Lynn Acra is one of the most talented, creative, and out-of-the-box artists. She traveled the world guest spotting in top-notch tattoo studios and met the most reputable artists in the industry.

She joined The Book-ink Experience crew today to discuss how it all started, her tattoo specialties, mistakes she did while starting, her love for tattooing, the struggles she had to face in this industry, her hobbies, and gave some advice to any upcoming artist. 

Tell us all about you. How did you start? When did you start? And how did you get here today?

Okay, we’ll go back to my childhood. I used to draw since I was a kid, even before I started walking.  Drawing has always been my passion, I used to draw in my corner, during birthdays when I was little and I think my parents realized instantly that I have this artistic side. And ever since, they encouraged me. They enrolled me in after-school activities at school, and outside of school.

Growing up, I’ve always been this rebellious child. The world of tattoos caught my attention at a very young age, when I was around 10-12 years old, I used to see people with tattoos and I was like damn, that’s so cool.

I got my first tattoo I think when I was 15, without my parents knowing. It was the chaos at home when they knew. They got mad for 2-3 days then they got okay with it.

It has always been in my mind, I always wanted to be a tattoo artist. The idea stayed in the back of my head.

When I finished school, I studied illustrations and comics at Académie Libanaise des Beaux Arts in Lebanon. I was well trained. I thought I wanted to pursue my tattooing career on the side. Then when I got my bachelor’s degree, my father offered me my first tattoo machine telling me: Lynn, I know this has always been your dream; Go for it, do it! Do not do anything else. I know that’s all you’ve ever wanted. Just do it!

He also told me a sentence that marked me: if you want to pick up the garbage, from the streets, and you like to do it, go for it!

Do what you really love, otherwise, you will be miserable all your life.

And this is how I started my career. I was not ready for the first tattoo. We were at my place, there was a guy who asks me: What’s this? I answered that this is a tattoo machine.

So he was like, get me inked! I told him, I don’t know how. So he answered, I’m sure you do, go ahead. I had my laptop next to me, I went on YouTube to search for how to tattoo, and I did it!

That was my first-ever tattoo. It was a crazy experience.

And this is how it all started.

What are the three tattoo styles you specialize in?

My main one is Micro Realism. I’ve always had this passion for details. I love details.

So when I first started, I tried different styles. But then, I remembered what my Comics professor once told me; Michèle Standjofski, I thank you for traumatizing me with this idea, and if you’re watching this video, thank you for your excellent training. Whenever she assigned projects to us, I used to try many things. So, she once told me:  Lynn, you’re doing this “thing” very well, so why don’t you go for it, and make it perfect?

And that hit me, she was right. So I chose Micro Realism and changed it my way.

A style never stops evolving, so I think the Micro-Realism I have will change throughout the years. As an artist, you keep growing and evolving according to your desires and emotions.

But my love for detail will never change. 

Do you prefer when clients come to you with a very specific request, or do you like it when they only have a broad idea and give you the full freedom of creativity?

I prefer having the freedom of creativity. But when it comes to tattoos, my main goal is to write people’s stories. If a client comes, telling me he wants a tattoo about love. It is a wide theme; my perspective of love might be different from his/hers, or for you, or anyone else. I cannot create a tattoo for such a wide theme. I need more details about this topic.

So, I love having the freedom of creativity with some details to be able to create and tackle my client’s story. It should be a bit specific to writing my client’s story.

Do you still have that fear of doing a mistake when tattooing?

I believe that when you love something, you always have fears of doing mistakes.

But I also believe that practice helps you avoid these mistakes. So it’s true, you don’t have that “control Z” button. We always have the fear of making mistakes. But for me, I’m much more confident, that’s for sure.

You can avoid them, but the risk is always here. I’m avoiding mistakes, I’m more comfortable, and I can ink people now easily, without being stressed.

In the beginning, it was much more difficult. I used to stress a lot. But now, I just do my thing.

What are the things you love most about your job? And the least?

I LOVE the artistic side, the connection with my clients, and the procedure from the beginning till the very end.

What I don’t really like about my job is the business side. That’s why I have people helping me when it comes to this.

Otherwise, I love everything else. The artistic process, the inspiration, the contact with my clients, and even the hygiene part, I really love everything.

You can say I’m an addict, and it scares me sometimes.

What do you do when you’re not tattooing? What are your hobbies?

I love adventures, I’m actually on a caving team. I like to go to caves

I love hiking, I love the LMTs. For those who don’t know about the Lebanese Mountain Trails, it’s a trail created from the north to the south of Lebanon, divided into sections, making it easier for people who don’t know the hiking locations.

I also love the beach, that’s why I decided to have my shop here in Jbeil, next to the beach.

I love my dog, I spend so much time with her. She’s annoying but adorable.

Let’s say you weren’t a tattoo artist, what would you be instead?

I really want to become a teacher. And I think I’m going to achieve this dream.

I think it’s meaningless to have something without sharing it. I have a professor who once told me, We are not God, you can learn whatever you want from us, and it’s up to you what you end up doing with what you learned.

So I really want to transmit this, to the people I will be teaching in the future.

What is some advice you would give to any upcoming tattoo artist looking to get into this industry and grow a reputable personal brand?

My advice is to draw, as much as they can whenever they can. A lot, so they can eventually develop a style.

Second, they should dare to start.

Because if they’re going to wait for the right moment, there’s no right moment.

When I first started, I was not expecting to start right away.  I didn’t know that I was going to start right now. They should just go ahead.

I’ve heard that from many people who wanted to kick off a tattoo career, telling me I’m afraid of making mistakes;  You will make mistakes. We all did, we all screwed up. I made some horrible mistakes. I’m not ashamed of saying it out loud. It is a part of the journey.

You should just go after your dream, you should not wait.

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