Meet Tyler Osburn | Award Winning Tattoo Artist & Shop Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tyler Osburn and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tyler, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
First and foremost I have been tattooing for over 10 years. When it came to starting my own personal business as an artist I was simply determined to pave my own path and be an independent. This included but not limited to doing what I want when I want, tattoo what I wanted, and inspiring others along the way. Now that I have started my own shop, the mission has now evolved to giving artists a safe zone to work on their craft and give clients the best experience possible.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have always been attracted to monochrome applications especially black and grey photography. This is where I found my specialty being black and grey realism. I aim to do large scale pieces that cover major panels of the canvas. I personally don’t look at tattoos as individual pieces. Ideally I would like to cover a whole arm or leg sleeve vs filling in certain areas. I am inspired by nature and try to include natural subjects into every piece. I am also inspired by older times like the prohibition era and the gangsters of that time. Anything that gives me the freedom to apply the textures that I like to pull off which include but are not limited to stone, woods, distressed metal, hair, ect.

I’m excited for more opportunities to express my creativity and show people who I really am as an artist. Even though I have been doing this for 10 plus years, I still have a lot of projects that I want to work on.

I got to where I am at today by simply giving clients the best experience possible and staying true to my art. I always tell people it’s not hard to find out what kind of tattoo artists there are out there. I divide them up into 3 categories being art driven, money driven, or fame driven. I prefer to focus on the art. Everything else will take care of itself.

There has been plenty of obstacles along the way. We would have to write a novel to go through all of them but I can attest to the old cliche, “if it was easy then everybody would do it”. I’ve been homeless, rode on buses and trains to and from, worked countless odd jobs to keep the dream alive, and have lost my father along the way. Keeping my faith gets me through most obstacles. There’s nothing I can’t handle if it’s been placed in front of me to take on. I trust god on that.

I’ve learned that if you aren’t actively trying to make somebody else’s life better, then none of the success is worth the effort to obtain. Life is easier when you have a purpose and when you’re an asset to the grand scheme of things. This is why I have opened a shop for artists, to make artists feel comfortable, to ensure artists make as much as possible without taking a cut of their earnings, and provide clients knowledge on the tattoos they are wanting with excellent service and execution. Our shop is very unique in that way. It’s a collaborative effort to make everybody better and hopefully we inspire others along the way.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
As far as Kingwood goes there are a few must do’s in the area. We try to bring the outside in here at the shop and are inspired by nature so one of the main things I suggest to folks when visiting it to check out East End Park. The trails are endless and a blast to take a bike to. There are bridges and trails going through the forrest and swamps of Kingwood and it’s massive. As far as places to eat there are a lot of good places. For breakfast you can’t go wrong with Kingwood Meat Market’s breakfast tacos. For lunch Chelsea’s deli is a safe bet and I suggest getting the chicken salad. For later in the day I recommend a local dive bar being Bill’s Cafe. The folks in there are brutally honest, straight up with you, and the cook makes a mean burger. My kind of place.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
This list is long. I never fail to mention my mentors and people who have helped me along the way but I feel like it’s important to mention none of this is possible without the hard work and passion it takes to achieve such goals. Unfortunately the line gets blurred too often on how success is possible. Were there handouts or connections made along the way? My story is definitely connections made along the way.

I’m not too ashamed to admit that I started my tattoo journey like most aspiring artists, a term we call “scratching”. This is when you somehow end up tattooing folks out of your house or theirs with little to no knowledge on how to tattoo properly. My story started with a guy I met at my first job by the name of Ian Haley. I was 16 years old and we were working at a bar-b-q joint in Pearland, TX when he caught wind I was an artist. He was the cook and I was washing dishes. He saw some of my drawings and immediately decided he wanted me to look into tattooing. Before I knew it we were at the local smoke shop picking up my first machine and supplies. In return he simply wanted free tattoos and for me to practice on him. I still thank this crazy, caring, and honestly good hearted man to this day for the initial push.

I scratched for a couple months until I realized that tattooing was not only challenging and far different from drawing but also something I could see myself mastering one day. I decided to pursue a tattoo apprenticeship in Phoenix Arizona where I found some of the most talented artists I have ever come across. I knew at that moment I had to do what it took to move from Texas to Arizona and chase a dream. The apprenticeship went well with all things considered, being broke, no connections, no family, no resources, just an apprenticeship under people I truly didn’t know. It was here I met an artist that goes by the name of, “Boomer” but his real name is William Baker. Boomer was a veteran at the shop I was apprenticing under at the time. I gravitated towards him and his work but mostly his work ethic. The guy stops for nothing and has a relentless hustle. Since then he has opened up two of his own shops in the Phoenix area and also runs his own tattoo convention. I still look up to him to this day.

After my apprenticeship I moved back to Texas to start my career as a professional artist. I bounced around a few shops until I landed a great opportunity at Assassin Tattoo located off Westheimer in downtown Houston. It was here I got to know the business savvy and influencial Peng Yang the owner. Peng showed me the ropes to maximizing my profits as an artist and put me on to traditional asian styles of tattoo application. Peng also has multiple shops, one being in Beijing, another in New York, and the third being in Houston. He also owns his own tattoo supply company which he still sponsors me through to this day.

Ian, Boomer, and Peng all played major roles in my life to get to where I am at. I appreciate them and give them a shoutout every chance I get. Still to this day I am learning from all of them.

Website: https://www.tylerosburn.com

Instagram: @shadesofpain1992

Facebook: Tattoos by Tyler Osburn

Other: Shop Pages :

Google – Wild Hare Studios
Instagram – @wildharetattoostudios
Website – www.wildharestudios.ink

Image Credits
I took these images myself.