art. He shares, “For many years, I’ve seen and experienced the connection of art with magick and consciousness as a form of energy. That means that when I align my designs, tattoos and symbols for the evolving and healing of each client the results are amazing. I call it “ritual tattooing” as it reminds me that tattoos are indeed rituals for expanding our energy and consciousness. It also reflects the changes I have had in my personal life. I recently became a yoga teacher and energy worker, when I’m not tattooing. I spend hours surfing, practicing yoga and being in nature. This helps my body and mind to be clear when I am tattooing.”

How exactly did Adriaan’s tattoo career begin? When Adriaan got his sleeves done he was living in Berlin, back then the city was a melting pot of art, music, underground cultures and tattoo artists. Adriaan asked a friend of his if he could teach him how to tattoo and to his surprise Adriaan picked it up quite quickly. Adriaan shares, “I was soon tattooing all of my friends, and a year later I was tattooing in tattoo shops. It all happened very fast, as I started learning neo-traditional techniques and I was fortunate enough to be at a shop where the neo-traditional style was invented by Lars Uwe and Eckel. They both inspired me to create my own style and soon I was traveling the world tattooing at conventions and doing guest spots. People recognized my style and I was getting articles in different magazines and I started winning awards and got offers to guest spot and do conventions all around the world. Before tattooing, I attended a university and studied ethnology, as I loved the indigenous cultures of the world, but I always wanted to be an artist and create art, so tattooing fulfilled my dreams.”

Adriaan continues, “I love the freedom of creating, traveling and evolving that tattooing gives me, but also the community of tattoo artists. Everyone has their own personality, but somehow we relate to each other. We, artists, don’t fit in the normal world and that makes us create our own paths. But you have to find a healthy balance. I was tattooing 7 days a week and constantly traveling to conventions and guest spots, that I ended up in being burned out. Now I know what my limit is so I can enjoy tattooing more consistently.”

What’s next for Adriaan? He is planning a new series of paintings. He shares, “The meaning will be that the magick in the paintings will awaken a part of consciousness of everyone that sees them and inspire other tattoo artists to venture in the world of art and mysticism.”

“I’m so grateful to everyone who got a tattoo from me and put their trust in my art. I absolutely love every project. I’m also grateful to everyone that got an illustration, a painting or spoke to me, asked me something or shared something personal. We are all part of this world and journey and I believe we can all help each other out in our own special way.”

Instagram @adriaan.machete

Adriaan Machete