Sometimes it takes a huge life event to give you the courage to take a leap of faith. For Drew Normandin, that was the news that he was going to be a father. He’d always loved art and had been interested in tattooing for years, but says he couldn’t overcome the anxiety he associated with such a big life change. Then, he learned he was having a daughter, and he took every dime to his name (and even his fiance’s credit card) to a local shop to teach him the trade.

Today, Normandin is slinging some of the raddest single-needle, realism, fine-line and micro tattoos you’ll find anywhere in the US–which is why he’s become such a hot commodity. It’s mind boggling how much detail and finesse he can fit into such small spaces. It’s insane how clear, crisp, and compact his pieces are. He’s raising the bar for this style of body art, and he’s doing so with just a single needle.

If you want to book an appointment with him, go through his website, which has a “Tattoo Request” page.

What's your favorite part about doing micro-tattoos?
I’d say my favorite part is being able to focus for hours on a single small area. Before I started doing micro tattoos, I’d feel overwhelmed.

 

How do you get so much detail into such small tattoos?
Truth is I’ve always drawn fairly small and focused on detail so much, I tend to drive myself a bit crazy. Once I taught myself how to wield a single needle, everything came together.