Kelsey came to tattooing from a background in painting — watercolour, oil, acrylic — with side trips into spray paint, lino printing, and digital collage. She completed her apprenticeship at another studio before joining Main Street in 2023, and the work has shifted significantly since.

She describes her style as surrealist illustrative black and grey — organic elements meeting harsh textures, dream-like atmospheres built through realism techniques she never expected to use. Coming from an abstract and contemporary art background, she never anticipated leaning into realism, but found herself using it as a tool to manipulate and distort rather than replicate. The result is something distinctly her own.

Salvador Dalí and Hajime Sorayama are her touchstones — artists so defined in their vision that you recognise their work from a distance. That kind of intentionality and stand-alone quality is what she's working toward. The longer she tattoos, the larger the pieces get. Detail demands space and she's learned to give it that.

Her process is collaborative and thorough — she draws up variations, allows time for changes on the day, and prioritises comfort throughout. Everyone is welcome and she means it.