ABOUT
Cristopher Mendez is an artist based in Valencia, Spain. His dedication to and passion for watercolor painting has enabled him to develop his own style of art from paper to skin. He would describe his tattoo style as neotraditional with vibrant and solid colors, and a love for animals and nature. He is an internationally recognized artist who travels frequently to tattoo conventions throughout the world, where he has won many awards. Over the last few years, his fame and popularity have led towards a demand for him to paint tattoo convention posters, always in large scale with watercolor paints.
Born in Santiago, Chile, he initially studied technical and architectural drawing in order to qualify for an architecture degree. During this period of his life, he was studying, working, creating mosaics and murals and giving art workshops.
But his life took another direction when he first held a tattoo machine in his hands. His love for tattoos started with his own first tattoo, a full Japanese sleeve when he was just 18. A few years later, someone offered to exchange a tattoo machine for one of his paintings. He was intrigued to be able to transfer his artwork onto skin.
Studying and working at the same time as learning to tattoo became difficult, so eventually he took the decision to end his studies and to dedicate more time to his real passions, the art of painting and tattoo.
And of course, his third passion, travelling. He moved to Valencia, Spain, in 2015. It was a decision that he made with his wife Natalie during a trip through the Amazon River in Brazil on a cargo boat with no internet. They had a lot of time to reflect on life. After traveling through several South American countries, they returned to Chile to plan their new adventure in Valencia. It was challenging starting from 0 in a city where he didn’t know anyone, but through attending international tattoo conventions and winning many awards, Cristopher has gained a reputation for himself. He opened his studio Morning Glory Tattoo & Gallery when he first moved to Valencia, but after 8 years, in April 2024, he decided to close the studio to have more time to focus on his international work and painting.
Cristopher has always been a passionate artist and has grown as a tattoo artist through his love for watercolor painting. In the 2 months of lockdown in Spain in 2020 he was given the opportunity to be able to slow down and focus his attention on painting, which was when he started his famous skeleton collection. It was a moment of self-learning for Cristopher, it opened his mind and helped him to start painting big watercolor pieces, which take him 7-11 days to complete, working several hours a day. Often, he makes mistakes halfway through the painting and has to start again, which is frustrating, but it helps him grow as an artist.
In December 2023, Cristopher held his first solo watercolor exhibition with 100 paintings from the last 8 years, "Del Papel a La Piel" (From Paper to Skin).
At this current time, Cristopher continues to tattoo in Valencia in Vieja Escuela, travelling 1-2 times a month to international tattoo conventions (check out his upcoming trips here). When he isn’t tattooing, he is of course painting, travelling or enjoying the beach.
