The Tattoo Journalist: Adriana de Barros

I have admired Adriana’s work from a far for many years. Everything about her breathes creativity. Whether she’s writing, doing photography, designing or drawing, Adriana is always creating. She seems to be always working on something and that is what I admire so much about her, Adriana’s drive and determination to create. I finally had the chance to meet her last month (June 2023) at the Seaside Tattoo Show in Ventura, California. Fine line Tattoo Pioneer Goodtime Charlie Cartwright had mentioned the tattoo show to her for Scene360, her time-honored tattoo publication. I will share more about Scene360 a little later. As Adriana and I began chatting, I immediately felt like I had known her for years, she was personable, kind and had a very humble energy about her. I wanted to know her story and share it with the readers of {E}.


Born in Caldas da Rainha, on the Coastline in Portugal, Adriana moved at the age of three to Toronto, Canada, where she grew up and assimilated culturally. She eventually moved back to Portugal with her family at the age of 15. Since then, Adriana splits her time between Portugal and California. She says she’s always been creative, she remembers drawing and writing poetry at an early age. Her mom was creative and that side of her family was inclined to the arts. 

Originally, Adriana wanted to become a filmmaker and had attended film school. However, the Portuguese educational system and film industry are quite different from the ones here in North America. She shares, “I would have done better in Canada with ease in English and more adjusted culturally (at 19). So I didn’t complete it academically but did a lot of short films and poetry in motion-like movies for many years on the web. At the same time, I became a manager of a store at 19, copy center, and had my design studio under my parent’s wings as they owned a large clothing company. So I developed fashion and graphic design for their company and clients and learned to maintain a good work environment and manage a team. In my twenties, I had my clothing line, brand, and physical shop and did fashion shows, among other things. At some point, I also worked as an illustrator for book publishers and film festivals. I did a lot of web design and programming for Scene360 and others. I won numerous awards for my web projects, and in summary, I won ‘The Oscar of the Web,’ a Webby Award for Best Art Site in 2015. Aside from a short-term silkscreen and web programming course here and there, I am self-taught and do not take it lightly as I study and practice every day. I have nothing against traditional studies in school, but I am somewhat unconventional, so my path was different. I was invited to many tech conferences (at conventions and universities) in Portugal and Spain to show my web work and teach students. There are so many chapters of my life and career that I often forget aspects of it as I like to stay present and keep moving forward.”

Adriana continues, “I have been doing artistic projects on the web since the mid-90s. I am a dinosaur on the web, and because I know that people focus on the current and not the past so much, it is likely why I am so enthralled with preserving history. As a kid, I wouldn’t say I liked history. But now I am excited to learn about history. I remember attending some of my first tattoo conventions and seeing a tattoo pioneer ignored by a younger (adult) generation, which bothered me. They didn’t know that that person created the needles or the tattoo style they did. So I want to document that pioneer, revive their history and stories, and make that known.” 

Scene360 is where she shares those incredible stories and histories. For the past 23 years, Adriana has been a major contributor in the arts via her award winning publication, and her printed series Ta’too. Adriana is one of the first to merge numerous creative forms into an online initiative. She has curated online art content since 2000 and has maintained a significant online presence for over 23 years. That in and of itself, is an amazing accomplishment in our ever evolving digital era, especially in a medium such as printing and publishing. It’s inspiring to other publications and writers like myself, which is why I wanted to share her story with the readers of {E}. 


Adriana shares, “Having a project online for the last 23 years has been highly challenging with the ebb and flow of technology changes, readers’ preferences, and running costs. When Scene360 was a hobby in its early days, some of my graphic design wage would go into the project or to pay writers. I never paid (myself) for design or programming because the project wouldn’t make enough. So it was more covering third-party costs to keep Scene360 running. I am grateful to Mediatemple for their web host sponsoring for the last 18 years; only recently did they close Mediatemple company last May. The printing of Ta'too publications was a labor of love. Given that tattooing is a tangible field, I believe that print is an excellent medium for displaying it, and despite the high printing costs, I have paid to keep print alive for the few who value it. It’s about having an item in your hands that you can page whenever you want, something magical that future generations may once again enjoy.” 


In 2010, Scene360 transitioned from all art genres to solely focusing on tattoo art. Adriana says it was “a natural progression to do more of it, and once I entered the convention space, I realized I could contribute to the tattoo community in a significant way. Pottery and painting have been documented since the dawn of humanity, whereas the history of tattooing is vague, with evidence scattered here and there. As the saying goes, “it takes a village” of archaeologists, anthropologists, academicians, journalists, artists, etc., to document and preserve it.” 

Above: Goodtime Charlie Cartwright at his Modesto home, photographed by Adriana. Below: Adriana interviewing Freddy Corbin.

Adriana has had the pleasure of interviewing a plethora of industry heavyweights including Freddy Corbin, Ami James, and legendary Goodtime Charlie. What does Adriana enjoy most about her line of work? In her words, she loves “connecting authentically with another human being, seeing their eyes light up as they tell their story and passion for their craft is truly magical. You cannot grasp this through an email or behind the computer; you get a feel for things, but in person, when something “clicks” between two humans, it makes life worthwhile.”

In addition to writing, Adriana also photographs all of her subjects. She says, “I interact with each subject and like to create an intimate photo atmosphere. This is where my influence in photojournalism (Carl De Keyzer) and street photography (Diane Arbus, Garry Winogrand) comes in; I have always loved looking at photos of former photographers (Robert Mapplethorpe, Cindy Sherman, Guy Bourdin, Floria Sigismondi). I choose dramatic styling for my photos, which I get from my cinema studies. I favor black-and-white photography for its raw appearance. I also favor candid shots. But I mix it up; if you have a neutral portrait, it can be tedious; having some dynamic element or angle can make it more interesting, so I have been exploring different techniques and, since last year, bringing my camera everywhere.” 

With such an impressive catalog of work interviews, awards and experiences, I asked Adriana how she defines success. She says, “Finding a balance between life, work, and physical and mental aspects constitutes success. Most people would agree that if you work diligently and create something of value for the world, receiving recognition from your colleagues or the field is always a source of happiness. I, too, can appreciate and beam at that. But also keeping one’s feet on the ground, being open to new opportunities, journeys/travel, and things in life that push beyond one’s comfort zone, building one’s self-esteem and self-worth, being kind to oneself and others, apologizing when you make a mistake and finding ways to resolve, and sticking to one’s instinct, ethics, and integrity.”

Since Adriana has devoted her time writing about tattoo art, I was curious to know about her personal tattoo collection. She’s currently working on completing her sleeves and back piece with Fibs, and plans to have him finish her back as well. She shares, “I am comfortable with Fibs and trust his vision to do the best work possible on me. He created my right arm sleeve in 3 sessions, from September to April with 3-month intervals, an abstract blackwork piece in a modernized Japanese style, and will be continuing with my left sleeve later this year and then tie the sleeves to the back piece in some way so that he will finish my back, ribs, and shoulders.”

What’s next for Adriana? She says she’s preparing a special annual print edition for Scene360 debuting later this year, with some exclusive interviews and studio reviews. Instead of Ta'too issue it will be under the Scene360 logo with some improvements.” 

Fibs tattooing Adriana.