Back for 2023 and first up in our VC X BELL Helmets project is the awesome tattoo artist Leah Lee!
When it comes to talent the incredible Leah Lee packs a serious punch!
As the owner of Black Pearl tattoo shop in Chichester Leah painted up an incredible Bell Bullitt for VC in 2022 and this year she’s taken her brush to the awesome MOTO 3 ……and WOW the results are mind blowing!
We caught up with Leah to talk about her tattooing style and the inspiration behind Leah’s one of a kind flamed Bell Moto 3 design.
Go follow Leah and her work on INSTAGRAM HERE !
AND DON’T FORGET!…
All 4 of the Bell custom painted helmets are up for grabs at this years Camp VC event where we’ll be raffling them off! So if you were lucky enough to get a ticket to this years sold out event make sure you grab a raffle ticket onsite to be in with a chance to bag one!!!
Where are you from originally and where do you live now?
I currently live on the outskirts of chichester but I am originally from the Isle of Wight. Land of opportunity! Ha ha.
What first got you into tattooing ?
I was always into art, for as long as I can remember. I was always that little weird kid that sat in the corner doodling. When I left school I trained as a panel beater in the motor trade (Im from a family of petrol heads) and was doing custom paintwork as it combined my love for machines and art. I kind of accidentally fell into tattooing and while getting a tattoo one day the artist offered to train me. 13 years later I have my own shop and love my job.
What do you love the most about having such a hands on job?
I love the variety of people I get to interact with as I meet someone new and unique everyday. Everyone has a different story and a different reason for getting a tattoo and I love to hear each and every one of them.
Where do you most get your inspiration from?
a lot of my inspiration comes from an artist 'Bert Grimm' he invented the Neotraditional style tattoo that influences a lot of my work today. oh and Valerie Victious because she is just a badass! her work is stunning!
How would you describe your style of work?
i tattoo mainly in a blackwork style illustration and traditional/ neotraditional style with fatlines and heavy colours
Have any other artists in particular been an influence on you?
I’m still completely obsessed with Ryan Roadkill!! Just his colour palette and style of that 80s punk art is so awesome! That guy has some serious talent!! I would lose my shit if I was ever fortunate enough to meet him!
What has been your favourite recent project you’ve worked on and why?
I have recently been doing more sign writing, I closed my tattoo shop and opened a private new place called SOLITUDE. Hand painting the sign, in a new place and on a new chapter of my life was emotionally exciting.
How does your life inspire your work?
I am going to answer this the other way round. My work inspires my life more. The people I meet and the stories they share, makes me live very much with the now rather than the what ifs. When you are tattooing a memorial tattoo on a mother for her young soon for example, it humbles you, it makes you realise that we do not get much time to enjoy the things that we love.
Tell us all about your awesome Bell helmet design!
So this year, I decided that we all have a burning desire deep inside us to go and ride our bikes. Hence a burning sacred heart, the eye because we need them in the back of our heads when we do ride.
I have done the flames on the visor, but if you remove the visor for riding, the flames are continued underneath so you can wear it with or without the peak :)
What materials did you use to create the helmet?
I roughly mocked it up on my iPad using Procreate and a helmet template . Then once I was happy with the mock up, I drew the designs in a marker on the program, printed it and then used a pounce method. You trace the design using a pinwheel that makes little holes in the paper. You then attach the design and use a pounce pad, which essentially is a like a chalk filled pad and tap it over the design. When you remove the paper, there are little dots that give you a basic dotted outline in the chalk. The flames I drew on with a soft pencil and then painted it all in enamel paint mixed with some hardner so I didn’t have to wait too long to get back to work on the design.
How long did it take you to create?
This one took me roughly 8 hours with the drying time in between over the coarse of a couple of days
