I was introduced to art at an early age by my uncle who is a world renowned stone sculpture and fell in love with art ever since.  I remember the inspiration in seeing my uncle create magnificent pieces from a rock of stone that initially had no form, to the end product of a fine sculpture that encompassed not only beautiful forms but instilled feeling within the pieces as well. I knew for as long as I can remember, due to my uncle’s influence, that I had to be an artist. I began drawing at an early age, and started my  journey into art by concentrating in the medium of oil painting, but found that it was such a concentrated market to make a living, that I eventually found my way into the fine art of tattooing. I was born and raised on the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Reservation, located in north-central North Dakota which is a completely remote area. Inspiration was hard to come by being a tattoo artist in a place where I was unable to see and connect with other tattoo artists and having the opportunity to witness the full color bad ass tattoos that were out there in the bigger world. I have traveled throughout the United States to various tattoo conventions to enhance my skills and meet other like-mined artists in which to draw inspiration and ideas from in order to bridge that gap.  I have met and made a lot of friends along the way that have greatly influenced my ideas of the unlimited capabilities of what can be accomplished on skin by way of tattoos.

 There is a slower pace of life on the reservation which allowed me time to focus on the art aspect of tattooing, and the possibility of the tattoo evolution and creating one of kind pieces of art on skin. I enjoy this medium the most out of all the others I experiment with because it gives me the opportunity to connect with people in a more direct way than doing a painting or a drawing. I am always trying to learn and grow and keep my mind open to have a free exchange of ideas so that this journey will be as good as it can be for me and the good people that honor me with their skin.  I recently moved to Denver, Colorado and am transitioning into a new life in the city, quite the change I must say, but very exciting in the opportunity that now exists for a wider variety of clients and the diversity of tattoos I can now accomplish with a larger client base. So if you are in the Denver area and want some work I would be more than happy to try and make your idea come to life. Thanks for looking at my page and I hope you like what you see here. Peace, and have an awesome day.  

 Derek Poitra

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Recent Original Art

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