THE DUAL THREAT OF CARLOS TORRES

For years he’s been known as a master of black-and-grey. Now Carlos Torres is showing off what he can do with a paintbrush.

- Jonny Watson

By working hard and holding himself to a very high standard, Carlos Torres has built a career as one of the best black-and-grey tattoo artists in the world. Not content to limit himself to one medium, Torres began painting with oils. Filled with deep, rich colors and influenced by old masters like Caravaggio, Torres’s paintings live in an entirely different world from his tattoos, proving what a diverse artist he is.

We spoke with Torres about how he first discovered art, the differences between working on canvas and on human skin, and how he wants to be remembered.

What are some of your earliest memories of art? Do you remember when you fell in love with creating?

I grew up in Gardena and we used to live down the street from a comic book store. It was that store that gave me some of my earliest memories of art through graphic novels, comic books and fantasy art.

I’ve loved creating since I was a kid. I used to draw all of the time and actually drew a lot of skulls. My mom used to ask, “What’s wrong with you?! Why do you draw these?” I told her it was because she took me to see “The Exorcist” [laughs]. In her defense, we went to see a double feature at a drive-in and the first movie was for kids, “The Exorcist” was second and we just stayed.

Which came first, painting or tattooing?