Kris Busching is an incredibly talented tattooer who currently works out of New York and specializes in realistic pieces (specifically color).
He went from working construction and thinking he was going to be doing that for ever, to now making a very comfortable living with his tattooing income as well as having some side businesses of his own.
Kris has a very interesting story that he shares a good bit of in this interview, and also talks about some struggles he’s had along his journey while becoming a highly respected, top name tattooer in the industry. I hope you enjoy the interview.
You seem to have pretty much mastered both color realism as well as black and grey realism… which do you prefer to do, and why? Which is currently more challenging to you?
Thank you , I appreciate that compliment. I’d have to say that in my opinion, I’m leaning more towards color.
It’s something I’ve been trying to master for years and will continue to do so in the years to come.
When I started tattooing I only did black and grey because I thought I wasn’t capable of doing color.
I never tried doing anything in color, I thought I wouldn’t understand it.
Even painting, I started years after I became a tattoo artist – I was only drawing with pencils throughout middle and high school.
When I got out of high school I started tattooing only in black and grey, for about 4 years.
I remember getting obsessed with color and trying to figure it out – Going back and forth from the two at that time after so many years of black and grey which made my head spin.
It was extremely difficult to change that pattern.
The reason why I prefer color is because of the association I have behind it- you see to me I was always able to draw even when I was a kid, but only with pencils.
Color was intimidating to me even with painting as well as tattooing.
Color was something I never thought I’d be capable of doing.
Overcoming that and a few other struggles revolutionized my life.
It’s ironic really, that usually people know me by the color work I do.
How long have you been tattooing? Where and how did it all begin?
How it all began! Ok, so I’ve Been tattooing since 2005 (13 years now). I was 19 basically.
Fresh out of high school, you get a little worried everybody does.
It’s a huge turning point in your life where you have to start making decisions that will impact the rest of your life. Some people go to college, some people go to work with their family, some people stay home and don’t do anything .
Well, I stayed home and I thought I was doing something because I worked construction and I thought at that time “ wow $500 a week, I’ll start making a lot more in a few years .” –
I had my struggles back then, I wasn’t the happiest person to begin with.
Going through my mental struggles and also physically exhausting myself at work was wearing me out.
I knew I wanted more than that.
Not saying it was a bad job to have it just wasn’t meant for me, so I quit. I walked off one morning.
My boss Mike was screaming at me for not moving quick enough…My girlfriend left me because of how much of a loser I was back then… I had nothing.
I had no source of income, I lost my studio apartment and downgraded to renting a room in someone’s house.
I refused to get a regular job.
I was very stubborn and I’m actually thankful for that now because my father also always told me to ”Get a real job.”
It’s great looking back on that now but at the time it really hurt.
Anyways, a little bit of inspiration and desperation led me to buying tattoo equipment with the little money I had left.
I had thought about tattooing before.
LA ink and Miami ink were on TV at that point in time.
Even when high school was ending I remember it being on.
So the idea was there but I had a limiting belief system in those days.
As soon as I thought of a goal for myself, I would give up on it before I started.
I didn’t even believe in myself.
The passion eventually kicked in when it was meant to though .
I started immersing myself into tattooing at around 19 years old. It took a long time to make money – I was giving everything away.
I hardly made enough to live.
It made me miserable most of the time but without that I wouldn’t have learned.
I knew what I wanted, but I wanted it so much that I started neglecting family and friends.
I thought about how it would be once I start making money.
Well finally, it started getting better. I went to one shop, and then another shop, and then higher grade shops after that.
I’d get fired all the time because I wanted to learn so I’d tattoo people for next to nothing if they got a portrait or something I wanted to do .
At this time things were much different.
The tattoos that are being done now are much different on social media now.
Back then there was only a handful of artists .
I only saw their tattoos on the computer because they were a world away from me. Mostly West Coast -I live in New York .
But that’s how I knew it was possible.
I knew the standard and I would work as hard as I’d have to to get there myself.
After 3 years of putting work in, finally I began to immensely improve to the standard I wanted set for myself.
It took a while for me to learn ,
In 2010 ,Instagram came out . I made a profile, my work was worth seeing now.
One of my basic human needs to feel significant was now a reality – in those days my followers went up like wildfire.
