The art of tattooing is one of the subjects that require perseverance and a creative mind to reach the “proficient” level, but besides that, there are also some cases born for this subject.
For ordinary people, tattooing is certainly not too difficult in the process of training, but for a “defective” person, this is not an easy thing.
Joel Springer – a tattoo artist who creates many masterpieces but is color blind. He has been unable to distinguish colors since he was a child. The only way for him to know the types of colors is to read the name of the color written on the pen or something.
Springer’s mother took him to the doctor when he was 10 years old and thought he needed glasses. However, despite being tested with tests, they all failed.
The inability to distinguish colors is one of the most difficult things for Springer when he only has a passion for tattoos.
When Springer decided to go to tattoo school, he said there were no shops in the area that wanted to accept him.
But nothing can stop his desire, he taught himself tattoo through magazines and tattoo books.
From theory to practice, from how to put the needle in the tube, to the difference between the round and magic liner in a tattoo, and in the end, God does not disappoint.
He matured and moved to Artisanal Tattoo in Somerville, New Jersey. However, he hid his color perception problem from everyone for a long time, even from his friends.
More precisely, he kept his color blindness a secret for about a year. “I know that if people knew I was colorblind, every store owner would look at me and say, um, you can’t make us money, get out of here,” Springer said.
Springer built the confidence he needed to break free of those color blind streaks. He then posted on social media that he has always been color indistinguishable and will not do color tattoos anymore because it takes a lot of energy.
A lot of people were skeptical about my problem. “Honestly, I feel like I’m stepping out of a closet. You don’t know how stressed I am when someone says they want a color tattoo and I’m stuck with my problem but force me to do it.”
Each time, he had to “trick” the customer into telling him which colors he needed to use.
If they say, “I want a blue, orange or pink image, I will draw on the design and show them the colors I have.”
And this is exactly how the color-blind tattoo artist has been doing for many years. Springer would then point the customer to his shelf and ask them to pick out the shade of blue they wanted.
Once the customer has picked out the colors, Springer says he will pour them into the ink caps and label the bottom.
“There are times when I will have a blue and a purple next to each other, or even a red and orange. I would play around with the client and then confuse myself with what the color was and would have to put the ink back in again.”
Through day-to-day efforts, Springer now has built the confidence to let his clients know he can do his job well even though he can’t distinguish colors.
“I want all those less fortunate like me who feel that they can’t be a tattoo artist to get that thought out of their heads,” he said.
Before giving a choice to a client, make sure that your pencil drawings are all beautiful designs and impress them.
Then tell the client your problem and show them previous work you’ve done well. There will be no reason for them to turn you down.
