SALEM — Chris Coulon’s funky, neon-bright tattoos depict everything from melting heads to ferocious big cats to sparkly unicorns.
The artist, who is 6-foot-2, goes by Tallboy. He took the tag because he admired artists such as Metallica graphics designer Pushead, and graffiti artist Neck Face.
He started out designing T-shirts, moved on to skateboard graphics, and then tattoos.
“I got a little bit of cabin fever working alone in my studio,” he told the Globe during a visit to his space at North Street Tattoo. “Here, I’m working with other artists, I’m working with people. I’m actually doing art on people.”
Where to find him: www.instagram.com/tallboy666
Age: 37
Originally from: Lynn
Lives in: Salem, although he and his wife, Kristy, have lived (and been tattooed) all over the country.
Making a living: “Tattooing is my full-time job. A couple times a year, skateboard jobs will come in,” Coulon said.
A Tallboy tattoo costs roughly $200 an hour. “There are lots of factors like size, placement, and design that can make it more or less expensive,” he said.
Studio: North Street Tattoo is a well-appointed shop where artists have individual studios. Original skateboard graphics hang on one wall of Coulon’s space.
His tattoo designs hang on another. “This is called tattoo flash,” he said. “Hand-painted designs that are ready to go. Some people come in and say, ‘Oh, I just want to pick flash.’ You can make a stencil and tattoo them on the spot.”
Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff
How he started: In 2007, after graduating from Salem State University, Coulon got an internship at a screen-printing shop. There, he met other artists.
“They designed T-shirts for their bands, and they taught me how to make T-shirt designs and sell them online,” he said. “I think that’s probably when I became an artist.”
What he makes: Coulon describes his style as “bright and bold skate art.”
“It’s very much influenced by Santa Cruz Skateboards graphics of the 1980s,” he said. The designs of Jim Phillips were a Santa Cruz signature.
“If you look up his art,” Coulon said, “you’ll see a definite influence on mine.”
How he works: Most Tallboy tattoos are custom-designed. A client sends an idea, and Coulon draws it and makes a stencil.
On the day of the Globe’s visit, Dan Nester from East Boston was covering an existing back tattoo. Coulon updated it with a panther.
“You do the outline in one session because it’s very painful and it’s very big, and then you let those lines heal,” Coulon said. A full back can take all day. “You need to get all the lines in before you wash your stencil off.”
Nester had come in for the second session, so Coulon could shade his work.
Advice for artists: Don’t let the fun seep out of your work. Coulon always wanted to be a professional artist.
“And sometimes when you do achieve that, you get stressed out. Then it’s important to take a step back and be like, ‘I’m drawing a skeleton under a mushroom next to a yin yang with a shark and a surfing guy on it,’” he said. “‘This is fun. This is what I’ve always wanted.’”
Cate McQuaid can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram @cate.mcquaid.