This May we got to feature a super dope, down to earth, and talented tattoo artist from Brooklyn. Meet Kaylindaa, a fire illustrator and tat artist hailing from Brownsville, BK, with some skin in the game when it comes to fire ink. Her vibe is real New York, operating out of a tidy and neat studio in Brooklyn, we chatted about tattooing, anime, Ye's music catalog, and more. Kaylynn's specialty is red and black tattoos, and her illustrations are often wispy and elegant, utilizing flowing shapes with excellent detail in pieces big and small. Check out what she had to say about what she does, and the landscape of tattooing in NYC.

Interview by Matthew Loyd, photos provided by Kaylindaa

‍20XX: Who are you and what is it that you do?

Kaylindaa: My name is Kaylyn, also known as LindaTats or KayLindaa. I do tattoos. I'm an artist overall, but my main focus is tattoos at the moment.

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Tell me, how does one get into tattooing? What is that like?

The best way to get into tattooing, I would probably say, is to learn and pick it up yourself. Really strive for the career, the path that you're aiming for. Because yes, you can do an internship and become an apprentice. But even when you're an apprentice, you're still working for yourself, and you're going to want it yourself. Your mentor is not going to force you to come into the shop every day to teach you to tattoo just to like because they want to. No, you're going to have to want it. So, you're going to have to push for it cuz you're your own boss at the end of the day.

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You said you were an illustrator and you do more than just tattooing, right? I wanted to know how the approach to visual art and illustration is different when your canvas is somebody's body.

Skin is 100% different than paper and canvas– one bleeds and one doesn't. One is 3D and one isn't. One is 2D. So when it comes to the body, you have to put in a lot of factors: whether the ink will show up nicely, the contrast and different colors, how the ink will last and the longevity of the tattoo in like 10 years. Also, how will the tattoo form and look on a 3D model? The body always moves. A tattoo can look straight but it's twisted at the same time. So it's actually really cool because I be seeing pieces that you could bend and everything, like all types of cool pieces that you can do with the body that just makes it look 3D.

Have you done a piece like that yet that kind of moves with the design as the body moves?

Not yet, but I want to. 

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As I was scrolling through your work and your page, which is amazing, I've seen you've done some really dope video game and anime inspired tattoos. I wanted to know, have you seen an increase in those kinds of requests from clients as anime gets more and more popular?

100%.  Anime is just another form of art. Art is all around us. And I personally love [anime] myself, I picked up anime not too long ago. So that's why I got into the field of doing anime tattoos, and all types of cartoon tattoos and stuff. And there is an increase. A lot of people are now becoming aware of anime and are now getting in tune with the culture, and I find it so dope. Like I love it. It gives me another path to different art, and not only like the basics that I do–black and gray realism or flowers or anything. So I love when I get some anime clients, I'm not gonna lie.

Word. Do you have a favorite anime?

I do, I do! It would have to be Hajime no Ippo.

Okay, nice! The boxing one. I'm a big Naruto fan. I see you got some Naruto tats as well. 

And I have a Seven Deadly Sins one on my neck; the sin of Pride, Escanor.

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Another thing that I've noticed about your work and your craft is that you choose to specialize in black and red ink. I wanted to know if you could tell me about that. Why the decision to do black and red? Why those specific colors and why specialize?

Mainly because black and red are my two favorite colors. Obviously my hair, I have two face tattoos that’s black and red. I love Harley Quinn, I have a Harley Quinn tattoo on me. I think Harley Quinn is like what really inspired the whole black and red theme. But I also just love the two colors and I figured why not just make it my thing? That's what I'm really known for, and it works perfect because certain colors do not go on every skin [tone] but black and red are the two main colors that go on all complexions. So I feel like it's perfect because it fits.

What's a trend in tattooing that you're noticing right now?

Cyber sigilism.

That's a specific style in tattooing now. That's like a new school tribal.

Are there any other things that you've been noticing in that space in terms of what's trending in New York or just like online?

Not really, just a lot of people love anime tattoos. If it's not anime then it's cyber sigilism. That's like the new school tribal. Everybody just thinks it's so Y2K. And I appreciate it, don't get me wrong. It's a dope form of work if I was to see it on a t-shirt… but to put it on your skin forever, that's crazy to me. But hey, to each its own style, it's still a dope style. I can't knock it to whoever created it to begin with, cuz it is dope. As a visual. It's nice to look at.

When it comes to picking an artist or a certain spot where you want to get tattooed, having the knowledge that you do of tattooing, does that affect the decision making process at all?

Sometimes yes, especially when picking an artist, but I feel even if I wasn't a tattoo artist, I would still be very picky. It's just mainly on the artwork itself. And that's what I care about the most when it comes to tattoo designs and tattoo culture in general. For example, if someone were looking for a Japanese tattoo piece, I don't do Japanese work. So I feel like certain artists specialize in certain different styles, and if you want a specific style, you got to go to the best artist that knows how to really bring your vision to life.

What's one thing that people don't know about tattoos that only a tattoo artist would?

A lot of people care a lot about like, after-care. They worry about “how should I care for my tattoo” and “should I apply ointment on it” or “what's the best way to like care for your tattoo” and honestly if you ask a lot of us tattoo artists, we get the darn thing and forget about it. There is no after care for us. Most tattoo artists dry heal our tattoos. And that's the best way for a tattoo to heal in my opinion. I actually tell my clients, listen, dry heal. You asking me what ointment to put on it? None. Forget you even got it. Better to just leave it alone and not bother it.

And if there were one thing that you could say to all of New York City right now, what would it be?

All of New York… Yo, man. It's rough out here, but just keep living, taking it day by day. You know, I'm not even into politics, but I know we got a better mayor now. So, that's all I got to say.  It's rough out in New York, we're just here to either make it out or make a living.

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