Name: Trine Grimm
Profession and place of work: Tattoo artist at Lucky 7 in Oslo, and artist
How old were you when you started tattooing?
I had just turned 19 when I moved to Oslo to start tattooing, but the interest for the art came way earlier than that.
Being a successful female in a very male dominated industry, have you ever faced any challenges, experienced harassment or had any other issues based on gender?
This is a hard topic to get into, but as every other male dominant occupation, there will be a struggle being a woman. I was very young when I came in to the scene, and you often had to prove yourself just because of that. I was called names all the time by coworkers, my bosses and even customers. I think the hardest part was trusting people you looked up to. I was always afraid of speaking up, because it was a very small scene back then. It has definitely changed for the past 15 years, and it is nice to see all the talented women coming into the scene and absolutely killing it in the game now. That being said, even to this day there are customers asking me if the boss is around or how long I have been tattooing. I am pretty sure they would never ask a 33 year old man the same question. I was never really a girly girl either, don’t take me wrong, I love dressing up and all that, but my main interests were metal music, snowboarding and skateboarding. I hung out with the guys and were a part of the scene, but I guess they had a hard time treating me as an equal. I don’t know how many times I’ve been called a groupie, something that still happens today just because I am around the music scene.
Besides tattooing you’ve also done gig posters, artwork, DJing etc – what kind of music are you into?
Tattooing takes up most of my time, simply because I love it. Except for snowboarding, it has been the only constant thing in my life for so long, and even if I have tried to tattoo less to do other projects, I keep coming back to it full time. I also take on small projects for bands, mostly gig posters, shirt designs and festival posters, it is time consuming, but absolutely something I wanna do more of because music is so close to my heart. Nothing beats seeing your artwork on a band you really love listening to. I grew up with classical music from my grandmother who was a pianist. My mother got me into rock like Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix, but as a kid from the west coast of Norway, it didn’t take long before me and my best friend got into the black metal scene. My music taste is all over the place now, ranging from jazz to extreme metal, but heavy riffs are a main topic in my play list. DJing is fun, but it has to be for a special event. Playing music in a bar is just to get people to buy a beer is really not my thing anymore. Would rather listen to my vinyls at home. Haha… But it’s fun, and I will probably change my mind one day and do it all over again.
Would you say your taste in music inspires your art?
Music is my main inspiration to my art, I think art and music goes hand in hand. I love listening to music and just draw for hours. I also listen to music all day while tattooing. My head is way too busy without it. It is some form of meditation I guess. Most of my astronaut paintings was made when Sleep came out with The Sciences in 2018, I guess the theme fits. Haha…
When we asked Trine about this interview, she asked if she could create some fan art to go with it and sent us the incredible design below – which completely blew our minds:
What’s the inspiration behind the incredible Orange drawing you did?
If you have been into heavy music for a while, nothing beats the classic sight of an orange amp. I had this joke with my friends that if we were seeing new bands, we knew they would be good if there was an Orange on stage. I took some inspiration from the classic logo because I really liked the story behind it. The orange tree as a branch, the Pan inspired horns. The rig of doom in the back is kinda how it looks to me when I think about it. Sometimes I just draw whatever comes to mind, it usually never makes sense, but most of the music and the art I like is inspired by the psychedelic area of the 60s and 70s. I guess that is what inspired this one.
What’s been a career highlight so far?
That is a hard question. I meet so many amazing people because of my job. Meeting Lemmy and hanging out with him and talking tattoos is definitely one of the most fun memories, but if I have to mention one thing directly affecting me I guess selling one of my astronaut paintings to an engineer in NASA was a big highlight. I’ve always been a nerd when it comes to science, and wanted to become an astrophysicist when I was a kid. I guess at least I have some kind of connection to NASA now.
What would 2023 Trine say to 2013 Trine?
I had my first solo art show in 2013, I was so scared and had no idea what I was doing. I guess I would have told her that it will be easier, and in 10 years you will still love what you are doing. Because some days are hard and you wake up and have no idea why you chose a job you can never take a break from.
Which artist / song are you currently playing on repeat?
I’ve been really nostalgic lately so Pentagram (U.S.) is on repeat. But my playlist of only 60s and 70s are on loop at the studio everyday. Can never go wrong with the classics.