Richard Rayner of Bowen Ink Tattoo and Gallery voted Whitsunday’s best tattoo artist

From a schoolboy obsessed with drawing skulls to one of Queensland’s most sought-after tattoo artists, read the story of his rise to the top.

Whitsunday's Best Tattoo Artist Richard Rayner sees tattoos as 'a piece of art you carry forever'. Picture: Kirra Grimes

Richard Rayner knew he wanted to be a tattoo artist before he had even finished primary school.

He remembers flicking through his dad’s motorbike magazines as a nine year old living in Ipswich, eyes lighting up with inspiration to draw everything he was seeing.

By the age of 12, he was coming up with his own original tattoo designs – mostly “ugly, graffiti-style” skulls – spurred on by a healthy competition with his schoolmate ‘Megsy’ whose drawing skills he envied.

As soon as he hit 15, Rayner jumped on his pushbike to “hound” the town’s three tattoo studios in the hopes of getting an apprenticeship.

And when one finally did take him on, there was no stopping his rise to the top.

Rayner would spend the next few years practising on everything from roast pork to orange peels to his own parents, aka his “guinea pigs”.

He completely covered, and eventually coloured in, both of his legs as he worked on perfecting his technique, and in 1995 opened his first studio.

Richard Rayner has 101 skull tattoos on his body plus countless other designs he's done himself. But he's convinced he needs more and plans to cover his right forearm next. Picture: Kirra Grimes

Bowen Ink Tattoo and Gallery, which he opened in February 2020 after relocating from Warwick, is his sixth tattoo shop.

There, he and his apprentice Tyler Newman offer tattoos, and a selection of piercing jewellery for sale.

Soon, they will also have a display of Richard’s and his wife Sonya’s original airbrushing and resin art.

Rayner recently got into airbrushing as a more permanent art medium as his tattoo clients grew older and began to pass away.

As he explained it: “Tattoos do last forever but the art goes with that person – that’s a bit of my art in the ground”.

Rayner has not only tattooed himself but his whole family - from his parents to his own adult children including daughter Karissa Kearney, pictured. Picture: Kirra Grimes

Apart from the ever changing faces in his studio chair, Rayner said the industry had experienced its own developments during his 29-year career, including huge technological advancements and the introduction of mandatory nursing training and tattoo operator licensing.

He said the most popular tattoo styles had remained largely the same, but there was one trend he was glad to see the end of.

“Thank god tribal’s gone,” he said.

He said most clients came to him wanting something meaningful, some people just wanted something “small and random,” and there was no such thing as a ‘weird’ request.

He has lost count of how many tattoos he has given himself, let alone clients from all over Queensland, but picks a Lord of the Rings themed sleeve – completed in one 13.5 hour sitting – as one of his most memorable jobs.

Richard Rayner showcases work like this on his Facebook page, which can be found under his previous studio's name 'Running On Ink'. Picture: Supplied

As a true artist, originality is key for Rayner and he would never let a client walk out with a carbon copy of someone else’s tattoo, except in the cases of matching friendship tattoos and the like.

He makes sure to individualise every design idea a client presents him with, and he believes it is this approach, combined with his easygoing nature, that won him the Best Tattooist prize – and many others before it.

“You don’t want people to be intimidated when they come in, you want to be friendly,” he said.

“You also don’t want people walking down the street seeing their tattoo on someone else – so if someone brings in a picture off the internet, I’ll always tweak it to suit them.

“And I’ll always be honest if someone has an idea that won’t necessarily look good as a tattoo.”

Rayner says he's in great company in the Whitsundays with many great tattoo artists he was honoured to be nominated among in the Best Tattoo Artist competition. Pictured: A chest piece completed in July 2021.

Rayner’s advice to any aspiring tattoo artists is to get into a studio from the get-go to learn the correct techniques.

“Whatever you do, don’t ever buy a tattoo machine off eBay without being in a studio,” he said.

“If you really want to learn, go to a studio, hound them like I did and show you’re keen. It’s the only way.

“As soon as you try to do it on your own, you’re going to pick up bad habits and most studios then won’t take you on for that reason.”

More of Richard Rayner's work. Picture: Supplied

And when it comes to any ‘cleanskins’ considering their first tattoo, he said the most or least painful part of the body was different for everyone but generally less bony, more fleshy areas were a safer bet.

“For me, the feet and kneecaps are the worst,” he said.

The most important thing though was to “put a lot of thought into it,” he said.

“It’s going to be there for the rest of your life, so make sure it’s something you can live with.”

Accepting his Whitsunday’s Best Tattoo artist award, Rayner wanted to thank everyone who voted for him and give a special shout out to his wife Sonya, with whom he recently celebrated 25 years of marriage.

Originally published as Richard Rayner of Bowen Ink Tattoo and Gallery voted Whitsunday’s best tattoo artist