Franky displays his realistic and dark surrealist artwork as he prepares to build a tattoo parlor in Valencia. He also displays his intense love of comic books, movies, and music.
Franky, how did you become a tattoo artist and what made you decide to become one?
I have always been an inquisitive and energetic person, I like to try different things. In 2012 I decided that I wanted to try out a tattoo machine, experiencing first hand what it felt like to tattoo someone.
And that’s when I started tattooing my friends. Their reaction and encouragement, alongside my trip to the London Tattoo Convention around 2014, really opened my eyes. That’s when I decided that tattooing was what I wanted to do.
You’re Spanish, right? In Spain, do you work in a private studio or in a normal tattoo shop?
Yes I am Spanish, I am currently working in a friend’s studio in Valencia. And I am very proud to announce that in a few months I will be opening my own tattoo studio in Valencia where I live.
I’m looking forward to opening it as soon as everything is ready and having guest tattoo artists alongside me.
Let’s talk about your works. I guess a perfect example of your art and how it can go from Realism to Surrealism is this tattoo of Michael Jordan portrayed with supernatural eyes and bull (or rather Chicago Bulls…) horns. What do you think?
This tattoo is one of my favorite. This is definitely the type of tattoo that I enjoy the most working on, characterizing mythical characters or figures and giving them a touch of dark surrealism – while introducing a dash of colour in the tattoo.
Does Marvel know about this beautiful sleeve dedicated to both Thor and Thanos? You’re giving Marvel executives crazy endorsement with your work…
(laughs) I once drew a portrait of Kratos, which did reach the Playstation team. I even collaborated with them. I don’t think this design will reach Marvel though! (keeps laughing) It would be great if they came across some of my work. I think that they inspire and motivate us with their creations and characters. That’s much bigger than any endorsement I could give them.
Do you hear particular music when you work on certain projects? I’ll give you an example: when you’re working on a zombie version of Lemmy do you get inspired by Motorhead records?
Yes, I do, I listen to different types of music depending on the requirements of the design, my concentration and my mood.
Also when I have to tattoo a movie character or have a film-based project, I like to watch the films beforehand.
I wanted to congratulate you on this beautiful and creepy tattoo dedicated to 2018 American gothic supernatural horror film ‘The Nun’. How did the idea come about?
The idea came from a client in California who wanted a sleeve with images from horror films. He suggested several well- known films, and I chose this image because it fit the best with the shape of his arm. Seeing as the client was from abroad, we organized sessions to be carried out 3 days in a row.
Last question. If you could choose a Realistic tattoo tomorrow to get right to work on, what famous or not-so-famous character would you think of?
Hmmmm… (Franky thinks it over) There are loads of characters that I would like to tattoo, but I can share three characters that come to my mind right now: I would love to design a personalised Nikola Tesla, Queen Elizabeth or SpongeBob SquarePants.
