ROBERTO CARLOS SANCHEZ MESA

My name is Roberto Carlos Sanchez Mesa. I was born in Santiago de Cuba (Cuba) on October 16th of 1985. From an early age I was always interested towards art and drawing, when I reached adolescence I had the opportunity to study art and it was when I took aptitude tests to develop myself in this profession, after 8 years I obtained a title of Professor of Arts in drawing, painting and other manifestations of the plastic arts, since that moment I have dedicated my entire life to creating art. In those years of study where drawing and painting was a constant exercise, looking at art history books, visiting galleries, exhibitions and breathing that atmosphere, I had the opportunity to acquire tattoo magazines that were very motivating and aroused a lot of interest in me. Seeing references such as the great artist Robert Hernández, who was very inspiring at that time, marked a beginning to get deeper and deeper into this world. The desire to experiment on a different support led me to take the decision to make my first tattoo machine, which I made with a cassette player engine, the support or grip was made out of a Sharpie marker and pen tips that served as a nozzle where the needle was coming out. I had to invent everything taking into account the principle of the machines and according to my possibilities, with steel wires I carried out the guide of the needles, those were acupuncture needles which I tied in groups of three and five, sometimes these groups were passed by phone wire linings which were very thin so the needles were well adjusted, as well as I welded them as I could to be able to shade in the tattoo. It was from that moment that I began to experiment, browse and inquire about the art of tattooing. After graduating a few years later, I had the opportunity to work in Venezuela, the country where I currently live. It is there where I was able to buy my first professional kit, I began to tattoo whenever I had the opportunity to do it at home or in my living room.

2014 was when I had the opportunity to start in the first tattoo shop and since then my professional career offcially began. I participated for the first time in an Tattoo Expo in 2015 at the Venezuela Expo Tattoo as well as in the following years 2016, 2017 and 2018, in these events I obtained numerous awards including the best of the event several consecutive years.

I have participated in other international events such as:
The tattoo music fest in Bogota (Colombia), where I got the Award for the best spare realism and best tattoo of the event.
Viva la tinta - Río Negro Medellín (Colombia). Where I participated as a jury with the exhibition of a piece (back).

In these years of career I have had the opportunity to participate in international events on the European continent such as the Milano tattoo convention (Italy) and Tattoocon Dortmund (Germany) among others. With the passage of time and constant study I have been able to acquire the ability to develop different styles or trends within the art of tattoo such as oriental, neo oriental, neo traditional, dotwork, etc. Emphasizing and dedicating myself to what is realism and subrrealism tendencies in which my language developed.

Thanks to the constant dedication throughout these years I have received the sponsorship of the most important brands in the tattoo industry such as: Fusion Ink in 2019, Balm Tattoo in 2019, Dermalize in 2020 and Cheyenne Tattoo Equipment in 2020, all of them are currently my official sponsors. I have had the experience of working in different studios internationally; I currently work and am part of one of the most prestigious studios in Venezuela called Loyalty Tattoo Studio as well as being an artist-inresidence in one of the most important studios such as Ink Nation Studio in New York City.