Professional of the Year for 2017 in Custom Artwork: Kris R.A. VanLeuven, Owner/Artist

	Kris R.A. VanLeuven, Owner/Artist
Industry	Tattoo
Title	Owner/Artist
Expertise	Operation oversight, marketing
Current Organization	Arcane Art Tattoo
Type of Organization	Tattoo shop
Major Product	Original, custom tattoo artwork
Area of Distribution	Utah
Hobbies & Sports	Family activities
Career Accomplishments	At the beginning of tattoo artist Kris R.A. VanLeuven’s career, he was heavily influenced by the black and gray portrait artists he saw in magazines and other media, not necessarily for the content of the art but for the application of the black and gray tones and the look of the shading. Not having a formal teacher, he attempted on his own to recreate these styles of shading. Although this path of self-instruction was at times frustrating, he now feels he greatly benefited by it and that it motivated him to be open-minded throughout the learning process. Kris’ artwork is predominately black and gray. He enjoys tattooing because of the symbolic significance of putting a piece of art on a living being. He likes doing tattoos with Sacred Geometry and Mandala designs, realistic black and gray portraits, wildlife, and arcane symbolic tattoos. He cites Renaissance art that contains alchemical drawings and ancient manuscripts, geometric symbols and illustrations, and simple figures, as an influence in his work, inspiring him to combine more modern styles with stippling and black and gray realism. He is also drawn to Egyptian symbolism and hopes to take on more projects in this area. Kris is grateful to create and tattoo. He is always striving to learn and grow in his profession, obtaining something in every tattoo to put towards the next. He is honored and grateful to have the opportunity to create for his clients, and looks forward to many more years doing what he loves to do.
Children	5 children
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