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TATTOOS NEW-AGE

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By MARK SCHANTZ The Suncoast News

Published: November 7, 2009

HOLIDAY - Kristel Oreto is receiving national acclaim from the experts in the world of customized body art.

In October, Skin Art Magazine named her one of its Best Artists of 2009 for her new-school designs. Her body art has also been noted by Tattoos For Women, and earlier this year she was the subject of a five-page spread in another magazine, Tattoo Revue.

Oreto is gaining recognition for her colorful, feminine-looking creations, which are vivid collages that strive for beauty rather than ominous looking images.

"I've always been obsessed with tattoos," Oreto said.

Now 29, she decided to follow her teenage dream of becoming a tattoo artist.

A licensed tattoo artist since turning 18 in 1999, she recently opened Crimson Anchor Tattoo at 2628 U.S. 19 in Holiday. She attends many of the top tattoos shows, where her body art has been heralded by experts.

Her husband, Joe Tattoo, is a skin artist who specializes in black-and-grey design.

Oreto's specialty is creating colorful new-school tattoos done in the Bubble Girlie style. She designs tattoos to complement the female form and the part of the body it adorns, she said.

The area she designs tells a story or has some meaning. She does not do flash, or mass-produced, tattoos.

"You shouldn't use a tattoo artist who cannot design their own tattoo for you in about 15 minutes," she said.

After creating a tattoo, Oreto transfers the work onto stencils. She carefully aligns each design onto the body to check how movement will change the pattern.

The design should complement the area of the body which it adorns, whether it is for women or men, she said.

For health reasons, Oreto advises that people thinking of getting a tattoo should only go to an artist who uses disposable needles and the tubes that hold them, not those who sterilize equipment for re-use. She wears gloves throughout the tattooing process.

A good tattoo artist knows how to blend colors so they don't fade, she said.

Some people want to touch up or cover up unwanted tattoos. This has to be done carefully and with some thought to the design so it does not look like a larger tattoo placed over a smaller one, Oreto said.

Others want the artist to create a living, permanent memorial to a loved one. A woman in her 60s recently came to Oreto to get a tattoo as a memorial to a beloved dog she recently lost.

Full and half-sleeve tattoos, which cover all or part of an arm, have come into vogue, she said.

Karen Brackett, a hairstylist at the Mia Max salon in the Westfield Countryside mall in Clearwater, came to Oreto's studio to get her tattoo redone.

One of the biggest misconceptions people have is that it hurts to get a tattoo, Brackett said.

It doesn't, she said, adding, "A tattoo is something that you do for yourself, not others."

Oreto said she charges for her tattoos by the piece, not by the hour. She does this to keep her art affordable.

Oreto can be reached by telephone at (727) 868-4500 or online at www.luckieleopard.com.

Mark Schantz can be reached at (727) 815-1075.

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