Dan Bones
When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be an actor when I grew up! I wanted to be in movies, ride around in limos and look good in suits. My favorite movie as a kid was “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, so some of that probably stemmed from just wanting to be Ferris Bueller when I grew up.
What inspired you to create your art on skin?
Supportive, supportive friends. I have a lot of amazingly talented friends that work in all sorts of fields that had been pushing me to start tattooing for years, and it made me realize that I had an amazing outlet for my art if I was willing to put the work in. I have been fortunate enough to have people in my life that constantly help me make work and push me to make it better, and those friends are what really inspired me to start tattooing.
Did you have formal training of any sort? What’s your background?
My background is actually in animation and motion graphics. I studied film at Emerson College and animation at the Museum of Fine Arts School in Boston, and worked for an animation studio and a few design firms before I pursued an apprenticeship in tattooing. I mostly worked on kids cartoons, but also did commercials and web content. A few years after moving to New York, I started taking continuing ed. courses in illustration at SVA, which directly got me started taking illustration commissions. I apprenticed under Sue Jeiven at East River Tattoo, who I am still incredibly thankful to have learned from.
What project really made you feel like you had succeeded in this industry? can you pinpoint a moment that really catapulted your career?
I don’t think I have yet! I feel like I’ve hit some very important milestones, but I’m relatively new to this industry, and all I can ask is to keep learning and growing as a tattooer and an artist. However, I will say that I’m currently doing this interview from the Only One gallery in Toronto, where just last night I had my first international art show. So, right now is certainly is a proud moment for me!
How would you describe your personal style?
My personal style is primarily super detailed black and grey work. Lots of fine linework and dotwork. My favorite artists are gustave Dore, Albrecht Durer, M.C. Escher and John Audubon. Their compositions and attention to detail have always played a huge role in my work.
How did you get tied in with thom Browne and the world of fashion and textile design?
I have a good friend that works for Thom Browne that was gracious enough to recommend me for this project in its early stages, and showed my work to one of the designers, who in turn contacted me about the project. I was very surprised to be considered for the project, and it has been a huge, huge honor to work on something of this scale.
How long did the project take from start to finish — from initial conversations to seeing the final product?
Ha! This project was definitely the fastest turnaround I have ever had to deliver to a client. After sending me an email with a bunch of reference images, I met with Thomas Finney, the designer in charge of the artwork. We met on a Tuesday night to discuss the project and to start going over sketches and rough ideas. I was given two days to deliver rough drafts, and then four days to deliver final illustrations. Ideally, a project this size would take about a month from start to finish.
Can you briefly talk us through the process?
The whole process was a blur. A very, very exciting blur. I was excited about the work and wanted to prove, mostly to myself, that I could handle it. I also love the nautical theme to the project, and was given a lot of creative freedom to have fun with it. It was non-stop work, but overall, I’m incredibly proud of how everything turned out, and it has been unbelievably rewarding to see it go into production, and to see the end result be such a huge part of Paris Fashion Week.
