My name is James Brusius. I’m originally from San Diego, CA and recently made the move up to Washington. I’m coming up on my fifth year of tattooing, and over the years I’ve really found myself drawn toward darker, stranger imagery and anything a little unconventional.

 

A lot of my inspiration comes from From Software, Zdzisław Beksiński, H.R. Giger, Junji Ito, Strange House, biomech, macabre art, and really anything that finds beauty in the weird or unsettling. I love tattooing creatures, skulls, botanicals, organic and biomechanical imagery, but I’m always open to ideas that are a little outside the box and give me some room to get creative.

 

Freehanding has become a big part of my work and is probably one of my favorite ways to tattoo. I love being able to draw directly on the body and build a piece around someone’s anatomy. It gives me the freedom to work with the natural shape and movement of the body instead of trying to force a design into a space it wasn’t made for. That being said, not everything has to be freehand. I still love drawing custom pieces from scratch and I’m always happy to work either way.

 

When I’m not tattooing, I’m usually spending time with my dogs and my fiancée, working on my motorcycle, playing video games or, to no surprise, drawing. Ballpoint pen and charcoal are two of my favorite traditional mediums, and lately I’ve been making an effort to spend more time working on paper. You can find some of that work mixed in with my tattoos on Instagram.

 

Like probably everyone else who gravitates toward this kind of art, I’m a big FromSoftware nerd. I love the games for the challenge, but the creature design, environments and overall atmosphere have always been a huge source of inspiration for me. I’m also a big fan of the Alien movies, psychological horror, and pretty much anything creepy or unsettling.

 

At the end of the day, I just really enjoy making art, meeting new people and creating tattoos that feel personal to the person wearing them while still having a little bit of my style in there.

 

If you like my work, feel free to reach out and let’s make something cool.