Hello! My name is Pei (pronounced like “pay”). I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, then spent 10 years bopping around LA, New York, and Portland, before returning to the Bay where I am currently based.
BACKGROUNDI come from a family full of creative people and my parents taught me how to draw at a young age.
Since I grew up pre-smartphone, I was always drawing and making things out of paper, like these masterpieces.
I always figured I’d do something creative when I grew up and am glad it was always encouraged by the family.
CAREERFast-forward through many awkward teenage years aaaand I ended up going to school for graphic design, then spent my career mostly on brand design teams in-house at Nike, Google Creative Lab, and Squarespace (yusss free website!) with a handful of short stints at smaller design agencies in between.
At some point during those years I realized that I felt most fulfilled when making things by hand – and there’s not much room for that in the world of corporate design! So I picked up a ballpoint pen and began posting drawings with a secret wish to learn to tattoo.
It’s something I had thought about for many years but was too afraid to pursue.
A handful of ballpoint drawings from around 2020
THE SHIFT to tattooingAfter some encouragement from a few friends and family, I found an apprenticeship and began learning in 2022!
Since then I’ve worked at a couple shops in the Bay Area, have done a handful of guest spots and conventions around the country, and continue to take workshops and classes related to tattooing. I started out being mostly interested in realism but am expanding into more illustrative styles, taking lots of inspiration from surrealism and Asian art!
It’s still early days but I am so lucky to have clients who challenge me with their diverse requests.
The best part of the job is getting to work with people 1:1 and creating art for them. And the second best part is all the juicy details I get to hear about their lives while doing so :)
If you’re interested in working together, you can see my latest work and available designs on Instagram, check out my booking information, or email me if you have any questions!
