Is perpetual motion possible? In theory… I have no idea…. In practice, so far at least, the answer has been a perpetual no. As Nicholas Barrial writes at Makery, “in order to succeed,” a perpetual motion machine “should be free of friction, run in a vacuum chamber and be totally silent” since “sound equates to […]

I’m Louis Andrews, multidisciplinary artist with a primary focus on tattooing and printmaking. After a brief stint studying painting at Camberwell I quickly found institutionalised “learning” wasn’t doing me any favours so I dropped out and committed myself fully to becoming a tattoo artist. Rent and bills need paying and London ain’t cheap, and having felt a connection to the craft for some time it felt like the right path to take. A combination of hard work and good fortune allowed me to meet people who inspired my practice, and along with social media 8 years ago actually being a platform where your work was seen by others, I slowly started tattooing full time. After a few years I hadn’t felt I’d landed on something within my work that I could call my own, which evoked the need for a period of research and change. Rather than trying to come up with some new stylised way of approaching drawing and illustration, I felt manipulating the process would lead to a more interesting outcome - adding new layers to the conception of a tattoo instead of just changing the way something looked initially. During my research I came across old techniques of applying stencils/marks by printing carved woodblocks or organic material to skin. This seemed like a process that had been forgotten within modern and western tattoo culture, so I gave it a crack using a form of linoleum instead to try and revive a lost art. Bringing something new to my own work and dare I say the way we look at tattoos and their application in general.   Outside of all this I like to make music, it’s my safe place when the pressures of constant creation get too much.  Describe your printmaking process.  I tend to start by drawing the bones of an image. Whether from a sketch I’ve made or a reference from a book or a photograph. After a certain amount of trial and error, marks usually start coming to the surface which feel like something I can run with. When I first started I’d just draw straight onto the plate, then I started drawing on tracing paper so I could transfer the image onto the material by flipping it over and rubbing the back with a spoon. This way when you come to print the initial image isn’t flipped, and it’s easier to fix mistakes or unwanted elements within the design on paper than it is on material.  All the while fuelled by coffee and cigarettes, and listening to whatever genre of music I’m obsessing over at the time. How and where did you learn to print?  In the depths of my basement flat in Brixton. I never studied it, nor wanted to. My experience with formal learning has never been very positive, and by approaching something with complete naivety I believed I could avoid the hinderance of things having to be done a certain way because some bitter old man said so.  Having said that, there are times where I feel some insight into a further understanding of technique and process wouldn’t be such a bad thing, I just haven’t found the right teacher yet... Why printmaking? I guess at first it wasn’t such a conscious decision to choose it as a medium, instead it just so happened to be the thing that I used to influence and further my primary practice of tattooing. Through the course of practicing it though, it makes a lot of sense as to why I landed on it the way I did.  It’s cathartic, it requires intense focus for long periods of time, there are elements to achieving the final result that can be left to chance, and it feeds my obsession over detail. Not that these things are necessary to make a print, but they’re what I enjoy the most out of printmaking. Where do you work? After running a tattoo studio with two friends in Whitechapel for 4 years, we closed it down in September ‘24. I then worked from home for the past 6 months and have recently made the decision to take a needed break from the abusive relationship we like to call living in London. I’m temporarily based in the Sussex countryside for now, but my intentions are to be on the road for a while to gain new perspectives, meet new people, and visit as many new places I can before the nukes drop. Describe a typical day in your studio. I’m not really one for typical days, there’s nothing more disconcerting than doing the same thing all the time. Each day is subject to what I need or want to work on. When I’m working with a client on a tattoo, they either choose from a collection of stamps I’ve pre-made, or we sit and come up with an idea together that I will draw, carve, and tattoo in the same session. If I’m working for myself, as it were, I’ll start by organising my environment to allow for a work flow without interruption. I find being meticulous about the arrangement of my work station avoids any breaks to my concentration, which with an ADHD brain is all too easy. More often than not my approach to working revolves around problem solving, whether it’s within the image I’m working on or the external distractions I’m trying to ignore. How long have you been printmaking?   Around five or six years so far, although because my process is primarily for the purpose of creating a tattoo, I feel I’m still a total beginner when it comes to printing on paper and there’s so much more for me to figure out and learn about it as a practice. What inspires you. I like to step out and gather references from old buildings, churches, pubs, museums/galleries, woodland, gardens, and spaces of heritage tend to be my go to. I like to get inspired by old stuff basically. By using a source that had been created in a time where people had more time, I feel somewhat removed from the pace at which we’re expected to churn out work. Medieval depictions of the bible, nature within ornamental and decorative design all have huge influence over my work. Once I’ve consumed these visual queues, then I can start combining ideas and elements together to create something that speaks to things we’re exposed to on a daily basis but are often overlooked. When I’m not being inspired visually, I’m inspired audibly or by written language - music, poetry, folklore, story telling - even better if get to hear it first hand. What is your favourite printmaking product? I love a good tool. How something can be so practical in its use whilst also being crafted in a way that has a physical aesthetic value. I find it poetic how these things become an extension of the body for an artist to use for their expression.  I use Pfeil tools for carving lino and wood, EC Lyons or an old dremel for etching. Top it off with a big etching press and you’ve a match made in heaven. What have you made that you are most proud of?  A living.  There are pieces of work I’ve made that I’m happy with sure, but the thing I can feel most proud of is being able to do something that allows me to afford the lifestyle that I have, and make the connections I’ve made along the way. Where can we see your work? Where do you sell?  Unfortunately, Instagram. That’s where I take bookings and where (if I have them) I’ll advertise prints for sale.  I never got round to making a website and never reached out to, or been approached by, a gallery. I haven’t felt anything I’ve done so far has been worthy of exhibiting yet, but I’m working on it… What will we be seeing from you next?   My current project is to make a book. Ultimately I would like to be tattooing less, and working on prints and sculpture primarily. By creating a physical archive of all the stamps I’ve made for tattooing in one linen bound, embossed covered, carefully curated little bible would feel like a nice way to round off what I’ve been doing for the last bit of time and allow me the ability to slowly move onto other ideas and practices. Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives? Trust yourself over anyone else whilst staying open to interpretation. Make a bunch of mistakes. Allow yourself rest. Turn off your phone. To see more of Louis, follow him on Instagram

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