It was amazing that people wanted to see something I did . I loved it, it made me want to do better and better. And I did.
I kept getting better, but I loved it too much.
I say that because I wouldn’t let anything get in between me and tattooing.
The feeling of getting so many fans at once compared to being a loser in highschool and having a dead end job was exhilarating…
I was working too hard though on a diet of mostly redbull and snickers. I was ridiculously skinny, and obsession took over.
I did that for years , and the lack of personal development resulted in a very cocky, hard headed and hard to get along with person .
My ego was something for the history books, and my anger and attitude were still there.The inner sense of “look at me now “ didn’t bring me to my full potential in tattooing at that time .
By then it was mid career I had pushed away most of my family, my friends and anyone who cared about me.
But I began to get control over my business and personal life.
I went through some more trials and tribulations throughout my career as an artist.
I was my own boss right out of high school basically.
I learned the hard way with a lot of things but I’m happy to say that at 31 , the decision I made when I was 18 -19 to tattoo has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
Favorite kind of tattoo to do these days?
My favorite subject matter would be portraits. I love doing portraits and always have. Honestly anything that I felt burnt out on I stopped doing a while ago, so there’s a great balance now.
Funniest/most bizarre experience with a client?
I’ve had some guy start crying, that was pretty bizarre.
Most of those weird experiences happened when I worked at a walk in shop on Long Island New York.
It was strange and a lot of experiences that were pretty memorable, I could go on for days about that.
These days it doesn’t happen so much, most of my clients have done their homework and are very serious about getting tattooed.
Any little pet peeves nowadays in the tattoo industry?I don’t have any opinions like that in my life anymore.Leonardo da Vinci said “The greatest deception men suffer is their own opinions.”
Top three biggest changes you’ve personally seen since being in the tattoo industry from the beginning until now?
OK top biggest changes I’ve seen:
1. The increase of tattoo shops ,tattoo artists and popularity
2. The evolution of theses artists.how amazing they are at what they do, and the sheer number of them is staggering compared to what it use to be gives a lot of people a better chance to get someone in their areas .
3. T he technology of the machines and needles.
One thing you wish every tattoo collector knew without you having to communicate it to them?
One thing that I would love to explain is not to bring anyone with you to the appt . I think a third party something distracts me on a subconscious level.
Favorite part of being a tattooist? Toughest part?
My favorite part about being a tattoo artist is doing what I love to do and getting paid for it.
I love artwork.
I love spending those hours creating, and doing it on skin adds another element altogether.
Even when I have financial freedom do do whatever I want I will still tattoo and create art.
If my necessities in life were paid for, I’d do it for free.
I’m sure you already make an incredible living as it is, but if you had the pricing power to charge $25,000 per full day session, how many days would you tattoo per month and why?
That’s an interesting question. Well first off for the record I would never charge someone that price – that’s absurd.
But hypothetically, I guess I’d have to say I’d tattoo two days a week, and I would drop my other small businesses. Would make things a lot easier that for sure!
Anyone you’re dying to get tattooed by yourself?
I’d have to to say Sasha O’Kharin – his work blows me away.
Top three pieces of advice for the many aspiring tattooers hoping to accomplish what you have?
Well I guess at this current time in the industry, if I was to give three pieces of advice it would be:
1. Prepare for pressure and upsets in the beginning.
2. As far as clients, be respectful to your clients while hashing details prior to the tattoo and when some people are hard to deal with, always be grateful.
3. The industry is cut throat, so when people come at you or talk about you in a circle or judge your work in the beginning, you don’t listen to them.
If I’d listened to what people said about me and let it get to me I would have dropped a long time ago.
People are going to try to bring you down very hard when your trying to live your dreams.So my point is this: if you want to be a tattoo artist and you think you can do it , that’s all that matters. Do it .But like like anything else there are always assholes trying to bring you down and my belief is a lot people let what others say cripple them on the way to their goal…So understand that, and you’ll be able to deflect it better.
It was a pleasure doing this interview with Kris. Give him a follow at @buschingtattoo and check out more of his bad ass work.
RIP. Very sad.
Yes it is so very sad Rick. I’m doing a post with a link to Go Fund Me for his family.