Surrealist artist Winter Osborne is determined to be a tattooer and continue being her own artist.
“I see them as two very separate things, but I am determined to have both,” she says.
Originally from Fairbanks, Osborne is currently working on her tattoo apprenticeship at Brightside Tattoo in Anchorage. She recently graduated with her masters degree and attended the University of Alaska Anchorage for art with an emphasis in graphic design.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, she started drawing a lot more; naturally, she became a freelance artist, and was working on commissions and being featured in local art shows. Over the last four years she began building up her portfolio and body of work. She says she takes a lot of inspiration from pop-art, graphic novels, and other contemporary artists.
“I did a lot of research on my own on how to get into the [tattoo] industry,” Osborne said. “It is quite difficult to get an apprenticeship, but I was really lucky that Laura [Craver] was willing to take me on. I just reached out to her and it happened to work out.”
She focused on her own art and said she was initially nervous that tattoo mentors wouldn’t be interested, but Osborne says that Craver has been influential in her learning journey. She is around halfway through her needed hours — 500 out of a total 1,000 needed to complete the apprenticeship — and is eager to continue learning under her wing and guidance.
“I learn so much every single day,” she said. “I feel a lot of people compare my style to anime, which it’s definitely inspired by that, but I don’t really see that until someone mentions that.”
Recently, Osborne wrapped a First Friday art show in May at Raven’s Ring Brewing Co in Anchorage. In addition to being selected as a featured muralist at Sundown Music Festival in June, where Osborne, along with other local artists will paint live during live performances, Osborne has a show at Rage City Vintage and a solo exhibition at Akela Space in September.
“The culture of tattooing and apprenticing, it can be very not fun — to put it lightly, so I am very grateful for my experience,” Osborne said. “And it is a lot of work, I don’t want to say that it is easy, but I am in a really good spot and am very grateful for that.”
Sam Davenport is a writer residing in Anchorage. She's a leo and a plant-person, and loves spending quality time with her dog, Aspen. She is a Real Housewives fan and has been called a Bravo historian.
