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But Smith does much more than penis tattoos. Smith is now becoming renowned amongst the tattoo community for his bold, animated style of tattooing in ways that seem to almost jump off the skin. Heavily influenced by German graffiti artists, his waiting list is now about a mile long, allowing him to concentrate his art towards the skin versus canvas or the wall. Born in Tacoma Park, Maryland in 1976, Smith was always interested in art, even as a child. Seeing that art appeared to be his calling, his parents always supported his passion, no matter what direction it would lead him in. “There was a time when I was around 13 that they suggested I have a back-up plan just in case it didn't work out,” Smith says, “but I think that if I were in their shoes I would have said the same thing to my kid. Art, for the most part, isn't the most stable career.” Moving to Germany in his sophomore year of high school, Smith would spend the next three years immersed in this art form, heavily influencing his own art as well. It was also during this time that tattoos began to spark Smith’s interest. At the tender age of 16, a poor high school student and his friend walked into a German tattoo shop, catching his eye on a picture of a jester skeleton rolling some dice. Fortunately for Smith, he didn’t have the money for the piece, saving him years of staring and shaking his head over the mistake he could’ve made that day. However, this event did anything but deter Smith from the world of tattooing. Although Smith started professionally tattooing in 1999, Smith began tattooing out of his home in mid 1997 without any sort of formal apprenticeship, a decision that he wishes he could take back. “If I had the chance to do it all over again I would have definitely gone for an apprenticeship,” Smith says. “I learned more in a month in a half out of the shop then I did a whole year and a half out of the house.” While learning the ropes of tattooing and earning his keep in the shop, Smith also began his formal education at the Virginia Commonwealth University, paying his way through college with his art. Although the university didn’t have any formal program setup to help Smith improve his art through tattooing, the professors in the program did their best to guide Smith despite knowing little about the art of tattooing itself. “I definitely wouldn't be the artist I am today without them,” Smith says. Graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with an emphasis on illustration, Smith not only expanded his horizons through education but also through traveling as well. Working everywhere from his home in Virginia, to Florida, Texas, and even England, Smith has been traveling extensively to perfect his craft, often hitting up conventions along the way as well. However, due to the number of clients that Smith currently has that are in the middle of getting work, Smith has decided to limit his travels in order to catch up with some of his work, working at Ghostprint Gallery in Richmond, Virginia. “Currently I've only committed to doing the Hampton Roads Tattoofest in March 2011 and Tattoolapalooza in Miami June of next year,” Smith says.
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