Dusty Neal
Published June 2008
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Dave Muller: How did you get into tattooing?

Dusty Neal: It really came about through the experiences that shaped my attitude towards tattoos. My fascination with them probably started when I was a child. I loved Heavy Metal and grew up watching music videos of 80’s hair metal bands on MTV. I was always involved with art in general, and I was occupied with it from an early age. I was obsessed with comic books, especially the artwork, and up until I graduated high school I wanted to be a comic book artist. I ended up going to college at the University of Saint Francis, in Fort Wayne Indiana for fine and commercial art. It was during college that I decided I wanted to learn how to tattoo.

Dave Muller: How did you come to that decision?

Dusty Neal: I was a sophomore and I was getting a tattoo from a pretty sketchy shop (that will go unnamed) from an artist I was recommended to, but I didn’t really know a lot about. I had about the worst experience one could have, this guy really didn’t care much about my tattoo. He was about an hour and a half late, had all the details wrong, and made me pay up front then later told me that he severely overcharged me because he “thought we were doing it differently.” He had one of his prized drawings up on his door, and I remember clearly looking at it and thinking, “I can draw better than this guy already, and overpaying him to give me a tattoo that I could probably do if I knew how to tattoo.” I wanted to learn right after that. So, I guess it all started from a mixture of being a metal kid with lots of tattooed friends in hardcore bands, always loving art and wanting to do well at every medium, and forking over too much money to a scratch artist.

Dave Muller: How did you manage to “break in”?

Dusty Neal: Luckily I ended up at a shop talking to Donny Manco about wanting to tattoo and he insisted that I work towards an apprenticeship rather than buying junk machines and butchering my friends. I brought back my portfolio a week later, and after about a year, I started an apprenticeship with him and we have worked together ever since. I have him to thank for my whole career in tattooing and I still learn from him everyday.

Dave Muller: How would you describe your style?

Dusty Neal: I started tattooing with an art school background, so I feel I’ve gone backwards in my style.  I started wanting to do intricate, realistic, painterly pieces. I was used to painting and rendering figures and doing fine-tuned illustrations so that’s what I went for at first. However, after I’ve had some time in the “tattoo world” my tastes are changing. While I still enjoy doing the realistic pieces, I am starting to gravitate towards neo-traditional work. I have the most respect for artists that do this work, like Grime, Zuck, Uncle Allen, and the newer names like Chris Dettmer, Curt Baer, and Derek Noble. The ultra-clean perfect linework, effective strong contrasts, and soft blends of signature color is what amazes me. It’s art that’s made for tattoos that will look great now and also in 10 years. It’s graceful, and packed with symbolism. That’s the work I want to be doing, and those are the things that I want to be strong points in my own work.

Dave Muller: What does your future hold?

Dusty Neal: I will probably tattoo forever. I want to become a better painter and eventually get back into exhibiting work like I was in college. It would also be wonderful to do design work for bigger bands with real budgets for artwork — no offense to all my friends I do things for now! But it is hard to make time for everything when there is so much to be done always, and to take time away from tattooing is taking time away from what ultimately pays my bills. There really isn’t ever going to be a family in my future either, I’ve always known that I am living my life for art. I’m not a family man and I couldn’t spare the time for it. Art is everything to me.

Written By: Dave Muller
Photos Courtesy Of: Dusty Neal

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