Meet Colton Kramer | Tattoo Artist

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

Hi Colton, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
I chose a very niche career path, everyday I go to work it’s a risk. I don’t know if clients are going to be happy with the design I spent hours working on or if they’re going to keep coming back. Tattoos are a choice and I’m lucky people choose to get tattooed by me. I spent a few years trying to balance a corporate job during the day and tattooing in the evenings. Eventually I decided to quit my day job and purse tattooing full time, it’s the best career decision I’ve made.

I feel like if you purse something that you’re passionate about, you’ll find a way to succeed, as long as you’re willing to grind.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m glad to see there’s a drive in the industry for quality control resulting in great artistry. I’m passionate about large scale cohesive designs inspired by Japanese traditional body suits. It’s exciting to take the traditional themes and find a creative new way to work them into tattoo designs to make them my own.

Being young and very creative, I was always drawing and painting. I never took my creative interests too seriously until half way through high school when I realized making or doing art was a career path I could purse. At 19 I started my apprenticeship at a walk-in shop. That experience taught me a lot. I realized there’s a difference between being a Tattooer and a Tattoo Artist. I appreciate having the realization because it’s what pushes me to create interesting and complex designs that are one of a kind and done well.

I’ve learned to keep my goals always in focus. The moment you get distracted or swayed from your goals you will find yourself chasing somebody else’s.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We’d spend a few days camping on the Mesa, fishing with a couple beers, hiking around and enjoying the quiet while escaping the heat up. Heading back to Junction, we would plan a town float from Palisade to 24 Road. Grab a little lunch at Handlebar or dinner at Suehiro’s Sushi. Walk around downtown GJ a little, definitely let them check out the Studio. Before they leave we would need to get coffee at Bestslope Coffee in Fruita and get them a Stromboli slice from the Hot Tomato for the road.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
To the old school guys before me in the industry for making me work for it and laying the foundations. To all the Tattooers I’ve worked with who love the craft. It has been a great opportunity to work together, to grow and to develop our own styles; just making good art and having a good time doing it.

Website: https://Enjoyinktattoos.com

Instagram: @enjoyink / @coltomkramertattoos

Facebook: EnjoyInk / Colton Kramer Tattoos

Image Credits
Laura Zeuner