He spent his child hood growing up in the south west of England. At 29 a drinking binge ended in a hospitalization and a near death ''Bardo'' experience, in witch he was graced with a moment of clarity into his condition. This became the spark to ignite his recovery turning his life around, and creating the Art we see today.
I remember when I was 18 seeing a friend’s new tattoo. Immediately I knew that this was the genre I wanted to work in. So 1987 I apprenticed as a tattoo artist. My mission as a tattoo artist, was to use my artistic skills to help clients express their inner visions on their skin, and mark their rites of passage in a time honored way. I owned and ran a tattoo studio for many years. In this time I met many fantastic people, who in turn enr iched my life experiences; it was very fulfilling to share in this holistic, shamanic experience with them. Towards the late nineties there were new missions growing deep inside of me that I felt compelled to express, but they were outside of the tattoo genre. So in 1999 I stopped tattooing. I visited the USA and Canada. While in the USA, I spent time with the Navajo and Hopi tribes, and in Canada with the Huron [Mohawk/Mohican] people. I feel privileged to have been embraced by these peopl e, some of whose traditions, craft skills and mystical healing arts I now incorporate into my art and my life today. I am inspired by the unseen, and the mystical. When I am painting I go to a different world; a dark and symbolic world. Painting is the medium I feel is best suited to share these visions with you. They are my gift to you. S. V. Mitchell