A Little About Me (And Quite a Lot About Everything Else)

If you've found your way here because you're interested in getting tattooed, welcome. I'm glad you're here. But before we get into needles, flowers, and the logistics of putting permanent artwork on your body, I thought I'd introduce myself as a person.

Because, as it turns out, I do have a life outside of tattooing. It's a surprisingly busy one.

I'm Rick Schenk. I'm an artist, aesthete, chronic overthinker, collector of interests, and someone who has never been particularly good at choosing just one thing to be when I grow up.

My professional life has taken a few interesting turns. Before tattooing became such a significant part of my world, I spent years working in beauty and luxury fashion. I worked as a makeup artist for MAC, spent time in the world of high-end retail, and developed an appreciation for fashion, personal presentation, beautiful objects, and the peculiar psychology of why people are drawn to certain things.

I've always been interested in the relationship between beauty and identity. Why do we decorate ourselves? Why does one person feel most like themselves in a perfectly tailored jacket while another feels most like themselves covered in tattoos? Why do we surround ourselves with certain colors, objects, images, and symbols?

I suspect I have spent an unreasonable amount of my life thinking about these questions.

I Have a Few Too Many Interests

My interests tend to overlap in ways that probably make perfect sense to me and are occasionally exhausting to everyone else.

I love art history, particularly French Impressionism. I'm fascinated by botanical illustration, vintage photography, Palm Beach interiors, antique objects, and the sort of visual excess that makes minimalists quietly uncomfortable.

I'm especially drawn to oil painting on wood. There's something about the surface, the texture, and the way paint behaves on wood that I find difficult to replicate elsewhere. Painting has always given me a different kind of creative freedom than tattooing. There's no appointment running late, no stencil to reposition, and nobody asking if we can make the flower just a little smaller.

I'm also interested in psychology, human behavior, mythology, mysticism, and the occult. I enjoy exploring the strange little intersections between belief, symbolism, superstition, and the things people do to make sense of being alive.

I can go from discussing an obscure historical painting to an analysis of human behavior to an elaborate theory about Victorian spiritualism in approximately six minutes.

It's a gift. Or a condition. The jury is still out.

A Lifelong Appreciation for Beauty (And Other Expensive Hobbies)

I have a fairly deep appreciation for fashion, interiors, architecture, and all the little details that make something feel considered.

I love beautiful clothes. I love beautiful packaging. I love a well-designed hotel lobby. I love a restaurant where somebody has clearly spent an unreasonable amount of time choosing the lighting.

I can be distracted by a particularly good color combination in the middle of an otherwise perfectly ordinary day.

Having worked in luxury retail for years, I've also developed a fascination with the stories behind the things we buy. The craftsmanship, the history of a fashion house, the person who designed something, and the thought that goes into making an ordinary object feel extraordinary.

I'm not particularly interested in accumulating things just for the sake of having them. I'm interested in the experience of beauty and the way it can change how we interact with the world.

Although I will admit that my definition of something being absolutely necessary has occasionally been questioned.

Reinvention Is a Recurring Theme

I've lived and worked in several different places, including New York, Maui, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Dallas. Each place has left its fingerprints on me in some way.

Moving around has taught me that identity is a rather flexible thing. You meet different people, discover different versions of yourself, abandon a few old ideas, and occasionally realize that the person you thought you were going to become isn't particularly interested in showing up.

I've had several careers, several creative chapters, and more than a few opportunities to start over.

I don't necessarily recommend making a hobby out of reinvention. It can be expensive and administratively inconvenient.

But I've come to appreciate that there's something valuable about remaining curious enough to change.

I'm currently preparing for another chapter in Charlotte, North Carolina, and looking forward to discovering a new community, meeting new people, and finding out what kind of creative life can grow there.

There's something exciting about arriving somewhere without knowing exactly what the next version of your life will look like.

I'm Interested in People More Than I Probably Let On

One of the things I've always loved about working with people is getting to know the stories behind them.

I'm interested in what people find funny, what they believe, what they're afraid of, what they collect, what they obsess over, and the little contradictions that make everyone interesting.

I love a good conversation. Particularly one that takes an unexpected turn.

I enjoy comedy, podcasts, psychology, pop culture, and the kind of conversation where you start discussing something completely ridiculous and somehow end up talking about the meaning of existence.

I'm also a big believer that you can take life seriously without taking yourself too seriously.

I think humor is important. Curiosity is important. Being able to laugh at yourself is probably one of the more useful skills a person can develop.

And if you can't laugh at yourself, the internet will eventually do it for you.

The Things I Keep Coming Back To

When I look at all the different things I've done, the common thread isn't necessarily a particular career or medium.

It's curiosity.

I've always been drawn to the visual world, to the psychology of people, to craftsmanship, to storytelling, and to the ways we use beauty to communicate something about ourselves.

Whether I'm painting a botanical still life, researching an obscure historical reference, putting together an outfit, or designing a tattoo, I'm usually chasing the same thing: something that feels interesting, meaningful, and a little unexpected.

I don't have a particularly neat five-year plan. I've tried making those before. They tend to become more of a creative writing exercise than an accurate prediction of the future.

What I do have is an enduring interest in making things, learning things, meeting interesting people, and finding new ways to participate in the world.

And I think that's a pretty good place to start.

So, if you're here for the tattoos, I'm glad you found me. If you're here because you like the paintings, the aesthetics, the occasional strange observation, or just want to see what I'm getting into next, you're equally welcome.

There is, unfortunately, quite a lot going on over here.

Thanks for stopping by.

— Rick