Tori

A phenom in the tattoo industry, Tori Bent joins the Ink Couture Tattoos Austin crew from Iowa, where she quickly skyrocketed in notoriety and popularity. Widely known for her geometric, fine-line, and mandala work, Tori also excels at bright and bold custom pieces, black and grey and color realism.  Stop in our Ink Couture Austin location, or message to secure your appointment with Tori today.

What inspired you into the art of tattooing?
I’ve been painting and drawing since I was 5 or 6. I used to draw all over myself and put those Band-Aids for kids with Disney characters on them all over my body and tell everyone I had tattoos hehe. When I was old enough to start getting inked myself in 2012 I started following some of my favorite tattoo artists on Instagram. I was obsessed with sacred geometry tattooing most back then, and loved the work of Dillon Forte. From there I became obsessed with Ink Master and closely followed the work of artists like Kelly Doty, DJ Tambe, Ryan Ashley, etc.

Tell us about your preferred style of work.
I love tattooing mandalas, fine line, realism, dark art/horror, American Traditional, and Neo Trad. I’m kind of all over the place, and tattoo drastically different styles day to day. I love black and grey tattooing, and also brightly colored, bold tattooing!

What other styles are you known for?
I was mainly accepted into my apprenticeship for my portrait work on paper and wood. I’m from Iowa, and we had a really bad storm a few years ago that basically destroyed the city I live in. I asked some friends who had cut fallen trees in their yards into slabs if I could take them off their hands, and started getting requests to wood burn portraits of loved ones for them. It kind of blew up, and I became addicted to burning portraits of people and animals. Realism is my main love I would say, and hope to get into much more portrait work as my career progresses!

What inspires you as an artist?  
Nature! I LOVE anything outdoorsy, and love the natural curvature of things I see outside. The way light sources affect objects and people has always inspired me, and I notice the way shadows and highlights fall on everything all the time. I find inspiration for my art from other artists that I follow, as well as just simply taking pictures of beautiful or weird things I see when I’m wandering around.
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Why should someone pick you for their next tattoo/to be their artist?
I come from a customer service background, and bartended for a long time before I got into tattooing. I love people (most often ). I think that one thing I always strive for is building a good rapport and relationship with my clients. I want them all to keep coming back because they not only love my work,  but also because I make them feel comfortable before, during, and after they get tattooed by me. I always try to find a happy medium with their ideas, and bring them to life so they leave the studio with something they’re proud to show off.

Anything else you'd like prospective clients to know about you?
I think with tattooing, you should never feel like you ever stop learning and growing as an artist. There’s no tippy top of how far you can go. I have fallen in love with this industry, and I hope to show the passion I have for it with every piece I make. This is not a job for me. It’s a lifestyle. As cliché as that sounds hehe. I’ll do this until my hands fall off!

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