Art tattooed on apprentice artist’s heart

It takes a lot to become a licensed tattoo artist in Oklahoma.

The first step is in becoming an apprentice. That means finding the right master artist who’s willing to teach you the trade.

For Lean Tate, he found his “trade school” at Shine On Tattoo, 6516 Cache Road. The licensed artist he’s been learning under is R.D. Somerlott, but he’ll tell you that the entire crew at the shop serve as his mentors. After passing his Graduate Apprentice test through the State of Oklahoma last week, he’s another step closer to becoming a peer.

“Everybody in the shop has contributed to me getting here,” he said. “R.D. is my mentor, but you learn a lot from everybody.”

Art is in the heart. Tate, a 2022 Cameron University graduate with a degree in graphic design. He’s been an artist since a child. In late 2021, he also began his apprenticeship.

“I’m always drawing and painting,” he said. “Now, I try to make an honest living making art. I’m living the dream, maybe.”

A “hang-around” at the Shine On shop for the past five or six years, Tate said it has been a natural progression as he’s moved into his artist’s space. Friendships were already built with his crew of mentors: Somerlott, co-owners Rodney Schneider and Tom Paras, and Kris Dryden.

Apprenticeships begin with newbies cleaning the shop, taking care of tasks and working on drawing and painting, Tate said.

Observing professionals and learning from them has lived up to the definition of the word “apprentice”: a person who is learning a trade from a skilled employer, having agreed to work for a fixed period at low wages, according to the Oxford Dictionary. Tate said he’s been continuing his education through the experience.

“It’s kind of like back to school and a trade school,” he said. “But it’s different in that it’s still something you learn but you continuously use what you learn daily. After you learn trigonometry, you don’t necessarily use it every day.”

There is some “book learning” involved, Tate said. Completion of first-aid, blood-borne pathogen and CPR certifications are a must for the profession. The training program administered by the apprentice sponsor must consist of 1,500 hours of instruction over a one- to two-year period before taking the test for a Graduate Apprentice application at a cost of $250, followed by another $200 to take the test.

Next, Tate will complete another year with Somerlott and then he will apply for his full license. That costs another $250 and will return annually to keep his certification current.

It’s not a cheap profession to get started and keep working in. Tate said every artist needs, at minimum, two machines, which are about $400 each. Next, you add in costs for needles, ink, tubes, all single-use items, as well as power supplies for the machines. You also need cleaning supplies and other things.

The one that adds up quicker than you’d think is personal protective equipment (PPE), Tate said.

“Gloves are the thing that you spend the most money on,” he said.

Latex gloves are $10 to $12 for a box of 100 gloves and, Tate said, working on one tattoo can take up to a dozen pairs to get through.

“That sounds like a lot, but it’s not,” he said.

When you add it all together, there’s a reason tattoos cost a lot, Tate said. A cheap tattoo is going to reflect that through its quality.

During his apprenticeship, Tate said, you learn a lot through watching and listening to the experienced artists but there’s nothing like just doing it. Some learn through practicing on synthetic or pig skins. He went another route.

“I tattooed myself,” he said before rolling up his pant leg to show a spider that was one of his first. “I also tattooed whoever was brave enough to let me go at it and go for it. … Some of it’s trial and error.”

For those who want to get into the tattoo artist field, Tate has some mentor’s advice.

“Draw, draw, draw, draw, draw,” he said. “Every day. Take your sketches and figure out how to make your drawing into a tattoo.”

Tate said he’s never had a job like the one he’s learning on the job. He knows he made the right decision for him in pursuing the art form.

“I really love it,” he said. “It’s the only job where you come into work not dragging, you know.”