ARLINGTON, Texas- Mexican tattoo artist Jose Padilla said his work reflects the inspiration he finds in his native culture.

The first-generation artist was born in Durango, Mexico, and he was raised there up until the age of 8.

Padilla says that his main inspiration for his artwork was watching the work of car artists painting on low-riders, a style significant to Chicano culture. One of Padilla’s favored artists growing up was Mr.Cartoon, a tattoo and street artist who was influential in development of Los Angeles street style.

“Especialmente uno que se llamaba Mr.Cartoon, so el me llamó bastante la atención.” Padilla said. “ I used to watch his videos, you know, and stuff like that.”

Art drew Padilla’s attention from an early age. He said he was always the kid who was drawing whenever given the chance.

Though Padilla knew he had a passion for art, he said it was a hard industry to get started in and that could be discouraging at times.

“I went to a lot of shops and no one didn’t want to give me the chance to learn from them,” Padilla said. “They asked for like, three years of experience. Este, it was really hard.”

Though he said he found it tough to get started in the industry, he finally found a shop that would take him in and teach Padilla. After Padilla’s welcoming to the industry, he went on hiatus to welcome his first son.

As a single dad, tattooing was no longer a viable source of income for Padilla and his newborn son. While working long hours seven days a week, Padilla still dedicated his downtime to tattooing, a passion he was not ready to give up.

“I worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week,” he said. “You know, I just focused on my job to pay my bills and then on my, you know, downtime or whatever, I used to do tattoos.”

Regardless of these hardships, Padilla soon returned to the tattoo industry in a big way and started his tattoo studio, Alma Azul Tattoos, in Arlington. This studio is rich in Latino culture and incorporates it into many designs for its various clients. Alma Azul Tattoos is located at 138 S. Bowen Road, Suite 116.